I tipped my mini excavator

[DutchInNZ]

I wonder if a cyl liner could crack with a hydro-lock?

Guess not; liners are thick steel, structurally stronger than e.g. the top of an aluminium piston. The weakest point is the soft, pliable material of the head gasket and in many places that covers just a few millimetres of separation between the cylinder and one of the coolant channels. I suppose that the hammering of repeated starting with a small enough hydrolock (engine oil leaking along the piston?) could make just enough of a leak there to get rid of the blocking liquid but then of course the coolant is sucked in later on.

After 45 minutes running, I doubt that the machine would still blow smoke if it were caused by some diesel from some place. How would that much diesel get there from out of the tank, anyway?

sd455dan is right: check the coolant level and bubbling in the radiator; that is the best indication.

 

[Fixastuff]

Its usually a slightly bent rod or two from this type of thing in diesels. They usually still run but with low power and smoke because that cylinder or two don’t combust properly because they’re isn’t enough compression anymore.

 

[DutchInNZ]

Its usually a slightly bent rod or two from this type of thing in diesels. They usually still run but with low power and smoke because that cylinder or two don’t combust properly because they’re isn’t enough compression anymore.

Compression loss is there in any case because he says there is too low power for the hydraulics. I have seen the effect of a bent rod once before, but not that much smoke as in the pic and not that white in colour, much more greyish, but that can be the colour variation of the photo itself. The running of that bent one also sounded a rougher with one cylinder missing and here he says that it runs well. An expensive repair it is in any case. Hope he comes back and tells us.

 

[AnotherBueller]

When the engine is running and sucks fluid that happens but if the engine was stopped and gets filled with oil then it can’t turn at all.

The damage can be done if it only gets enough liquid in to the next cylinder to enter the compression stroke so that the liquid volume exceeds the TDC volume. That's when things get damaged. Hand crank for enough rotations so that each cylinder goes through 3 or more full cycles. (intake/ compression is one stroke / rotation, then power / exhaust is a second rotation)

 

[AnotherBueller]

I wonder if a cyl liner could crack with a hydro-lock?

Hydro lock happens at Top Dead Center so the weakest stuff valves, pistons and con rods take the damage.

 

[DarkBlack]

It's not the starter motor bending a rod. It's another cylinder firing and bending the compressed rod in another cylinder.

I have to agree with 4570Man, and even though you got 8 “likes”, I don’t see your explanation making sense on this post or your previous saying a valve getting bent by the starter motor.

For a cylinder to hydro lock it has to be on the compression stroke. This means neither valve in the cylinder is trying to open, so no valves getting bent.
Secondly, since the hydro locked cylinder is the cylinder on the compression stroke, which means this cylinder would have been the cylinder to first fire. Depending on the number of cylinders ( mini excavator) probably 3 cylinders max? Then the other 2 cylinders wouldn’t be on the compression stroke, to fire a power stroke.
Lastly, with a hydrolock for the little starter motor to overcome, a single adjacent cylinder burning some diesel at almost 0 rpm’s is going to produce little rotational torque. Crank your tractor for a 1/8 of a second. It doesn’t start, It takes many rotations.

 

[Topzide]

A hot motor can fire off pretty quickly! What if the cylinder was the last to go to compression? There's more info needed to armchair this one. Seeing that the OP has "ghosted" us, we may never know. I just know that when you tip an engine, whether on its side or completely over, give it time to drain fluids back down. Then, before starting, remove spark or glow plugs, pending fuel type. JM2C

 

[DarkBlack]

What if the cylinder was the last to go to compression?

I ruled that out because he stated he tried a few attempts to get it to turn over. That should place a resting engine with the hydro lock cylinder on compression stroke as “First up” on the next restart attempt

 

[DutchInNZ]

Hydro lock happens at Top Dead Center so the weakest stuff valves, pistons and con rods take the damage.

On the net there are a few videos of cars driving at speed through flooded streets and getting a lot of water into the engine intake. They just make it but then you can see them starting blowing thick white smoke out of the exhaust. Those are petrol engines so there is no unburned diesel, so it can only come from a blown gasket. Whether diesel or petrol, the lock effects are the same and valves and pistons are definitely not the weakest in this game. Hydrolock happens when the piston is before top dead centre; if it reaches top dead centre you're safe.

@Fixastuff
You of course may be right, because Indeed, a rod may bend, but that depends on the angle it has on the upstroke. If the lock happens when the piston is halfway, the angle of the rod is greatest so the bending force is at maximum. When the piston is just before the highest point, the force vector is again only lengthwise and in that direction rods don't bend really well. I would not know the effect on the bearings.

 

[deezler]

Here is hoping that muffler is just full of oil and burning it off.

Does the engine sound normal all cylinders firing?

OP said it stalled whenever he tried to flow any hydraulic oil (load the engine). Not a good sign.