Help...Bent connector rod with no explanation

**ZMEDIC** · 01-17-2012, 12:21 PM

HELP. I have a bent #6 connector rod on an LS1 engine that has NEVER been over revved, or hydrolocked. It has 140k miles on it uses high octane, has no bent pushrods and NO internal wear in the engine (per the mechanic "'even the cross-hatchs are visable"). I drove it 40 miles at 70 mph or less, parked it, cranked it back up a few days later and it was tapping. Never overheated [COLOR="#FF0000"[/COLOR], never modified, EVERY mechanic has said the same thing... It HAD to have been over-revved. It wasn't and I have had the car for the last 95k miles

**Hi-Po** · 01-17-2012, 12:45 PM

Had it rained the day you parked it and noticed the tapping?

**ZMEDIC** · 01-17-2012, 12:52 PM

Yes, As a matter of fact, It was parked throughout a tropical depression that dumped about 14 inches of rain on it... and this was the first time it had been fired up afterwards

**Hi-Po** · 01-17-2012, 12:56 PM

I've heard of a few cases where water had pooled on the intake and consequently the injectors as well. The water leaks down past the injector seals and pools in the cylinder, creating a hydrolock upon the next start up.

That would be my best guess as to what happened to your rod.

**ZMEDIC** · 01-17-2012, 01:02 PM

Even if the hood had been closed, the car had not been moved during the storm? Is there a fix for this?

**Hi-Po** · 01-17-2012, 01:04 PM

Yes, even with the hood closed.

Fix? R&R the defective rod is the only way to fix the problem if the rod is truly bent. No way around it, sorry.

**ZMEDIC** · 01-17-2012, 01:18 PM

No... A fix for the water problem. I'm already knee deep into fixing the bent rod problem (full rebuild since it was high milage and my mechanic was already in there)

**Hi-Po** · 01-17-2012, 01:26 PM

I'm sure there is and I've probably read it many times over the years; but I can't recall. Try searching around all the forums, I know there are a couple threads started on this issue. Maybe someone resolved the issue.

The fix to me is to park the car inside or under a car port. You can pick up a steel car port from Northern Tool for a few hundred bucks.

**ZMEDIC** · 01-17-2012, 01:32 PM

It's parked in a parking lot at work. I don't have that option

**Firebirdjones** · 01-18-2012, 07:26 AM

Hi-Po is right on the money. Sounds like you hydrolocked the engine without knowing it. Simply cranking the starter with some water in the cylinder will bend the rod.

I've read this a few times, seems water passes the hood/cowl seal, and since the engine is half way under the cowl it drips right down on the middle of the intake manifold. Evidently people have had injector 0-rings that aren't sealing completely. If you've ever noticed water on top of an LS1 engine, it will pool around the injectors. Then the logical path is through the intake runner into the cylinder.

I don't see any other way for water to enter the engine if it's just sitting in a rain storm other than the explanation above, and this has happened to more than one person so this doesn't seem to be an unusual circumstance.

I see two problems with this issue. A cowl seal that's not doing it's job and an injector o-ring seal that's not doing it's job. Damage is done now though so you are past a cure and need an engine repair or replacement. Unfortunately no one finds this out till it's too late.

I got perinoid when I first read this stuff a couple years back so I hit the cowl area on ours with a pressure washer while the hood was shut, then popped the hood to see if I had gotten the intake wet. I figure if I couldn't force water past the hood seal I was golden

That's how I checked it.

After you repair/replace the engine, I'd take a good look at that cowl seal and the entire cowl area and find the source of the water leak. Until then you can lay a sheet of plastic over the new engine to prevent any further mishaps. Just remember to remove it before you drive away