Help needed! Vandals or normal!! Water in Engine

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johnyelland1234

Member
Posts
68
Hi,

Some of you may remember a while ago I was trying to get my non starting land rover to work. With the faults being either the starter/solenoid or battery.

Well I got sent on a 4 month out of area to Qatar and came back and bought loads of really nice things for the land rover (hoop set, new hood, compressor, guardian bumper etc).

Now today I fitted the brand new starter motor, was about to hook it up and test but my partner noticed alot of water dripping onto the floor.

After checking it out the water was coming from the air pipe (A).



Now after knowing that water shouldn't be in there I opened the air cleaner box and sure enough water ****ed out everywhere.

I then removed a pipe (B) and water came out of there too.



I then removed the air intake thing (C) and there was LOADS of water in it.



The engine block is also totally full of water.



I'd say a good 10-20 Litres altogether.

Now is there any way this could be the land rovers fault? I mean, I can't see how. Or is this the work of vandals (even though the land rover was parked on the base the whole time).

I have never been in the water with it, let alone above wading depth.

Also, is this engine damned? Will I need to replace it?

Thanks guys, been a bit of a bad day.
 
Sorry mate, I reckon the engine will be ****ed if it's been left like that for months. I doubt water from the cooling system could have found it's way all the way back to the air cleaner. It would be worth draining the cooling system and measure how much water comes out of it, but there's only about 10 litres in the whole cooling system so I doubt it could be that. I'd say it's vandalism. If it's insured then you might be able to claim.
 
nope, tax, mot and insurance expired just before I went away.

I'm going to look for another diesel engine to replace it.

How much do you think a garage would charge to do a engine swap? 1 for 1?
 
johnyelland1234 said:
nope, tax, mot and insurance expired just before I went away.

I'm going to look for another diesel engine to replace it.

How much do you think a garage would charge to do a engine swap? 1 for 1?
Click to expand...

If it's on the base can't you get one of the base mechanics to do the swap for yu. or do it ya self it's an easy job to do.
 
hmm I could. I'll look into MTMS doing it for me.

I'll also look into doing it myself but i'm no mechanic.

Thanks for your answers guys, shocking that things like this can happen.
 
I don't really know cos I've never got a garage to do any repairs for me, but I suppose if all went to plan then an engine change could be done in 8 hours, so at say £30 per hour that would work out at £240 labour. You could buy a 200tdi engine for that much and have all the fun of fitting it yourself.
 
I thought about that, theres a guy in Thetford that will do the whole conversion for 1300 quid.

Bit pricey, but could be worth it.

I have no idea on how to fit a 200tdi engine or even a 200Di as I think you have to do.

Any guides out there for that?
 
a wee bit of hope; at my work we had a static diesel exhaust catch fire, ended up flooding the thing out with a firehose. 2 weeks later the same engine is running again after some tlc. i know its a bit different when your paying for repairs yourself though!
 
ha thanks Doobie, Ebay has loads of land rover engines for sale.

I might seriously consider moving my land rover to my workshop off camp and getting my hands on a 200Tdi, it would be alot better and a conversion cant be that hard....:crazy:
 
If the water has only recently gone in then it might be saveable. Pull out the glow plugs and see if it will turn over. There's an excelent guide on fitting a 200Di here: "200Di" diesel conversion for Series Land Rovers - by Glencoyne 4x4 (Thetford) Putting it in with the turbo and intercooler is quite a lot more difficult and expensive though - I know because I'm currently doing just that - welding skills required.
 
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well, i've found a 200TDi in Kings Lynn for 300quid.

wont buy it yet as I just bought a motorbike today, and so i'm skint for the rest of the month.

However I am a good welder and a turbo would be uber cool on a lightweight.

I'll do some research on the TDi conversion.

I'm going to remove the old engine and do all the work I intended to do on it, and play with my new toys.

Then i'll source the engine and consider either a TDi or Di, whichever makes sense at the time.

Joy...

Thanks for the responses guys its very much appreciated.
 
water in a diesel? dont worry bout it, ( depending how long its sat mind) dry it out the best yer can , compressor and thin nosed blow off gun, dry plugs out and remove air intake sysem pipes, filter etc then prime it up and start it, whats the worst that can happen ??? have had old ****ty dieseld sat outside fer years then started them up , dirty mind but soon cleaned them selves out ! some do and some dont ;) good luck
 
That looks like bright red rust around the air intake on the photo's, if it is then its bad, that much water does not get in the engine in that short space of time, check with your mates see if some loser has messed with it.
Remove the glow plugs squirt wd40 or similar everywhere to make sure the rings are covered and see if you can turn the engine over with a spanner, if so wind the engine over with the starter for a while to rid the wd, refit the glow plugs and see if the old girl starts, but before you do that make sure that if it was a vandal that the bell end didnt **** in the tank.
90truck cab is right, I've been to a unimog stood for 10 years and after an hour the old girl was running, well smoking, but its the same thing.
 
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I have to find a way to drain the remainder of the water out first.

The fuel tank is under the drivers seat, I dont think they'd be smart enough to think of it being under there.

Its getting moved either today or tomorrow to a secure lock up nearby, then I can really start working on it.

They never stole anything though, there was a good 500quids worth of stuff in the back.
 
Did you see if the engine turns over?

you might get away with it if it turns over, If it dont turn over dont forget it could be hydrolocked - you cant compress water.

Hope ya get it sorted!
 
Like I said take the heater plugs out and turn over by hand, this'll force out any water, if you tried to start it with the starter with water in it then you might have knacked something, if you can turn it and force out any remaining water soak the bores in wd, check the tank for **** etc then see if the old girl will start.
Jackual's right if the engine will turn with the starting handle or spanner then she might just be ok, those old bmc's are hard fookers, I've known boats with the bmc sink (including mine before I got it) and still be allright afterwards.

Might be worth checking to see if rain can get in the engine bay if foul play is not an issue, crawl underneath while yer mrs douses the bonnet with a hose or bucket and see if it goes near the engine, if the scuttle bonnet drain rail has rotted or been removed thats a slight possibility for ingress, watch yer dont get wet.
 
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do as above. can't see a reason why it won't start. what have you got to lose? i poored petrol into the carb of a aircool vw engine that had been stood in the rain for 8 years, turned the key and it fired up straight away. engines are beasts!
 
Yeah its surprising mate, I've seen a diesel stood 10 years and it fired up too, with a great cloud of smoke, and now see's regular use.
 
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