Flood Damage

[Gordon]

Have a bit of a problem I need to solve quite quickly before the mould sets in.

We had a flood on our street during a recent storm which soaked the interior carpeting of our explorer ('96 XLT). The carpeting has since dried, but the underlay is still drenched. I can't lift the carpet enough to dry it out, so that leaves me with only one option... remove the front and rear seats and then the carpeting.

Is this an easy enough task for one to do on their own or should it be taken in to the shop? One of the concerns I have about doing it on my own is dealing with the electrical connection to the seats. I don't want to screw it up and not be able to reassemble it.

Any suggestions?


Regards,

Gordon

 

[Brain]

I've removed the carpeting in my '92 and the biggest issue is where to put the seats and bench when you pull them out. The electical connectors aren't a big deal at all, just a bit of wiggling and pulling with a small screwdirver in the right place to keep a tab raised. You will need a torx (star) bit to remove the front seat bolts. There are covers over all of the seat bolts, four on each front seat, and IIRC there aren't any covers on the rear bench bolts. You will also need to pull the trim to remove/place the carpet, as it gets tucked under there trim pieces (door sill, front kickplates, lower vertical if it's a 4-door, etc.). It helped me on the front seats to remove the front three and outer rear bolt and then tip the seat back to get a better angle on the connections. Also, the center console can be removed without too much pain. There are some pop-off covers and backets - you can search the site for more detail on this (it is common to have to fix a broken armrest bracket).

I would probably hit it with a powerful wet/dry shop vac and then put some wooden blocks under the carpet so that you can get airflow under it, but would stop short of removing it entirely. After it dired out really good, I would hit it with a good carpet cleaner to shampoo more of the grime out of it(Bissel or something else with a handheld attachment head). Flood water usually isn't that clean, is it...

Good Luck fighting the slugde monster

-You can only be SURE of the quality of work if you watch it or do it. Might as well do it.

 

[Crankcase]

Once that underlay is wet...it is basically ruined unless you get it out FAST....The rear seat is the easiest to remove....4-6 bolts or so.... The Torx socket you will need is a T-50 bit...

 

[MONMIX]

either way for the longvity of your truck remove the carpet.
It is not a nightmare of a task, but I would discourage a first timer from undertaking the task.

 

[Gordon]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to take a stab at it on Saturday.

In the event that the underlay needs to be replaced... where does a person go to buy new underlay? Is there a special type that is required or can you use the same stuff used in houses?


Regards,

Gordon