Cheers Scruffy!
Turbo Mini Forums

Have to say a big thanks to Scruffy (Nick) for setting up my suspension on Saturday. He did a top job and its completely changed how the car handles.

Would recomend to others that want it doing!

My good mood changed on the drive home though....as my candles for headlights prevented me from seeing a HUGE puddle/lake in the road...hit it a about 40mph and it was about the depth of a curb! Came to a grinding holt and the engine died!

After trying to push the car in gear it was apparent that my engine had filled with water! Disconnecting the hoses to the IC had confimed mine and Nics thoughts, once the flood of water poored out of either end of the IC and hoses!

After a call to the breakdown company and having to explain to the brekadown guy what the engine was we took the plugs out and pushed the car in gear...floods of water poored out of the plug holes! Everything seemed ok and we managed to get the car going again, to nearly get caught in another masive puddle 15 miles down the road! Apart from the lambda giving the odd dodgy reading all seems ok thankfully! I THINK ive had a lucky escape this time!

EDIT: Have to say thanks to Nic for helping out, and recording the comedy conversation I had with the recovery guy! Lol

Edited by matty on 2nd Nov, 2008.

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

Indeed top work!
Im going to be taking my car to him once ive found the pennies for new bushes and the like

However standing around in the rain with trainers that let in water through the soles wasnt my idea of fun later on that evening

The breakdown man came out with a classic:
Matt "The engines filled with water, we've removed the hoses and water came out"

Breakdown man "It wont be that. The hoses on the mini have nothing to do with the induction"

Matt "These ones do" (points to the tintercooler)

Breakdown man "Thats rude!!"

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

ooh er!!!

hope you've not bent anything, very easily done with water up the intake.

some one i work with did the same recently on the mondeo desil, it crcked the head and bent one of the rods, and those rods are big....

can you get a depth gauge don the plug hole and check the pistons all come the same height up the bore?

Edited by Joe C on 2nd Nov, 2008.

I was worried about that but it did briefy turn over after it stalled so it didn't hydraulically lock whilst being driven luckily! And I would be surprised if a starter would have enough torque to bend something?

Thats sounds like a good way to check!

Edited by matty on 2nd Nov, 2008.

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

well hopefully in your case the water got wedged/slowed by the intercooler and just sucked into the pots by the starter.

i'd defintely take a look at the compressor wheel for cracks too.

also if any water has one out the exhaust ports it could have hit the lamda and cooled it rapidy knackering it.

sorry, don't mean to sound pesimistic...

Didn't take it as pesimistic.

I think you're right about the IC stopping the water, as soon as i hit the puddle I let off the throttle and pushed the clutch in, hopefully with the throttle shut it stopped most of the water. When I was cranking I did pump the throttle so im thinking this is where the water entered the cylinders.

The turbo is another matter! I just hope it okay...its only done about 200miles from new! Would it drag water through as a liquid or more of an atomised spray?

Edited by matty on 2nd Nov, 2008.

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

Spare good used WBO2, £30

Bloody hell Matty, you seem to be having a few problems these days.

You need to get some bigger wheels on there and get the car out of those puddles

I might have to take you up on that offer!

On a positive note, my grinding gear box seems to be the clutch instead of baulk rings! :)

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

where is your air filter?

i guess the water would have been a spray and sthe speed of the air into the intake would have kept it fairly spray like (technical eh!?) so it probably wouldn't have been like a big slug of water hitting the impeller.

any idea how much boost the turbo was making ie how fast it was spinning?

My air filter is in my wing, on the passenger side (wrong place for puddles)!!

I wasn't on boost at all, by the time I hit the puddle the throttle was shut and my foot on the clutch, I cant imagine the water would stay as a solid liquid (kind of a contradiction) I would of thought it would be more of a mist?

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

well it depend on how much water was involved, to use an analogy, when dose mist become drizzle and when does drizzle become rain?

i think we all agre if enough water goes in it will fook the blades providing the turbo is spining quick, on the other end of the scale there was a works spec audi used for hill climing that had water/methanlo injected strat at the imppellor to help atomize it.

From the sound of it you've been lucky, sounds like the turbo was just windmilling round should be ok and the water was stopped by the intercooler.

at least pull the pipe of the intake and take a look though.

I'm guessing you'll be moving the filter?

Bummer.

Do you still have the standard sealed beams?

First thing I do on a Mini is bin these in favour of some Halogen units.

I presume you'll change the oil.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Yeah got a few checks to do on it tonight, I'll check the turbo and oil, but probably for the best, change the oil regardless of colour. Ive had the filter in the wing for a few years now and its never been a problem as I don't take it out in the rain, just got caught out this time. Hopefully this will be a lesson learned without any damage!

Ive got some aftermarket lights but they don't have a beam pattern. They are usually not too bad TBH. I went for a drive in my other car later and vision wasn't too great in that either, I think it was more to do with a combination of heavy rain, darkness, and misted windows, and blind bend. The puddle was right next to a traffic island so had no choice but to go straight through it, im just glad it didn't pull me off the road really!

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

We did chuckle afterwards at the fact that the freshly set up suspension was very nearly knocked back out by a curb

Lol I wouldn't like to think how close we were to the curb at one point!

Just had a look at the oil tonight...looks like some water must of gone past the rings! It wouldn't be too bad but trying to get all of the oil out of the head may be tricky. I might have to flush it out with a couple of oil changes.

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

engine flush?

would that help?

Whats engine flush (expecting severe sarcasm here..lol).

Does it help with flushing out water?

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

dunno, but you pour it in your oil run it until its warm and then drain the oil

I think its more for old carbonated oil but it may help

Just strain the oil through a Jay Cloth it'll be fine.

it just breaks down the tough carbon in the oil and thins it out so as that when you drain it it comes out faster and leaves the enigne cleaner. i wouldnt bother running your car up on contaminated oil. its pretty new i would imagine so just drop it out and flush through with some cheapo oil.

stick the cheap oil through a couple of times (catching and re-using it) then put it in again so as that it stays in the engine turn it over to get oil pressure as per usual and then drop it out again. (just to get the last load around the pump and that)

that should be pretty comprehensive!!!

oh and just leave the sump plug out over night for the sake of dropping EVERYTHING out.

I think i'll end up having try and blot the oil out of the head as a fair bit will sit in there. Just thought, I'll have to do filter aswell, bugger that means rad out too.

This will be the 5th oil change in 600miles!

Edited by matty on 3rd Nov, 2008.

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi