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Hydro lock

12K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  Boat Hauler 
#1 · (Edited)
My apologies for this being my first post. I am a small business owner (Agriculture) and own 7 Ford trucks, all powerstroke, 5 are 550 4x4 cab chassis, 1 450 4x4 Dually King Ranch and 1 4x4 350 King Ranch. I have purchased probably 20 trucks since about 1998....all Fords without much problem. Last year I bought two of the trucks, a 550 and the 350, both with the new Scorpion engine. We have blown both engines...the first lost an oil pump and Ford gave me a new engine. The second (3 weeks ago), they said 'Hydro Locked' and they are refusing to pay for it. I am at wits end and do not know what to do at this point. The truck was NOT in water.....there was a light sprinkle that day for maybe 15-20 miles then dry another 25 miles to the farm where the ground was wet but no standing water. I put the truck in 4x4 because the mud was slippery, after 50 yards or so I decided I didn't want to screw up the road and started to back out for maybe 30 yards when the truck quit, almost like running out of fuel, no loud bang or any other noise....just died. When they pulled the engine down, the #2 hole had no piston....gone....you could see the crank, rod and wrist pin but no piston....not even powder. There was about a quarter sized hole in the cylinder into the water jacket. They said the air filter was wet and water in the cylinder which proved I had been in deep water. I have spoken with Ford customer service and everyone else I can think of to no avail. This truck was NOT in water. Any ideas as to what happened or how to proceed before I file an insurance claim?

Thanks for your time,
Larry
 
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#5 ·
Dback.. Good luck in your meeting, if the owner is a wise businessman he will carry a in house warranty, after all u are a good customer, look at your fleet, u have all fords, that says a lot ,i am a project manager/ estimator for our company and I have warranted equipment beyond the original warranty just to keep the customer been our customer and not have him/ her go to the competitor, cause when they go they don't come back, and they have friends,family that goes with them!!!!
 
#8 · (Edited)
OK.....probably no one interested but I did have the meeting today. The dealership owner, service manager and lead mechanic were all present. I was able to get Ford to at least take a second look at it, however, the service manager says that only means that a Ford supervisor will decide whether or not to send a second engineer/inspector out. Service manager says it is unlikely that will happen and even if it does, it's even more unlikely the second inspector would over ride the decision of the first. That means I'm probably looking at an insurance claim and then the insurance co. going after Ford.

Now....here's what the mechanic thinks happened. We had 5 or 6 days of rain and I drive a lot of miles. Forgive me but I don't know any of these technical terms, but "some do hicky" was installed in about 2008 that separated moisture from the intake air. Problem was that it was so efficient a 'service bulletin' issued in the latter part of '08 (I think that's what he told me) warned it 'could' cause this exact problem. So the scenario is....over the course of several days moisture would gather in several pockets in the intake tubes, air filter and filter box. They are designed to allow drain off but can plug for various reasons (insects, debris, etc). The moisture/water would (under normal circumstances) drain, evaporate, cook off or be pulled through the engine and never accumulate enough to effect engine performance. I drive like an old fart (which I am) so when I stopped to put the truck into 4 wheel low and back out, there was water present....4 wheel low required an even higher RPM then normal so the wide open turbo sucked water sufficient enough to cause the hydro lock.

Any comments or thoughts would be appreciate other then I'm an ignorant bastard......that goes without saying.
Thanks

Edit: Also.....I'm leaving tomorrow about noon for an archery elk hunt so if there are any questions, I'll respond when I return.
 
#9 ·
So if this do hicky was installed by ford then and it is what caused the problem then it should be on Ford to fix it. Especially if there is a TSB about it.

One question though. You said this was a scorpion engine. They didn't even come out until late 2010. So how would this do hicky have been installed in 2008?
 
#11 ·
My understanding of what the mechanic said.......The improvement in air intake/water separation was developed and installed back then on the 6.4. The same system, with improvements, is on the scorpion engine. His theory is that while it is improved.....it may not yet be perfect.
 
#12 ·
I get it now. Hahaha Wasn't too clear for me. Either way I think ford would be on the hook for it.
 
#15 ·
Sounds like a whole lot of stupidity going on there... I could see a hydro-lock causing that kind of damage... HOWEVER... If the there was a hole in the cylinder wall into the waterjacket.... I would suspect thats the source of the water. It sounds like you didn't ingest water but simply had a bad block


I locked up my 7.3 atleast 5 times on fuel (bad injectors...long story) but never had that kind of issue. then again different internals.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well, here's the latest. My case was "elevated" three times but when it came to sending a second FSE out to inspect the truck.....ford refused. It has been inspected twice now....once by ford and once by my insurance. I should hear today from the insurance.....it is not a done deal that insurance will pay. I have hired two inspectors to inspect the truck this week......I was told not to take possession of the truck until after those inspections. The law firm handling the 'class action' suit on the 6.0 is a local firm and I did contact them but I doubt they will consider it due to the fact it is just little ole me. I still have no clue what actually happened to this engine......only that I know for a fact it has never been in more then an inch or two of water in it's life (less then one year). Here is a real kick in the crotch......on the trucks 'oasis'......it is now listed by ford as having been "submerged" and they have voided all warranties. Needless to say.....I'm one REALLY happy customer. It's been almost 6 weeks now.

edit: I'm sorry 'poorman' .....yes the head was intact.....banged up some but intact. I don't know what I'm looking at but the valves seemed to be intact also.....I have since read and seen photos of valve problems in this engine that truthfully in the photos I wouldn't have noticed anything had it not been pointed out. I also don't know that a valve problem would lead to this type piston "grenade" anyway......that's why I needed to hire someone.
 
#18 ·
What a pain in the azz. Sorry to hear youre having the headaches you are having. Hopefully it will get resolved in your favor.

Killing time on here with my smart phone.... :)
 
#19 ·
Well this is great.....Insurance is now saying it is mechanical failure and they are not going to pay. I will be able to get a report from them later....I don't yet know what evidence they have. I am going to meet the inspectors I have hired and video the entire thing....hopefully I'll have some photos to post later (provided I have that capability and ability). Any advice from anyone would be appreciated.....I have a business to run and I'm tying up time, money and emotional energy dealing with this thing.

Sorry to bug you guys...
 
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