Well, got stuck in a bad area with rising water on the roads. Tried to get back out the way I got in, but the car gave out on me halfway through the puddle. Got the car out of the puddle, towed back to my house. Pulled the spark plugs, cranked it a few times manually to belch the water out, then spun it a few times under the starter's power to get the rest of the water out.

After reconnecting everything, it eventually started back up after cranking for a minute or so (total crank time, rested the starter every 10 sec of cranking for a couple minutes).

It starts, it runs, but there's a bit of a clanking from the engine that wasn't there before, and the check engine light stays on. If I give it a little gas when the RPMs drop, it almost stalls, but keeps running.

I'm trying the ignition/pedal dance to get codes, but all the CEL light seems to do is blink 5 times slowly and stay illuminated. (doing the hold accelerator to floor, turn to on, release pedal and push 5 times, then wait 7 seconds method)

 

Change your oil asap.

 

Did you change the oil and plugs?

How does the oil look?

Did you try using electronic cleaner on the MAF?

Checked the plenum for water?

Sounds like might have something bent in there
if the car didn't shut down as soon as water got in

 

Oil looks ok, but I'll be changing it out anyway.

No electronic cleaner on the MAF, just blew the water out.

There was water in the plenum, but got it out.

Any tips on figuring out what is bent?

 

It may be a valve. Only real way would be a tear down of the motor.

 

Valve was my initial guess too. I wish I could get more than the 5 slow blinks out of the service engine soon light though.

 

this blows. i hope you get this resolved at minimal cost man.

 

You and me both. I think I'll be able to limp it to the auto part store just a couple blocks away and get the codes pulled.

Does anyone know if the car will throw a code if it's "just" a bent valve?

I'm thinking I'm going to have to take this one in to the experts, after looking at the teardown required to replace a valve, if that's the only problem, is still more time than I can really give the car, and since I'm an amateur at internal engine work, I'd hate to screw anything up further than it is.

 

Update:

I reset the ECU last night (finally worked) and the service engine soon light stayed off while the car ran for 5 min. I changed the oil (ewww....) and after starting it, the light came back on.

I'm going to run a compression test tonight, if it tests ok, does that mean the valves are OK and it was just the bad oil causing it to make that noise?

 

The compression test will tell you if there a problem. My guess is the rod is bent. Valves typically don't get bent. It's the rod that bends or the bearing (s) that gets wrecked. The additional mechanical noise is what makes me think your motor is probably toast. The rods in these cars are light and made to rev. Putting uncompressable water into the combustion chamber usually won't end well.

BTW, most insurance will cover this. It's worth making a call now.

 

No comprehensive insurance, so it'll be coming out of my pocket. (I can afford it just fine).

So if it's a bad rod or bearings, the compression will be fairly normal, and bad valve will be bad compression, right?

I know there's also rings that could be toast as well... when I blew the water out there were what I'm pretty sure were little carbon pieces mixed in.

Is it a replace the whole engine situation, or let a shop rebuild it? I'd like a bit faster solution so I'm not stuck with a rental for too long.

 

I'd guess that if the engine runs, the rod isn't bend that bad to affect the compression. What the compression check would read would depend on if the valve is bend and stuck open or stuck closed. I'd venture to say it's stuck open though. Thus the compression would be down in that cylinder.

If it's a rod, rod/crank bearing, it's going to cost a pretty penny to fix. A total rebuild.

A low miler short/long block would be the cheapest/fastest way.

 

Compression test will tell you if the rings/cylinder is damaged or if the valves have a problem. Could also be both.

To isolate where the noise is coming from use a LONG screwdriver and put it up to your ear - or you can use a piece of metal tubing and get the same result. If the noise is coming from the bottom end it could very well be a spun bearing or a bent rod.

Find a used motor is def. the cheapest route. I have seen very good ones go as cheap as $900. Normally is about $1200-1500 for a good long block.

 

In my past, a damage main/rod bearing sounded like a tick, then a clack, then a CLUNK, then siezed.

 

For reference: When you do the gas pedal procedure, the blinking lights will tell you the fault code that is being kicked.

Turn Ignition on: wait 3 seconds
Fully depress and release gas pedal 5 times within 5 seconds.
Wait 7 seconds: then hold gas pedal down for 10 seconds

At this time the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light will begin blinking. The first series of blinks will be 1 second apart. 10 = 0.

The subsequent 3 series of blinks will be .5 sec apart

Count them and write them down as you go. It will repeat the blinks over and over until you turn off the ignition. If you have more than 1 code stored it will cylce through them 1 at a time. The first digit is always denoted by the 1 second interval blinks(slow) and the following 3 digits are 1/2 second long(fast).

Hope this helps in the even that you cant get to Checker/Autozone/Etc right away.

As always, using a stopwatch/clock to keep track of the time is the best way to be successful at entering the ECU diagnostics.

Side Note: If after counting/writing down the stored fault codes you want to reset the ECU, do not turn the ignition off just yet. Press the gas pedal down and hold it for 10 seconds. Then turn it off. The ECU will be reset.