r/Jeep • u/geologymule • 6h ago
Technical Question Had a bad day...need advice.
EDIT - I got two videos in the comments.
Went on an easy ride and I overheated, brake line exploded, and I think I got water in my engine.
Back story: I had some overheating problems off road a couple years ago, and then when it started overheating on-road I got a water pump replaced. I've only been driving it on-road since then and no overheating problems. This past weekend I decide to go off-roading. There is a long steep climb on pavement to get to the trail. I started over heating right at the top. I pulled over for a few minutes and let it cool down. Then I went on a fairly flat and easy trail ride.
I have a snorkel and thought I'd hit a few little mud holes. I went through them no problem...then there was the last one. I have it on my dash cam, but I can't upload the video in the post. I get halfway through and it shuts off. Takes me a second to crank it. Based on the video it looks like the air filter area was wet. So It takes a few tries and it cranks, then takes me a few seconds to get out of the hole. I think it is odd that it died because I have a snorkel. I didn't think about water getting in the intake. I was thinking more about a short or back pressure or something with the tail pipe underwater....never had this happen so I wasn't sure what was going in.
Warning lights are beeping...I don't even remember which ones. The check engine light is always on because of the emissions. I am not too far away from pavement and decide to start heading back. I start running warmer than normal. Shortly after I hear a loud squeaking noise from my tire. When i go to hit my brakes....there were none. I get stopped with my hand brake and it looks like my brake line exploded. At this point I put it in low range to help get me out since I have no brakes.
I get ALMOST to the pavement...two small hills, and I'm overheating bad. Three side by sides were coming up on me and I was at a wide spot in the trail. I pulled over to let them pass, turned the engine off to cool down for a little bit.....then she never restarted. I would turn the key and get one "Click". Had to get my wife to bring my Gladiator and I had to tow myself to the pavement. i got it towed home.
I started running everything through my head what happened, so I got curious and popped open my air filter. It was wet and somewhat muddy. You can see in the pics that it looks like it went into my engine. Does it look like water got in my engine to you? It did run 10-15 minutes after it shut down the first time.
If you were me, what would your next step be? 2008 JKU. 250K. Overall it was in good condition. Now I'm looking at maybe a busted engine, busted brakes, and some overheating problem I don't know where to attack.