weird engine noises. sound clip included :)

[kazuma]

k so we had some crazy ass rain and my car was flooded(the car was about 2.5 feet to 3.5 feet under water) anyways it dried up and i tried to start it. it started up and fuck loads of water came out the exhaust, i let it idle for a good 10 min and then tried to drive it. i got about 2 blocks away from where it was parked and it stalled. i thought i had hydrolocked the engine. i pushed it home and tried starting it again after about 2 hours. it started but it made a really weird noise and the exhaust was white. doing some research i realized that it could be a headgasket issue. but i also thought it might be water just evaporating. i let it warm up and idle and after about 10-15 min it was still blowing white smoke and making a really weird noise. i recorded the noise. here is a sample of it.

http://www.geocities.com/moghadm1/VORC001.WAV

what could be causing this noise? i checked oil level it was good and when i checked the coolant level it was very low.

[s13driver]

is it the grinding noise that i m hearing ?

[kandyflip445]

I don't really think playing "guess the noise" is gonna help us help you. Tell us the noise so we can at least listen for it.

If you ever think your car has taken any water in the engine you should pull the plugs and disable the fuel and crank it to get the water out first.

[infinitexsound]

my car was in a flood also................ when i drove it , it was like a roller coaster cant get out of 1st or 2nd gear.. it stalled alot too.... umm its probably water in ur exhaust.... pull ur spark plugs out... and stick a air blower inside to blow water out... if theres no water then there would be no water in the engine..... pull ur dipstick and check for blown HG..... if u narrowed it down to the exhaust issue.... start ur car and constantly rev ur engine to push the water out.... took me awhile to fully get it out.. but i did and i still drive my car... hope that helps

[bruce240]

pull ur dipstick and check for blown HG.....

?? I may have a blown HG due to a diff problem, how do u check for blown HG by pulling dipstick?

[-usmd-180sx]

im so glad i love in California, all we gotta worry about is Big mean earthquakes and the people in Castro in frisco :rant: But that sound in that clip, it sounds like grinding so I would have to agree with the guy up there.

[idlafie]

k so we had some crazy ass rain and my car was flooded(the car was about 2.5 feet to 3.5 feet under water) anyways it dried up and i tried to start it. it started up and fuck loads of water came out the exhaust, i let it idle for a good 10 min and then tried to drive it. i got about 2 blocks away from where it was parked and it stalled. i thought i had hydrolocked the engine. i pushed it home and tried starting it again after about 2 hours. it started but it made a really weird noise and the exhaust was white. doing some research i realized that it could be a headgasket issue. but i also thought it might be water just evaporating. i let it warm up and idle and after about 10-15 min it was still blowing white smoke and making a really weird noise. i recorded the noise. here is a sample of it.

http://www.geocities.com/moghadm1/VORC001.WAV

what could be causing this noise? i checked oil level it was good and when i checked the coolant level it was very low.

Flooded cars can happen ANYWHERE.....During this past winter rains, Los Angeles had several underground garages flood out due to rain. Several cars were trapped under at least 4-6 feet of water. Poor street drainage can also cause cars to get flooded out.

Infinite may be right though....could be water in your exhaust and possibly transmission. What year is your car & what type of transmission do you have? If it's manual, then it's possible the water could have gotten into the tranny. The sound I hear from your WAV file sounds like a rotational sound. You might want to try spraying a little bit of silicone lubricant spray on your AC/Alternator/Water pump pulleys & AC clutch to see if the sound goes away. Also, try swapping out all your tranny & motor oil. The oils could have gotten contaminated with the flooding. I doubt your head gasket is blown. You were just probably low rad fluid prior to your car flooding.
Anyhow, hope this helps...
ID

[nrg]

um.. did you even pull the plugs and shoot out all the water? It seems like you let the car sitting till it stopped rainning and started the car up again. You'll still have water in your engine haha.
My friend's bmw hydrolocked in the crazy so cal rains. I came by and fixed it for him. His engine gave us a nice watershow lol. just shoot all the wire from the plugs then change the plugs because copper plugs will rust within days. Might have to change oil too. 99.9% water could've slip throgh the rings and into the oil.

[infinitexsound]

pull dipstick brown creamy sludge signify's water in the oil..... hence BHG.......

[bruce240]

Oh ok, i actually pulled the dipstick and was no oil on it. So somehow my oil disapeard.... I even over filled it when i did oil change because my front crank seal is leaking a bit. Tomorrow i will check if the car overheats if i fill it up with oil and take out the thermo.

[DeatschWerks]

You should have drained and refilled all your fluids, and changed your plugs before even attempting to start your car. You MIGHT be able to save it if you do that now.