I recently went mudding for the first time in my 04' FX4. All went well until I hit a particularly deep hole and water came up over the hood. I came out of it ok but soon after it started to sputter and hesitate when idling and accelerating. I figured I just got water in the engine, I checked the stock air filter and it was soaked so I replaced with K&N filter. The engine seems to be running ok now but the check engine light is now on and I don't know if there could be something deeper wrong that I am not aware of. Can anyone help?

 

go get a test ran at autozone. find out what the code is that is makin the CEL appear.

Next you are offroading you need to check the water depth i almost did this 2 weeks ago.

After i was out of the hole I immediately turned off the truck and popped the hood to check the air box for water. If water made it to the air box or filter you should not start the truck agian.

Best bet would be to remove the spark plugs and turn the truck over and it will clean out any water.

Id change your oil, trans fluid, diff fluids, spark plugs and wires, then disconnect all the wires under the truck and make sure all the connections are dry!

 

might have gotten something in the ignition yet. might not have just driven enough for the light to go off. unhook the battery for 10 minutes or so and see if the light comes back on or not.

is the truck still acting up? if it is get the codes read. if not just clear them and if the light comes back on, get the codes read.

 

i bet you got 1 or more ignition coils wet and its not firing on all cylinders.

 

If the engine is running fine now, it probably just needs to have the code cleared:

Disconnect battery and turn headlights on (this will diminish any residual power left). Leave it disconnected for 10-15 minutes, then try it out.

If you are noticing a misfire, one of your coils is wet/got wet/needs replacing.

 

thanks, for all the info. I will try unhooking the battery and see if that fixes the problem. I'll let you know.