First Landing Auto Care at Shore Drive Shell

Last Thursday’s rain was impressive. At the Shore Drive Shell intersection, the water backs up and creates a lake that brings traffic to a near stand-still. But there are those who, for whatever reason, feel that they need to try to forge on through the water. Those who try to do it at high speed create a wave that flows over their hood. Some make it, some don’t. If you’re lucky, it just drowns the ignition and the car dies, then lives to run another day. But Thursday afternoon we ended up with three cars that had actually ingested water through the intake. When that happens, the rapidly moving piston slams into the non-compressible water and it’s like a sledge hammer hits the relatively fragile metal parts. If you are very lucky, we can take out the spark plugs, crank the starter to remove the water and the motor struggles back to life. In the case of two of these cars, however, the damage was extreme. After we removed the water from a Ford Taurus, it started up with a terrible metallic clatter and ended up tossing a connecting rod through the block. I don’t know how to tell you when the water is too deep. Some cars are more susceptible to high water than others, but you should consider the possible consequences before you dive in.