Water coming out of spark plug port
11-18-18, 05:42 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Water coming out of spark plug port
Ok, for those who have read my first couple of threads,,,,, got fuel tank completed,, installed ,, closed up rear of car and started on engine compartment. Pulled spark plugs , all good except lower rear. WATER coming out of spark plug port. Talked to kids and they fessed up to throwing water on the engine when it split the rear heater hose. .? Is the engine screwed? I have examined cooling systems and engine documents from this site. From what I read it seems possible that the rear plug port cracked . Is there any way of repairing besides rebuild. .... thank u for ur time, ken
11-18-18, 07:56 PM
#2
First things, first - the condition of the engine will really come down to whether or not the water was in there long enough to rust the side housing surfaces enough to cause pitting. When was the last time the engine ran? If relatively recent, then there should have been enough oil coating everything to reject the water enough. If it's been sitting in there for God knows how long, then you may have problems. Was the water rusty when it came out? If not, then get some oil in there and turn it by hand - and maybe turn it once or twice a day until you are able to start it (assuming you still have other work to be done since your fuel tank stuff). If you can get a look in there (through the exhaust port) and see if there is any rust or otherwise potentially damaging stuff in there.
I had a little trouble following this part ...
I'm not sure if you're talking about the little cracks that one usually sees around plug holes in turbo engines, but even if you are, they shouldn't let water in. Water should not be able to get into the chambers without something else being terribly wrong.
I had a little trouble following this part ...
Talked to kids and they fessed up to throwing water on the engine when it split the rear heater hose. .? Is the engine screwed? I have examined cooling systems and engine documents from this site. From what I read it seems possible that the rear plug port cracked . Is there any way of repairing besides rebuild. .... thank u for ur time, ken
The following users liked this post:
1952kross (11-19-18)
11-19-18, 08:00 AM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
History behind car is kids came home 7 years ago, engine overheating; they thought it was on fire so they got tap water and threw on the spark plug side of engine. actually it was the lower heater hose that was busted , not a fire. So, being extremely disappointed that they did not wake me up and talked to me about it, I rolled the car in garage , it has been setting 7 years. Now retired I wanted to see if I could revive the jewel. Have replaced fuel tank, blown out fuel lines, front to back, replaced fuel filter, replaced oil filter, reinstalled capacitor for oil pressure gauge,,,,,,,,filled radiator with antifreeze, yes it was emptied. this past sunday I pulled spark plugs , all seemed good till I got to lower rear plug. When pulled it , it had evidence of moisture on plug. Cleaned plug, it clean up easily. Looked down at plug port and a very small stream of water was coming out of plug port. Sprayed wd40 in all plug ports , put in 5 gear and rotated rear tires. Engine turned over easily. Tried through each gear and engine rotated easily. Water still would come through lower rear plug port. Went to manual from this site and read up on cooling systems. The engine blocks have little holes through block for the antifreeze to travel. Looking at the rear lower plug location I can see there are some of these passtroughs located near the location of plug in question. That’s where I am at this point. Don’t know if I should still try and get it started, or because of the water issue, go to plan b. Thank u for ur time with my questions. Ken
11-19-18, 08:15 AM
#4
Depends on if you are seeing coolant or water coming out of the hole. You can remove the plugs and turn the engine over by hand to get water out of it, use a hose and add some oil to the combustion chamber and attempt to start it. Throwing water on the engine however will not allow water to pass through into the engine unless someone dumped water down the carb. If there has been water in the engine for 7 years, expect to have issues with the engine. Once the water is removed, you can try and start it. At this point you have nothing to lose. My guess is that once the engine overheated, a coolant seal failed and the kids attempted to keep the engine cool by adding water to the cooling system only to find that the engine had gotten way too hot and lost a coolant seal, allowing coolant/water to enter the combustion chamber
The following users liked this post:
1952kross (11-19-18)
11-19-18, 08:45 AM
#5
.... My guess is that once the engine overheated, a coolant seal failed and the kids attempted to keep the engine cool by adding water to the cooling system only to find that the engine had gotten way too hot and lost a coolant seal, allowing coolant/water to enter the combustion chamber
Unfortunately, if coolant has been sitting in there for 7 years, there’s going to be some corrosion/rust making those side plates (and possibly rotors) really big door stops.
.... Went to manual from this site and read up on cooling systems. The engine blocks have little holes through block for the antifreeze to travel. Looking at the rear lower plug location I can see there are some of these passtroughs located near the location of plug in question. That’s where I am at this point. Don’t know if I should still try and get it started, or because of the water issue, go to plan b. Thank u for ur time with my questions. Ken
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rotay+cool...ai=REXP3nkDMDk
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rotay+coolant+seal+failure&%3Bt=h_&%3Biax =videos&%3Bia=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=7 jWnGe8N6Ns
This is for the FD, but might also help with a visualization...
Last edited by Sgtblue; 11-19-18 at 09:18 AM.
The following users liked this post:
1952kross (11-19-18)
11-19-18, 05:18 PM
#6
One of a few possible scenarios goes like this ...
... but may also pressurize the system, and ...
As Mazdaverx713b said, you really have nothing to lose if you prep the chambers and try to start it. I happen to agree with the scenario that both our comrades mentioned above (broken coolant seal) and that means a rebuild. However, no added harm in hearing the bloody thing run for a few minutes. I suppose one other way you could confirm is you could pressurize the system with a gauge and see if it bleeds down, then check the chamber again to see if it refilled with water.
My guess is that once the engine overheated, a coolant seal failed and the kids attempted to keep the engine cool by adding water to the cooling system only to find that the engine had gotten way too hot and lost a coolant seal, allowing coolant/water to enter the combustion chamber
As Mazdaverx713b said, you really have nothing to lose if you prep the chambers and try to start it. I happen to agree with the scenario that both our comrades mentioned above (broken coolant seal) and that means a rebuild. However, no added harm in hearing the bloody thing run for a few minutes. I suppose one other way you could confirm is you could pressurize the system with a gauge and see if it bleeds down, then check the chamber again to see if it refilled with water.
The following users liked this post:
1952kross (11-20-18)
11-20-18, 03:37 PM
#7
Just thinking out-loud....if it IS the worse case scenario, the housings might still be good even if the irons and rotors are rusted to crap. What about making really sure the engine turns freely without any unusual resistance with the plugs pulled? Ideally maybe even using a scope to check low in the housing to see what I could see before cranking it? I don't know, like I said...just thinking out-loud. I've never tried to start an engine that sat that long or one that had water coming out of the leading plug hole.
Last edited by Sgtblue; 11-20-18 at 03:49 PM.
Trending Topics
11-22-18, 07:03 AM
#9
I feel as though if the engine were sitting with coolant in the combustion chamber for 7 years, that it would in fact be cheaper to source another used good running engine. The cost it will take to replace the hard parts will far outweigh the cost of finding a good used running engine. Just food for though.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
carl_9_9
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
8
09-12-08 06:07 PM
mdpalmer
3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002)
8
09-10-08 08:16 PM
Buzzardsluck
3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002)
14
07-29-06 07:05 PM
volaju
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
12
01-21-06 04:19 PM
TainoIndian
General Rotary Tech Support
7
05-12-04 07:36 AM