possibility of damage from rinsing truck?

Hello TW, The other weekend i came back from a trail ride that was a little bit muddy and as i always do i spray down the mud off the truck and underside as soon as i get home. But this time i noticed as i was spraying in the front wheel well i had gotten some water into the opening between the two fender-engine bay curtain guards ( i have no idea why they designed the opening to be there) that leads to where the exhaust/catalytic converter system meets the engine and heard some hissing and subsequent steam. I didint think much of it until i heard an audible but faint 'crack' or 'tick' noise. Now im worried i might've cracked my block or head deep inside from shock cooling the area with water. can anyone give any insight? thanks.

 

Fire it up and find out

 

I second that. Though I doubt you hurt anything

 

Probably just heard the exhaust creaking. I’ve always heard you should never spray a hot engine and I’m sure it’s a good practice, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually having damage from it. Think of it this way, no one worries about it when they go charging into a mud hole or crossing a stream so what’s the difference?

 

It’s fine. Steam from water hitting hot parts, noises were the hot parts contracting from rapid cooling. When metal things are hot they expand a litttle, when they are cooled they contract.

 

I am not a mechanic or an engineer but when I saw that opening I thought that that would be a good spot for water to exit the engine compartment when water comes in the grill when making a deep water crossing.

 

I've done the same after the 2 mile ride on the dirt road i live off. Its been very muddy with deep ruts seeing my truck covered with thick brown mud every time the frost comes out of the road. The other day the truck was a steam machine when i hosed all the mud off the chassis soon as i got home....didn't sound good either, but i couldn't take anymore looking at all that mud. So far all has been ok...i suspect your truck the same.

 

You haven't cracked anything.
Cracking and ticking noises are completely normal on any cooling engine, whether you've rinsed it or not.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/front-wheel-well-splash-guards.496260/

 

I guess you have to start somewhere, how do you think it survives a big rain storm while driving ?

 

You're more likely to have your rear brake drums lock up if you do a serious rinse and leave your parking brake on.

 

That engine will see far more cold water when driving during a cold rain and so on then you will ever spray on it. Most of that water hit the manifold and converters which is an absolute "who cares"

The noises are the exhaust because water rapid cooled some spots.

You'd be loosing your mind if you lived where we get snow and such. Make all kind of noises when you park it after driving home in a snow storm or when it's seriously cold.

 

I agree and also think it's an air-flow thing too; lets air enter through the grill and exit through the wheel wells.

To the OP, you're fine and I doubt you hurt anything. Good on you for keeping your truck clean

 

I have seen my share of cracked exhaust manifolds, so I always leave the engine running and avoid direct water spray on those hot engine components.
And cracking noises are never a good sign IMO, as you usually don’t find out immediately of a hair line crack in the exhaust system till months later, after you’ve forgotten all about the deep water excursion but are left wondering why the manifold cracked.

That being said, no sense in worrying about it now, as there may not be any damage at all.

Just be mindful, use common sense when washing or traversing into deep water. Slow down and don’t be like the mall idiots that just barrel thru flooded streets to show off their lift, all that water splashing all over is not a good thing.

 

Spraying water on an engine will not cause things to crack or break. You can mess up electrical connections if you hit them with high pressure water but that is just common sense. The sounds of an engine / exhaust cooling when sprayed with water will have 'tinks' and other noises...all normal. What do you think happens when you're driving down the highway and you come across a sudden downpour?

Crank it up and move on. You should be good to go. If it drives or runs funny, just take it to a mechanic and let them look at it.

 

How do i know if its toast? Like a crack between cooling channels

 

Check your oil level. If it is at the same level as it was post-oil change, then you don't have a cracked block. The only other place for it to go is on the ground and you would see that.

Sorry but you don't have any issues with damage due to spraying water. If you cracked a block it is because you did something while playing in the mud.

 

Eh, i try to keep it clean but i cant seem to get everything, seems as if there are so many crevices and nooks on this truck for dirt to just keep coming out of.

 

I did however go thru a puddle that was about mid tire deep on one of the first trail rides i did but later saw evidence of splashing up to about 12 inches above that point in the engine bay

 

No offense but I'm done here. Good luck. I hope you figure out that all is ok.