Car drowing is expensive

[brisbanefitter]

I know its completely un related to the nature of the forum, but what the hell, car drowning is expesive.
DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODWATER
I own a 1995 ford fairlane ghia, its my "good" car, purchased with the proceeds of my late grandfathers estate

I did it on thrusday after heavy rain here in brisbane, looked shallow from the start and it was only when i got around the corner did it get deep, and put me up the creek we all know, without a paddle.

after a few hours, a tow truck, a desperate rush to the auto parts store for the basic stuff like new engine oil and filter, and lead light so I could see whats going on, i managed to get the water out of the cylinders and get it to run (albeit with some weirdness in the rev range and it now has a mind of its own when it comes to gear selection).
Today, i sucked 3 litres of water out of the carpet, used a hair dryer for several hours to finish to drying job and proceeded to check the rest of the car.

Pull out the auto dipstick, find the should be red oil is milky, now i have to flush to auto twice and change the filter, then go to the diff and change the diff oil, then i need to change engine oil and filter again, have to change fuel filter too, and then get under it and remove all electrical plugs that may have been under water and clean them out.

when all that is done i will need new spark plugs as the existing will no doubt be covered in carbon from the water that was ingested and loosened all said carbon from engine.

then, to make it even more fun, if inside wont dry properly, have to strip out interior and let it dry before re-installing or repacing.

And, just for kicks, the wheel bearings are probably full of crap now so will need pulling out, cleaning, re packing and putting back in, then of course there are brake calipers, they were under water so they probably need attention.

I urge everbody not to attempt driving through floodwater, if a road has water where it normally doesnt, DONT GO THERE.

as I said, completely unrelated but thought I would mention it, figured with all the mechanical type of guys (and girls) on here somebody might come up with a new thing for me to do, to prolong the pain of it all past this weekend.

[weisyboy]

you shouldnt have to do anyhting to the brakes or wheels.

if you dont know the raod walk threw flood watter first before trying to drive threw it.

do not charge threw the watter it casues it to build infromt of the car and makes it mutch deeper than it is. instead go trew nice and steady. :2tsup:

and just because your car has a snorkly dosent mean it can go under watter.:no:

[Chris Parks]

And don't forget the diff. If the computer went under water I would be getting the connector off it and drying that out as well as the board inside it. Every connector that went under needs to be dried out because if they start corroding the problems you have now will be nothing compared to what will happen. Modern cars and water are a disaster, most of the cars caught in the Newcastle floods were written off because dealing with the electronics was impossible.

[brisbanefitter]

thaks guys.
i did know the road (probably half my problem), and at the start of the water it was acceptable depth (about 50mm if that) judging by the white posts on side of road etc, only when I got to unseen part did it get deep, and by then pulling a 3 point turn on flooded road not such good idea i thought.
I was only going slowly, in the wake of a 4wd, but still got just enough water to stop the car (hydraulic lock) then with it sitting stationary for only about 2 minutes water seeped into the car (not much, enough to wet the carpet and sound proofing under it in the footwells, mostly passenger side).

I have got computer dried out and plugs off it and dried out.

working my way through all the other plugs etc under the car that may or may not have been wet, just going to do them all to be on the safe side.

[specialist]

You will have to repack the front bearings, the hot discs would have sucked water throught the seal as they cooled, that's how water gets into diffs and gearboxes.

Robert

[Buzza]

Take off the door linings, and then look under the bottom part of the doors for draining slots. These may need to be opened up with a screwdriver to help with drying. After that, the inside needs to be sprayed with something to stop the rust which will have already begun. Leave the doors open for a few days in that state. Usually, the best policy is to write the car off on insurance, as there will be too many "Fires to put out". You do have insurance don't you Mate? :-

[bobsreturn2003]

yep modern cars , not made for water crossings . my old hd holden ute had water wings and some clutch shudder after one crossing but it went ok . one look under the bonnet all those connections, sensors . its pure joy wondering how to fix it ??? that being said the new 4wds are very capable but not made as a submarine , love those snorkels . but dont get those carpets wet . change all your fluids and dont forget to check brake and clutch as well . good luck with it . bob

[brisbanefitter]

will get it sorted, have had doors open every day getting it dried out, have got all fluids/greases/cleaners etc necesaary and 4 days to go over it.
i will be able to get it all done no problem.

modern cars may look complex but underneath its the same principles just made more difficult. If you break it down to its individual systems, it becomes easy.

all electronics or mechanical systems can be broken down to their individual parts and then they become quite simple, i just need to methodically go through it front to back top to bottom and all will be good

not prepared to write it off, will be fixing it.

thanks everyone for their input