What Is A Hydro Locked Engine AND Can You Fix It? (hydraulic)
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Hydraulic engine? NOPE! Hydro-locked engine…What is hydro-locked? How do you know if your engine is hydrolocked? What are the symptoms? What type of fluids cause it? How to prevent hydrolocking? AND YES it's easy to fix!! Steve has all the answers for ALL THINGS HYDRO-LOCKING…WATCH NOW!!
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When storing engine for extended period of time, would you recommend, engineered fuel, regular fuel with sta-bil or running carburetor completely dry?
@@kcrowe8583 run the carb dry!
April asked me to fill in for Steve today! ☮✌🏻
Hands down Steve has the best small engine site on the web!
Thank You...
A common hydro-lock situation occurs when the carb float needle does not seat properly, and allows fuel to fill the cylinder/crankcase/etc. A common occurrence in gravity-fed fuel systems on small engines.
Happens to my riding mower all the time. I just added a fuel cutoff and a prime bulb.
If anyone's engine hydro-locks that way, in addition to correcting the issue causing the fuel leaking into the cylinder(s), the oil ought to be changed immediately because it is now most likely now a diluted oil and gasoline mix (and I think I'd squirt some motor oil in the cylinder(s) and turn the engine over a couple times before reinstalling the spark plugs so the rings and cylinder wall have some lubrication before starting the engine).
After watching your video about tipping a lawnmower over I learned the term hydro-locked. I will now go out and attempt to report my lawnmower. Thanks so much for this information. Fantastic videos.
Glad to help
thank you. i was having trouble cranking my little 4 stroke cadet BC490. pulled the plug, cranked it over about 5 times....no oil came out. put the plug back in and it started on the second pull. thanks again for sharing this. now if i could just figure out why i'm getting so much oil coming out the filter/breather. drips pretty steady.
Hydro Lock can also happen if Ethanol in the fuel has absorbed water, so the water is causing it. The carb bowl, if stored too long with Ethanol gas, can absorb water and the water can prevent the engine from starting. Same with the gas tank. That water can also ruin a metal gas tank and foul up a carb bowl, jets and other internals. Not that you don't know this, but they weren't mentioned. Evapo-Rust ER012 Super Safe can repair a rusted gas tank, if the rust hasn't eaten through. Another great one, Steve and April. I'm enjoying these duo team videos.
My John Deere D100 series had a bad head gasket after 75 hours of use, it smoked on throttle and on back throttle and ran like crap and would stall out. Fixed that and adjusted the valves. that 4 stroke mower was hydro-locked after putting an after market carb on before I knew the head gasket was bad. I could hear the slush turning the top flywheel by hand after 4 attempts to start it up. The solenoid that screwed into the bottom of the after market carb bowl went bad and flooded the oil crankcase. I had to tilt the mower and drain the crankcase completely and let it air out for a good day. I put the original carb on, filled the oil back up ran fine. I'm sure the crankcase is clean as a pin after the gas removed most of the carbon build up
I've done dumb stuff before too Steve. The only thing I can say about it, is that I was tired and in a hurry. I'm 70 now, but that's how I learned what not to do from my young twenties. 👍💥💥
Love your RUclips channel! Easily one of the most informative channels for these topics out there! Cheers mates from Australia!
Much appreciated!
I'm glad I found this video. I have an old Snapper riding mower that I have been treating very well for a few years. One day it worked and the next day it was just locked up. The last time I used it nothing weird happened, and no funny sounds. I could not figure out what it was. Honestly I washed it with my pressure washer, but I never sprayed at the engine though. I just figured it had to do with that. Well I will be working on it tomorrow, and I will come back and leave an update. Thanks guys
Thanks!
Thank You...
Thank you for such a clear explanation of what the cause, symptom and solution is to a hydro locked engine.
You're Welcome...
Great advice Steve.
Steve and April thanks again for your very helpful videos. I went back and watched the vid on tipping over lawnmower and found it very helpful also. April love your smile and laugh. Keep up the helpful content.
Just commented on your other vid about tipping over, b4 i saw this. Glad i had the sence to do just that, pull the cord without the plug in
Great info SteveO! Always on top of the issues! Keep ‘em coming . Cheers 🍻 Steve and April Out!
Thanks for your videos they help me when I'm in a pinch....like now. I thought my engine was hydro locked because the pull rope only comes out abut 1.5 feet. Removed the plug, the pull rope works properly, comes all the way out and cycles the engine, nothing is pushed out of the spark plug hole. Replaced the plug, pull rope only comes out 1.5 feet. Wondering if there's some sludge in the cylinder. Any thoughts? Spark plug is the proper plug for the machine.
I’m having this same problem. Thought it was the valves. I took the head off. Cleaned and adjusted them. Put everything back together and it’s locked with the spark plug in and pulls fine with it out.
Hello brother Steve my question is how can I get my Stihl chainsaw 029 model to start up Easier it takes a long time for the fuel to get to the carb
My mate has just fixed my hydro locked mk4 golf 😊
Hi April and Steve , cheers guys .
I watch all your videos. This has to be my all time favourite. So entertaining. I was laughing all the way through. But at the same time, super informative for me. Learned something again. Thanks Steve and April
Glad you enjoyed it
Great questions April😊
Love,Love, Love, Love April!
Very good explanation, can you do a video of taking a stihl weed eater apart and correcting the hydro lock
I think I saw that FB group post! Another suggestion I learned is that if you got a hydro locked engine, just take out the spark plug, and use a straw to suck out the liquids, very easy fix.
I hydro locked my stump grinder when it threw a belt and I tilted it back . I took my spark plug out it covered my building with oil
Thank you for your videos. Saved me time and a ton of money. Kudos!😊❤
I'm so glad!
Always Like This Awesome Info.
April's Small Engine Saloon..Is Awesome.😀😀😀😀😀😀Richard.
Last weekend My neighbour at our Summer/weekend home asked me if I could take a look a his lawn tractor, he could not get it to run, it would try to crank but no manage to.. He told me that he had turned it on its side to sort out a rope that had ended up in the mower deck.. Having seen a few of these "how to tip your (walk behind) mower over" videos (this channel and Donyboy73 comes to mind) I reasoned that it could also happen with a lawn tractor.. I removed a very wet spark plug, and while I was waiting for my neighbour to find a 12v battery that we could hook up to the lawn tractor, I turned the engine (single cylinder Briggs & Stratton) by hand and oil came pouring out the spark plug hole.. I'm glad I did this, as it was a lot less messy than if all that oil had been forced out by the moving piston. When we got it running it did in deed smoke like CRAZY!!
You two make me laugh out loud. But the info greatly appreciated ✔️👍. From Melbourne AUSTRALIA 👍🤠
Hi Steve. I'm Fred from Australia. Came across your you tube channel and love it. So much information and ive learnt a lot. I have a 8HP Honda engine on a slasher. Impossible to turn it over and always stored in the shed. It's hydro locked, as i can't pull the cord. So is it most likely fuel leaking into the cylinder? Oil level is fine. So it has to be fuel? In which case, is is the carburettor leaking? How do i fix it? Much appreciated
Your right steve some people give bad advice just for laugh. Takes all kinds to make the world i guess. Thanks for your expertise.
Right on
Hi Steve. You have a great way of teaching. I have a Tecumseh on my lawn mower. What is the proper level of engine oil--do I read the dipstick when it is inserted to the start of the threads or read it after screwing it all the way down and then removing it. The difference is probably 3/4 of an inch. Thanks in advance.
Great video!
Thanks!
I have a power washer with a small Honda engine. I think it’s a 190 cc. When I filled it up with gas today, I could barely pull the engine over. Do you think my carburetor is leaking fuel into the engine? Ran fine last night.
Thank you so much for the information and teaching skills. Great video sir. 👍😎🇺🇸
You are very welcome
Informative video. Thank you.
You're welcome
I'm not sure if "hydrolock" is my problem, but I removed and replaced the valve cover on my Honda mower, to fix the "O"
ring oil leak problem common on Honda. That is now fixed, but my mower will not run if the spark plug is tightened. The spark
plug must be just threaded in slightly for the pull cord to work, and the engine to run. It runs and mows fine, but not with the
plug even finger tightened.
That was a hilarious story! Thanks for the entertaining and educational video!
Our pleasure!
Good one brother. I’m drinking shiner.
Hi Steve, I have an old snapper power plug (aerator) that I had for over a century and now has seized. I can't pull the starter coil. There were a few oil ports that I hadn't noriced. Can I unseize the machine, and if so, where should I start?
Good to know steve😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Awesome video you guys. Great information! Thanks. 😊
Our pleasure!
Yep i just put a clone carb on my walk behind trimmer and now have this problem . The needle does not seat properly and the cylinder fills up with fuel.
I have a echo cs 310 started smoking with 4 min idling. So i shut off. Took chain /bar off. N looks like its frozen. Cant pull string to start. Ive used it maybe 3 times. To cut some twigs. Got it fot x mas. Any tips. Do i return to echo. ???
hey can i add electric start to a power washer
Thank you for the video 😊
You're Welcome...
Can a bad head gasket cause hydro lock with antifreeze or would the break in the gasket allow the fluids back out?
Why am I guessing that it was very, very, very, shortly after that incident with his boss's wife that Steve "decided" he'd better open his own repair shop? That said I love this podcast and as an ex lawnmower/chainsaw/snowblower mechanic I can assure you that the advice you get here is always good!
a good answer to a question there Steve and April and yep Hydro-locked engine is a dead easy fix and even a good amount of WD.40 can also free it up if it.s locked up from very old 2 stroke or even 4 stroke mixtures if it,s frozen stuck in a place etc.
Question will carbon build up cause this too
'Somehow' I sank a 1200cc 2 stroker Waverunner while it was running. Pulled the plugs turned the motor the water hit the 12 foot ceiling above and a couple of fish were flapping on the floor. It started then ran it for an hour WOT in the bay to boil out the rest of the water. All is good.
I recently had that happen on a Honda gx 390 had to drain all the oil in crankcase it was filled with fuel also.
How do you tell if you have a hydro-lock or a compression release problem, I can pull my starter cord about 10” and that’s it, if I pull REAL hard I can pull the cord to start motor but on the verge of snapping the cord. Thank you, Kevin
If you get an answer let me know I have a sthil blower doing as you described
Nice job Steven 🇺🇲
Thank You...
I have a small 3hp 2-stroke outboard and laid it on its side once without turning the fuel off and filled up the cylinder with fuel. Did not have my spark plug wrench so had to go through various gyrations and string pulling to get the fuel of the cylinder. After a half hour of messing around I got it to turn over and then fire up
Thanks April and Steve :-)
You're Welcome...
I’m having this same problem. Thought it was the valves. I took the head off. Cleaned and adjusted them. Put everything back together and it’s locked with the spark plug in and pulls fine with it out.
Okay thank you very much I thought my Briggs & Stratton engine it's a 14.5 horsepower was bad but I guess it's the carburetor that did it for me, I did not tip the engine I just don't think I set the pin in right and so it fired up turned on for about a second and then shut back off and then it was starting to hide or lock it wouldn't like turn over anymore, even on a fully charged brand new battery, I thought my engine was toast
Thanks, guys, for the info. Cheers❤ and story.
Our pleasure!
Be careful - you can damage a hydro-locked engine if it is a twin cylinder unit. If one cylinder is hydro-locked but the other fires normally the power stroke could seriously damage the crank or con rods of the locked cylinder. That's why car engines with multi cyliners will be seriously damged by driving into deep water.
Agreed!
This can also happen if the crankcase is grossly overfilled with oil. This will prevent the piston from going down. One of my neighbor's did that to his push mower. He's not a great handy man !
I believe hydro locked is a short form for hydraulically locked. Hydraulics involved fluids such as oil, gas, and water etc. So, an engine can be hydraulically locked by coming into the compression stroke with liquid above the piston.
If you hydrolock an engine would you recommend putting a new spark plug in?
I loaned my tiller to my neighbor when he returned i just told him to put it in my shed. I didn't look at it for a few weeks so when i went to start it i saw he had parked it with the cyclinder facing down. Sure enough it was locked when i tried to start it. Simple fix though just pull the plug pull the rope be sure no one is in the way ; )
Can you cause a hydrolock by using ether?
Wow that was nice
How do you fix a hydro liked engine that you cant turn over
I had a v 6 ford that blew a head gasket. It hydra locked on #2 cylinder and bent the rod
I've got a hydro locked stihl ms441c
I’m going through this now flooded by my job in water got in, I see a lot of people say take out spark plugs
Could hydro lock bend the connecting Rod?😢
How do I get one of those hoodies?
When in doubt, pull the plug, spin it over and put it back in. Just don't look down the hole while spinning it!!
Marine engines can be hydro locked by water from outside the hull backing up through the exhaust. A lot of different scenarios can happen, all of them messy and expensive.
Hydrolock for hydraulic lock, which can happen in other hydraulic systems, too.
How does one get the links you mentioned
In the "description" section for the video.
We all STIHL know who the real "SmokeShow" is! 😍
Great vid
Thank You...
Hydro locked for me is when I go out on the course and retrieve a machine that’s been up ended and the oil made its way to top of pistons . 3 cylinder diesel . Don’t try to start you can bend connecting rods . I usually give it a quick click and see it kick back . Take to shop and remove the glow plugs and keep face away from openings because just rolling it over by hand will send the oil 13.5 feet lol probably more ,that’s just how high my ceilings where at the last shop . Small water cooled I’d just pull plug and same roll over by hand .If anti freeze shoots out if your lucky it’s just a head gasket.😂😢😮😅
Hey Steve and Mrs. April, how are you. This is my question. What’s the difference between regular oil, semi-Synthetic, and full Synthetic, everyone has a different answer.
Oh ya I have a good hydro lock story with fuel shooting out of the spark plug hole…😂
how about coolant?
nice explanation, however you for got the most important.
BEER does not compress.🤣
April is so pretty!
I agree!
What kind of beer should be used on a hydrolock?
This tale reminds me of a Three Stooges Episode when Curly was having a bowl of clam chowder inclusive of the shells and a sassy clam kept squirting Curly in the eyes whenever he moved his head closer to the bowl. 😂
Right on
👍👍👍Thank you
You're Welcome...
I believe that the hydro in hydro-locked is referring to water. From water getting into cylinders when a head gasket goes on a water cooled engine or being drawn into the cylinder from driving in deep water, usually resulting in bent con rods.
What are the fluids that are likely to lock an engine ? Oil, fuel and water.
Hydro - from the ancient Greek word meaning water.
Good stuff, but one slight technical detail. Gases and liquids are both fluids. Gases are compressible and liquids are not.
Thank you for your thank you for your urine movies. Very nice I have a question for you. 113 hp Honda engine what is inside the spark plug boot like a small capacitor and one is a four he could help me out. It’s a 13 hp not 113 named Al thank you.
I get hydrolocks *often* with my small motors. It happens every time it rains hard. Yet Somehow, it self-resolves! I tug on the rope a few times and eventually it moves again
It's not uncommon to hydro-lock a 2-stroke engine with water.
Aussie surf lifesavers use 20hp outboard engines on inflatable rescue boats. Every time they flip, they tend to ingest water and become locked.
Easy to fix once the plug's out. We had a few engines going strong which drank seawater regularly!
Hydro comes from the Greek word water. As to engines I believe it refers to any liquid as you mentioned.
After you've pulled the plug make sure that you disable the ignition wire. If your cylinder is full of gasoline you may have just created an excellent flamethrower.
I actually did that I pulled the cord and the ignition grounded and the spark caught my lawn mower on fire inside m garage. Fortunately I had a fire extinguisher handy.
Hydro locked means blocked by a liquid...comes from the Greec language...liquid in greec means "υγρό", prononce hygro
Hydraulic, hydrostatic, both use hydro as a root. The first hydraulic fluid used was water, thus "hydro".
When I saw the title I thought "oh oh oh pick me, I know this one" 🤣🤣🤣
I always call it oil flooded from turnning the engine on the wrong side on 4 cycle that same if it mixed with oil and gas! In fact going to back in the day going briggs update school that is how said it. Hydro - lock is the same thing and other way saiying that it has to much oil or gas and oil on top of the piston.
Actually, 4 strokes can hydro lock also, especially horizontal v twin engines like used on zero turn mowers. I’ve got a toro zero turn with a 21 hp Kawasaki on it and it will fill the engine with gas over the winter if I don’t turn off the gas valve between the tanks and the carb. So much gas was in the engine it filled the crankcase until it went through the rings in the one cylinder with an open exhaust valve and then filled to muffler with gas too. It hydro locked big time, oil was so diluted there was more gas in the crankcase than oil.
The first thumbs up!