hey guys newbie here this is my first post, i recently bought a 1986 defender 90 with tdi conversion..... have already read loads of useful tips and info from this awsome forum and im hopin you can help me with this

went down a few lanes with my mate on the weekend and just before we decided to head back home we crossed a little ford..... turns out it was a bit deeper than i had anticipated and hey ho school boy error filled me engine with water, came out the other side car stalled n my mate ended up towin me home.
when i got home i tryed turnin the engine over once and it wldnt move so i took the injectors out and turned it over until all the water had cleared, kept turnin it over for a few minutes to be sure and at this point the engine seemed to be movin freely and at a resonable speed. i then replaced the injectors and tried to start the engine but it was crankin very slowly and not smoothly atall and very quickly flatened my battery, i then proceeded to hook the jump leads up and try to keep crankin it but it just isnt goin fast enough feels like something is restricting the movement of the engine.

from my under standing fillin it with water like i did the normal damage caused would be bent con rods or push rods but even with either of these bent the engine should turn freely and even fire and atleast run roughly shouldnt it?? could it be a possible starter motor issue?


any help would be appreciated sorry if my post is a bit long winded and many thanks in advance for any help

Most likely bent pushrods but you'll need to strip the engine either way. If they are bent, the valves won't open so obviously no fuel can get in. If you're lucky it will just be bent pushrods.
I don't know enough to give you a certain answer, I've only ever changed pushrods once on a defender with my uncle.
I'd suggest if it hasn't started by now, it's not going to so stop trying before you do any more damage.