Update II

Garage report that the timing belt has jumped 3 notches although they can't confirm as yet that water damage (bent con-rod) hasn't still taken place.

The other news is that the offside wishbone is bent which suggests to me the water was deeper on the right hand side than I was expecting and also explains why the Stilo started to turn clockwise (spring is also broken on this side)

However, there's less under-car damage on the nearside than I first thought (side protection tray is still intact).

Should know the final good/bad news tomorrow

fingers crossed for you buddy

...and the Stilo survived too!

The only problem with the engine turned out to be 3 teeth jumped on the timing belt - and it's now back to full performance. :spin: How the cambelt jumped 3 teeth I simply can't explain though.

It's certainly good to have it back. Was a bit like meeting an old friend again - you'd thought you'd lost forever.

First job was to re-visit the scene and retrieve the undertray - which I've dully done



Here you can see the debris field (I could pick up bits of the smashed offside protection tray from the verge) - remember most of this was underwater at the time. As you can see, there's not actually a bank, as I first thought, but really just a hedge and a tree in the distance. The Stilo is parked at the point I finally lost control and spun out.



Here you can see the airbox was half full of water at one point and also gives a good idea of the steep angle the car was laying. It's difficult to get a true idea of just how deep the water was looking at the picture but I don't think I'll forget in a hurry:

• Fishing around in the glove box amongst floating papers to find the number for the recovery company (as it happened I didn't need them)
• Trying to retrieve the tow hook from the toolbox when it was actually underwater!

It's not completely over as I still need to resolve the bent lower wishbone, broken spring (I'll change both of course) and smashed side tray. There's no body damage at all which is mighty fortunate.

Of course, I could have avoided the entire incident if I'd been in less of a hurry and driven a lot slower

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Argonought said:

The only problem with the engine turned out to be 3 teeth jumped on the timing belt - and it's now back to full performance. :spin: How the cambelt jumped 3 teeth I simply can't explain though.

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Glad it's not as bad as first thought.

Hope you haven't bent any valves with the belt being 3 teeth adrift.

Argonought said:

Trying to retrieve the tow hook from the toolbox when it was actually underwater!

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Always keep my tow hook in the glovebox. Ground a point on the end of it so I can use it to break a window if ever I'm really under water.

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Davren said:

Hope you haven't bent any valves with the belt being 3 teeth adrift.

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It sure sounded like the valves were tapping the pistons which was exactly the reason I guessed it might have been a timing problem. Can't really see how you'd get full performance from bent valves though (and of course they'd ALL be bent)

Any idea why it slipped though

Always keep my tow hook in the glovebox. Ground a point on the end of it so I can use it to break a window if ever I'm really under water.

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Sounds a good idea

Funny enough I keep a nose clip in the glovebox (which was most likely underwater too )

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

If the timing is out a few teeth and the valves touch the tops of the pistons, the valve heads could be bent. Having corrected the timing and running the engine, the valves straighten each time they close onto the valve seats so you get full compression, and the engine seems to be OK. After a while, the continued straightening and bending of the valve heads (metal fatigue) can cause them to snap off, at which point it's probably new engine time.

If there's a possibility that the valves have touched the pistons, the garage should have suggested taking the head off to check the valves before doing anything else, but as this would increase the cost too much, some garages don't suggest it, and if they do, some owners decline it.

I've never heard of this happening to a JTD engine, so just pointing out the possibility.

No idea why the belt slipped, unless something (a stone?) got between one of the pulleys and the belt.
.

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Davren said:

No idea why the belt slipped, unless something (a stone?) got between one of the pulleys and the belt.

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Thanks for the explanation Dave; guess I'd never though of valves being that flexible.

Is the timing belt exposed once the lower offside side tray is removed (smashed in my case). I thought a mix of water/mud/stones might have entered that way but the garage say that's impossible as the timing belt is sealed within a separate cover.

I was a bit surprised by this as isn't the water pump in that area (which I know can take out the timing belt) ?

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

As well as the side tray, there's also a plastic cover over the timing belt, but it's not completely sealed at the bottom.

The water pump is higher up on the engine and would only cause the belt to slip if it seized or the bearing went.

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Wow. That was such a near miss, glad you're OK!

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Steve148 said:

Wow. That was such a near miss, glad you're OK!

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Thanks Steve

I've just checked out the prices of the lower wishbone and springs on eBay.

...which has made me feel a lot better

Re: ...and the Stilo survived too!

Argonought said:

Thanks Steve

I've just checked out the prices of the lower wishbone and springs on eBay.

...which has made me feel a lot better

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Yeah, but remember this... https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/314564-front-wishbone-service-life-second-opinion-please.html

I have replaced my wishbones 3 times now - once with eBay rubbish that allowed visible forward-backward movement of the wheel, then again with 'quality' items from Shop4Parts which failed within 20,000 miles, and then again with Andrew Page trade parts installed by a garage.

It would've been cheaper, and safer, to go straight to OEM stock...

Final update on this saga!

Thanks for that Steve, In the end I chose high quality components and haven't regretted it

UPDATE

The Stilo is now 100% back to normal. The whole incident basically cost me something like £800 although it's fair to say the car's in better condition now than before (due to new springs etc)

Aquaplaning and sliding along the verge caused:
Bent wishbone
Broken front spring
Drop-link rubber protector split.
Entire off-side undertray protection destroyed which in turn likely allowed thrown up debris to cause the cam belt to slip 3 notches.

Half submerging the Stilo in a large ditch of water caused:
Destruction of the air-bag control module and OCS mat. The undertray was still on at this point but the act of reversing the Stilo out caused it to be ripped off so this needed replacing too.

However, the biggest problem was extracting all the water from the carpet and sound deadening material. Initially I didn't think this was going to be such a problem but it took something like 3 months to get it completely dry after perhaps as much as 2 gallons had been removed (using mainly a dehumidifier.)

So if there's any chance of getting water inside your Stilo then all I can say is don't risk it :bang:

The good news out of all this is that the engine escaped any damage and runs as sweet and powerfully as ever Perhaps rather surprisingly the car doesn't smell either

Wow, what a read. Glad to see the Fiat back in action.

And I'll use this topic to silence any future Fiat critics regarding durability and toughness. Quite an event for a JTD and it soldiers on.

Nothing stops a JTD. Soviet T-90 tanks flee when they see us coming.