Flooded Car

A friend of mine had his house and car flooded(IKE).I offered to help him work on the car since he will be busy with his house.The car has a 350/350 set up both got water in them.I drained the fluids out, had about 2 quarts of water in engine and trans.Anyone dealt with this before? Can it be flushed or total rebuild? Thanks for any info.

 

How long did it sit with water in it? Was it turned over before fluids were drained?

 

Flood cars can be a nightmare. What Tman said about the engine. The electrical, and the interior can really be a problem. My brother bought a '70 Nova that I had to work on. I chased shit around on that car. Rust in places you would never expect. Like the inside of the steering column. Is the car really something special?

 

If it was on the coast and was salt water, he's f'd. It happened to two of my boats. One had a Buick V6 and the salt etched the crank and insurance totaled it!
The second one didn't get water in the motor, just up all around it. But a year or so later the starter went and the bolts were so rusted into the block we couldn't get them out (this ones was a SBC) Had to cut the transom and take the motor and outdrive out together!
not as bad if it's fresh water but still, If it got in the motor it probably got up in the seat foam, carpets, wiring, wheel bearings etc. etc.

 

It was drained 2 days after the flood and we did not turn it over.The water came up to the bottom of the valve covers.Yes its a nice car worth the time to fix anyway. I removed all the interior already.

 

This probably doesn't help now but you have to act fast. When outboards dunked in salt water they'd be pulled and dunked in fresh tank, the trick was all in all to keep the air away, and quickly strip it. Got to clean parts and scrub off salt. Just scrubbing with fresh water and drying quick is all that's done with electricity.

 

If he really wants to save the car it's going to take more than a flush. You may be able to flush it all, replace the fluids and have the car start and run.

Then the problems begin. As noted a flooded car is simply a nightmare. You didn't mention what sort of car but if it's a car that he truely wants to save the car it needs completely torn down and redone.

Things are going to randomly quit working. It will rust from the inside out. You'll get strange odors. It's not a simple fix.

 

freshwater or saltwater???????

 

Is it a complex car or a simple car? A basic roadster I'd strip down to the bones and wash everything. Something like a Cad or my Jag - walk away

 

storm surge pushed the river over its banks so I think it was mostly fresh.

 

According to how far up the river he was it could still be salt water. If it is then a complete strip down is required and I would dump the wiring. Went to San Leon last week to work on father in Laws house, water hadn't quite reached the ceiling in the garage but anything made of copper had already corroded. Seen quite a few classics on the local Khou that had been flooded.

 

Even if it wasnt salt water flood waters always have fine grit in them. You already know it but i will spell it out. You need to completly take everything apart wash with soapy water and rinse air dry it. I mean every thing engine trans rear end interior everything that got wet must be thouroughly cleaned no if,s and,s or but,s peroid OldWolf

 

thanks guys

 

I would pull the trans and have it run through with new clutches. the vent tube on an auto is lower that the valve covers, and those things HATE water. less than a teaspoon can officially fuck one up beyond repair.

The motor on the other hand, I would run about a gallon of trans fluid through it. ( not running) just fill it up , then drain it. trans fluid has an almost magic quality about pushing water out of places it isn't supposed to be.

 

Trany needs a build for sure, how was the oil in the motor? If it only went to the valve covers there a chance there's no (or little) water in it? Pull the plugs and turn the motor by hand to make sure there's no water in the cylinders and run some trany fluid through it as stated before, then run it, you may have to change the oil a couple times.

 

A little dirty water in the oil may not hurt it, as long as there's none down the top of the motor. Plan to change the oil and filter multiple times once you get it runnable - change it, run it until it gets up to temp, change it again, do that two or three times.

That's what they had me do on a 235 with no filter that somehow had an extra quart and a half of water in the oil when I got it, and I let it run a long time, lot drove the car, it seemed to be fine to me.

 

Good excuse to go flathead 4spd, even if it is a camaro or whatever

 

Don't forget the wheel bearings, rear end and brake fluid...

 

Non Running Flooded Motor. You can see witch valves where closed.

 

Worst problem for water is if the motor was running.It likes to suck it in.Since it was stationary,you might get by with a couple of oil changes.I've heard of people doing it with no problems.

 

A friend got his flooded 67ish Ford P/U back on the road many many years ago after a flood. I remember him having to replace the heater motor when it got cold later that winter. The endless bad connections in the simple wiring harness that had to be disassembled and cleaned. This was a basic 60s truck. I can't imagine what it would be like with the computerized late model cars of today. It would have to be a nightmare. I might pull the drive line so that it could be drained etc. but the rest of the car has to be an eternal headache. Salvage what you can but don't expect to ever get it back to what it was. IMHO