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Engine hydrolocked after deep water wading... rebuild or sell?


Path_0_logical
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So like the title sez, I went wading through a waist deep muddy rain water puddle the engine sucked in some water through the intake and one or more of the connecting rods got bent. As well, as I went 4 wheelin' at midnight (lol) and managed to lose my goddamn cell phone in the puddle I had to leave it in until morning to recover the car. It had some water seepage into the cab on the driver side, but it did stall on the side of the puddle so the passenger side of the cab did not have water ingress. 

 

After a hilarious recovery operation and a weekend at the shop (got the water out of the engine and it still runs), the engine is now making a loud ticking/knocking noise, but all the electrical components seem to work and there are no ODB codes being thrown. Edit: seems the tranny and t-case still work ok... can still shift into 4Lo and the 4Lo indicator does not blink

 

Sooooo my question is, is it worth it to rebuild/swap the engine? Or has the partial flooding doomed my rig?

 

Any input appreciated.

 

Press F to pay respects.

P. 

 

 

Edited by Path_0_logical
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Assuming that you need to replace this with something to drive around in, do you have the money to purchase another vehicle? If not, are you capable to do an engine swap/rebuild?  If you have the capability and want to do it, I would find another engine, pull it (if not already pulled), replace everything of importance- WP, Pulleys, Seals, plugs, wires, et al. 
Drain and fill trans and transfer case a few times- and diffs while you're at it, because why not? 
Dry out the interior and clean it real well to ensure no mold shows up, and drive drive drive. 

Or if you have the cash/credit available, save yourself all the time and go buy a replacement. 

HTH

Edited by Der_Vier
wording/techincal correction
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4 hours ago, Der_Vier said:

Assuming that you need to replace this with something to drive around in, do you have the money to purchase another vehicle? If not, are you capable to do an engine swap/rebuild?  If you have the capability and want to do it, I would find another engine, pull it (if not already pulled), replace everything of importance- WP, Pulleys, Seals, plugs, wires, et al. 
Drain and fill trans and transfer case a few times- and diffs while you're at it, because why not? 
Dry out the interior and clean it real well to ensure no mold shows up, and drive drive drive. 

Or if you have the cash/credit available, save yourself all the time and go buy a replacement. 

HTH

 

Fair enough. Looks like I'll be able to buy a new used 03 or 04 PF for the less than the price of an engine swap (my mech quoted me at max 4500 CAD with the taxes)... with less or around the same mileage to boot. Then I can cannibalize parts from the old PF before I sent it off to the wreckers. 

 

I'll trawl around craigslist for PFs... it'll be fun to pretend that I know nothing about Pathys when I'm doing the inspection/test drive :sly:

Edited by Path_0_logical
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19 hours ago, Path_0_logical said:

 

Fair enough. Looks like I'll be able to buy a new used 03 or 04 PF for the less than the price of an engine swap (my mech quoted me at max 4500 CAD with the taxes)... with less or around the same mileage to boot. Then I can cannibalize parts from the old PF before I sent it off to the wreckers.  

 

I'll trawl around craigslist for PFs... it'll be fun to pretend that I know nothing about Pathys when I'm doing the inspection/test drive :sly:

That's what I was quoted too but I got a JDM engine, which actually looks brand new, delivered to my door for $1250.  It has 78000km's on it,  and the seller is willing to give me the matching transmission from that vehicle as well for another $800.  So that's a drive-train with less then 80k on it, plus tons of spare parts ( spare starter, alternator, AC compressor, etc )  for right around $2000CAD. 

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Lol so that lead on craigslist turned out to be bunk. The kid had to be driving the worst kept 04 PF I have seen yet. "How do you know so much about cars? Did you own a Pathfinder before?" Quoth he. Anyways, if I were to buy a used 2003 PF VQ35DE engine (not JDM, USA market), how much do you guys think the labor time is for a direct drop in replacement? Looks like the starter, radiator, oil cooler, alternator and fan all still work on my 03 PF.

 

Also anyone have experience buying used engines from https://autopartsfair.com/nissan-used_engines/pathfinder-2003-catalog.html?offset=0&fit_notes=bd685c7c0d4432c03e79eb3383f4c4e0&seq_num=3

Edited by Path_0_logical
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You could always take the diff out, get the pan off, and see what exactly is damaged in there. Then just replace what’s damaged without pulling the engine out. Should be much cheaper than any other solution granted you can find replacement parts somewhere. Might require you going to the junkyard and dropping the diff and pan from a donor..

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15 minutes ago, onespiritbrain said:

You could always take the diff out, get the pan off, and see what exactly is damaged in there. Then just replace what’s damaged without pulling the engine out. Should be much cheaper than any other solution granted you can find replacement parts somewhere. Might require you going to the junkyard and dropping the diff and pan from a donor..

 

Thanks for the suggestion, though I'd be able to cough up enough cash for a ~3000 CAD direct replacement swap and it might end up being a better investment down the line with a lower mileage engine. Rebuilding bent rods from hydrolock is pretty expensive from what I hear.

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