[Angus]

Hi guys,

Think I've been here before previously under another name years ago... Had to sign up again!
I'm not a petrol head, just come here for your fantastic expertise occasionally when things go awry.
I made the mistake of going through a large puddle yesterday in my 04 plate 307 diesel(it wasn't huge, I'd say around 10") and it was only the passengers side wheel as it was only half way across the road.
Initially the car ran fine but a minute later the anti pollutant light came on and it went into limp mode. I flickedthe ignition on/off to restore drive and another minute later the car seemed to lose more power.
I pulled over and the engine idled very coarsely and sounded to be only on two or three cylinders when revved. I popped the bonnet, the engine was wobbling around on the mounts quite a bit.
I decided to limp home as we were around 5 miles away and it got there ok.
I left it to dry overnight and this morning had another look. The oil dip was black and not milky so I'm hoping the internals remained free of water.
Could this be a case of connection s being wet? I will wait for the rain to stop before giving it a dowsing with wd40 around sensitive areas.
I read that with petrol engines you can have water in the spark plug wells but not sure how this corresponds to diesel engines and glue plugs??

Any help /advice most appreciated on where to look out check before taking it to the garage.

Cheers.

 

[jimmymarsbar]

What size engine?

Does your bouncing engine look and sound like this?

 

[Angus]

No not really. More of a put-put than a clatter. I don't have the engine cover/protector (probably part of the cause!) anymore, so can't See in that video whether there is the same wobbling.
Edit: sorry forgot it is a 2.0

 

[jimmymarsbar]

Check under the car for any loose vacuum pipes - they're small, black, rubber pipes. They can be quite easily knocked off, especially if you've gone through a small lake

 

[Angus]

Nope can't see anything. Where are these pipes exactly? There are some near the passenger foot well bit nothing amiss that I can see.
I have now checked the connectors in the engine bay that I can see and cleaned /wd40'd them. Fuse box too. Doesn't seem to be much water anywhere. The exhaust is quite smoky. Could it be the cat?
The engine sounds like a vw beetle or canal barge engine! Reminds me very much of when I was 18 and my old mini got water in the distributor. Unlike this old dog, that one came back to life very quickly tho...
It doesn't sound too clunky as those parts are broken /bent inside but maybe that my wishful thinking.
It's the rocking in the mounts that disturbs me. What could they be a symptom of? Would a loss of cylinder(s) cause that or something more sinister?

Not sure where else to go with it
..apart from the garage!

Cheers.

 

[Ian Mallett]

Yes a misfire would cause the rocking & shaking. It could be that you've filled the air filter with water, try disconnecting air pipe at the air filter side of the maf sensor (round tube thing just after the air filter housing with one wiring connection) if it runs ok then I'd say your air filter has become a sponge.
Where is the ecu on your car, mine is passenger side in the wheelarch. May be wet in there... ?

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[storeman]

Can't say I've seen anything other than the ABS ECU in the wheel arch on a 307. All the ones I've looked at, the engine ECU is inside the fusebox near the battery. Mind you, I haven't seen every variant of the 307 so it could posiibly be in the wheel arh on some models though it does seem a peculiar place to fit it.

On some 307's, the air intake is low down and can easily scoop water and suck it into the intake. My first guess would also be the air filter.

 

[Ian Mallett]

Mines not in the wheelarch, it's on it (autocorrect) under the bonnet next to the air filter.

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[jimmymarsbar]

You say the exhaust is smokey - what colour is the smoke?

Does the engine make a rhythmic, metallic tapping sound?

Is the car the 90 or 110bhp? Depending on the car, it could be something like the DPF pressure sensors - they are subject to water ingress, and can play up.

The vacuum pipes I mentioned run from the vacuum pump on the "4 o'clock" position on the engine at the gearbox side. They're thin rubber black pipes, and you'll probably find a few running down the forward face of the engine, connected to little black valves that look a bit like asthma inhalers. These are only a push-fit into their respective components, and sometimes they have push-fit connectors joining two bits of pipe. I've known them to come off very easily, and I imagine that a good wave of water can disrupt them.