re: Flood Waters

[RobAtPace]

hey guys... (and girls)... i have been a member of the online 4x4 community for a few years (owned my explorer for over 6 years...)

basically my story...


going thru the baja's of tottenville (in staten island, NY) and unfortuneatly flash flooding happens (the weekend of 3+ feet of snow melting via 3 inches of falling rain)...

no problems treading thru 8-12 inches of flood bc i am abit higher then normal explorers... as i proceed i see more water... looked about 8 inches or so -- it was a paved road... WRONG!!

as i begin my drive thru it, i suddenly notice the pitch of the road is getting freakin ridiculous... no more then 6-8 feet of treading thru the water, i realized i needed a captains licesne... my front bumper was sumerged, and the water was upto my door sills... i quickly debate backing up, but the change in throttle might stall me in the flood waters...

SLURP ... engine stalls.. she wont start since the lovely starter is sumerged.

i had to do a dukes of hazard and slide out my windows bc i didnt want run off pouring into my truck... i am f*cked... i am 6'4 260 pounds... fitting thru this window (with rain guards, making it even smaller).

i land into the water, thigh high... has to be like 3.5 - 4 feet worth of it... i pushed the truck to safty... said a prayer... turned the key... nothing... starter was soaked as was everything else...

i wait hours, finally giving up and locking her up and walking .5 mile thru other flooded streets to my house...

i go back sunday (day later) and dismantle the air box and check out what that SLURP was... yep... my engine slurped some water...
the filter was soaked, the tube with connects the air box to the engine was nice and wet still... i smirk, walk back to my (parents) honda oddessy and drive back home...


i do some research and realize that i should also check out my oil and tranny stick for ***** and giggles... yep, fluid levels are abit higher and runnier... F*CK #2...

i call AAA to get it towed back home, i call my friends pop, a NYC mechanic and tell him my story... he laughs and says not to worry...



remove the distributor cap... the spark plugs...

drop the oil pan and drain and change all the fluids...

get some dry gas incase water got to your fuel lines...

dry out the starter and maybe try to find a junked explorer and pull a starter from that one just for a temporary starter to see if the engine works... (i suppose his humor in it is why drop 130 bucks for a rebuilt starter when the engine could have been toasted...)

leave the truck opened up for a day or two to let it drip and air dry...

say a prayer and put her back together....



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my question to you guys... any recommendations?
any previous encounters with thirsty engines?
what did you guys do?

i also read about the differntials and the vent houses... i will take a look into that as well...

thanks... pray for the exploder... an excellent truck until mother nature decided to screw around with me...

 

[Jason_25]

How many times did you try to start it? As long as you didn't try to start it alot and you weren't running high RPM's when the engine ingested water the engine should be just fine.

 

[RobAtPace]

well, intially, she wouldn't even turn over... the starter was too wet i suppose...

i waited an hour and tried again... just the familar fuel injector hum and a CLICK... like when the battery doesn't have a full charge (previous experiences, i know my sounds...lol)

it did start to turn for a moment and then the starter CA-CHUNKED... i think i killed it... no smoke or anything... just a lound ca-chunk... i let things be after that...

---------------
then i had the idea to dismantle the air box to access the water damage... should have done that first...
---------------

my uncle (very handy with vette's and other cars...) checked it out with me that sunday... he noticed leaves stuck to the engine... mid way... so i was pretty sumerged... i'd say alil past mid way of the wheel wells ...


as far as high RPM's ... 2.5 at most... i just was giving it enough gas to get to 10 mph to pass thru the 'river'

anybody else??

 

[Shagnasty]

Just keep on praying....
.... sometimes that's all it takes.

Also, check your signature length... it's a freaking book. Maybe make your own website of everything your've done and just linkify it?

 

[RobAtPace]

sorry about the sig... hehe....


hopefully with alil luck... and some dry down time, she will be alright...

 

[Doug]

Its possible you blew up your motor. Talk to explorereb96 on the board. she hydrolocked CRAWLING into a mud hole and that was the end of her motor. she had to get a new one. The again a friend of mine ingested water 3 times in his ranger and the damn thing is still going. i hope everything goes well.

 

[Muskrat]

man, get the plugs out, maybe shoot some wd 40 in the cylinders, not a lot, but try to get the water out. When you cranked it over, did the engine make a full revolution when you heard the clunk? I hope you didn't compress the water in the cylinders, if so, I think it's time for a new engine. But then again, maybe since you let it sit, water might have frozen, and your best bet, get it into a heated garage, pull all the drains, tranny, pan, diffs, and what ever else, drain al the fliuds, and let them drain ovenight. Water gets everywhere, my Ranger gets a little thirsty form time to time, but I think the rings are so warn, I have little compression, and I can fire it back up ussually They are tough little engines, I hope everything goes well. BTW, I have extended breathers on my diffs, and I still got water in the housing, with the breather in the stake pocket in my bed. Once again, good luck, but if you find that it's locked, do I hear a 302 swap?

 

[DarkMan]

Did you see signs of water in the oil pan? (Oil turns milky brown, just like chocolate milk).

If so, you're gonna want to be sure and change the oil often for a while and check it closely for signs of water.

I bought a Miata way back when, from a used car lot. They told me they had replaced the engine. 6 days after I bought it it threw a rod. So I do some research. They didn't put a new engine in it, they just rebuilt the heads. Long story short, the mechanic told them there might be coolant still in the oil system. That coolant ended up in the #4 piston rod bearing and BANG.

I sued the guy and got a new engine.

Point is water in the oil can hide out in there for while. I'd run less than 500 mile to a change for at least 2 more changes. And check the dip stick every chance you get.

 

[redShift]

yesterday I stalled out going through a puddle, today I go to the impound lot (long story), pay to get the exploder out, and try to start it. It cranks a bit, turns over, makes the general starting noises but all in slow motion and kind of weak and faint. I took out the air filter, let it dry, drained the water from the MAF best I could and checked for anything loose or broken, couldnt find anything.

Im headed back over there now to let the guy at the lot spray some starter fluid into whereever he would do that (said it works most of the time) and then hopefully bring her back home.

Ive done lots of reading here and realize i need to change the oil and tranny fluid and probably get a dealer to do the full job for all the other fluids, but Im lost on the spark plugs.

Do I remove them, then start it? I cant find a definite answer anywhere...thanks for the help.

BTW, it sounds like my engine might be better off than most Ive read about seeing as it actually made some noise when I tried to start it.

 

[Jason_25]

If you have reason to suspect water is in your engine, do NOT try to start it and pull the plugs immediately. Then turn the engine over a few times and install new spark plugs.

 

[RobAtPace]

hey all... sadly a month ago, i had to donate the exploder to charity. i did about a months worth of weekend repairs... oil pan, spark plugs [my god the rear ones on the passenger side... ofph... thru the passenger side wheel well; i finally got them out.

i did alot of trial and error with my uncle...

ultimately:

she did not crank, even with a freshly juiced battery and another trucks attempted jump.

i took out and inspected the starter, and jerry-rigged a battery to her, and she cranked... sadly enough tho after further inspection... she was hydro-locked. push arm on the pistons was bent, and i would imagine the pistons and head were damaged as well.

i loved that truck...

1992 Ford Explorer
4.0 v6 107k miles [and ran like a tank!]
i have been in accidents and been hit hard, the damn thing never crumpled... strong as a tank as well.

brick red and gray interior... alot of time spent there with money and memories... she was my first car and truck.... i am 22 now, and ready for the real world, would i buy another ford? maybe... i like the sport trac, but i also like the crew cab super charged [nissan] frontier.

well everyone, i loved the forums... and all your support and help... but this ford enthusiast wants a '89 5.0 at best... otherwise public transportation to work...

well i did my babbling and memories... thanks again all... old school FORD EXPLORERS RULE!

 

[blazeing91]

i feel your pain

it sucks that you got rid of your x, because i think i have your fix. i just recently flooded my 91. i was in an idle thru a water hole when it just cut off. i thought she might have pulled in a lil water so i opened the door and let the water in since there was no way to keep it out forever. i pulled the plugs out to try and blow out the lil bit of water she drank. i hit the key and all it did was click. so i figured it was just the submerged starter. i finally got her out of the whole and let it sit a while, tryed again, click. by now its getting late so i get a ride home and come back with my bronco and tow the x home. after some more dead end trys i decide to pull the motor out. it was strange since all the fluids were where they should have been with no water anywhere the plugs were even dry when i pulled them out. after i puled the motor and droped the pan i found out why all she would do was click. the no 6 rod was bent and hitting the skirt of the piston causing it to lock up. since a 4.0 is bacically a punched out 2.9 there is absolutly no room for mistakes, so now im going to rebuild her and put it back on the road/ sorry im so late with the help

 

[RobAtPace]

too much to do, not worth the effort...

pulling the engine would have proved to be too difficult for my experteice...


i am content with the memories... she was starting to become an expensive toy as the years went on anyways...

i just replaced the rear cylinders on the braking system before she died... that was an expensive bill... lol.

anyways, take care all