This morning my neighborhood in NYC was hit with a SEVERE thunderstorm, I had no clue but the street i !parked on was completely flooded in about a foot of water, the flooding was bad enough to get inside the car and soak everything. Now when I try to start the car, the starter just turns over and the engine will not fire up, there is water squirting from the muffler. Does anyone have any clue on how i can remove this water from the exhaust system and get the car to fire up.


Modified by Grenade2k7 at 12:51 PM 8/8/2007

 

Try taking out the spark plugs and checking to see if there's any water in the cylinders, and let it dry. Hopefully ur dizzy still works too, check to see if ur getting spark.

 

if the water was inside the car, then your ECU might be shot. It sits on the passenger side floor. Try to dry it out, then try to start it again.

 

I have spark, Im thinking it maybe ECU problems the electronics are acting a bit retarded, the auto door locks are weird and the car is beeping when i open the doors. It never did that before.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Grenade2k7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have spark, Im thinking it maybe ECU problems the electronics are acting a bit retarded, the auto door locks are weird and the car is beeping when i open the doors. It never did that before. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The water fixed your door sensor .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by street_ride14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The water fixed your door sensor . </TD></TR></TABLE>

lolololol. Thats hilarious.

If you're lucky, you wont end up like I did last year.

Water drowned the ECU, after trying to start it (not knowing water had damaged it) My started decided to lock up and chip teeth off the flywheel.

 

the water in the exhaust isnt a problem...it'll turn to steam if you get the engine running.

a problem would be if the water were deep enough to fill the engine through the exhaust
since your engine cranks...you dont have water in there

my guess is the ECU was sacrificed to the flood god...get a known good unit and try to start the car.

 

WHOA! Check your engine oil before cranking up your engine again! If the oil looks "sludgy" or like "dirty mayonnaise", then that flood water got into your engine block. You did say the water was high enough to enter you car, right?? In that case, the water level may have been high enough to enter your engine through the crankshaft output, or through pressure along the oil pan seal. Best thing is to just simply change the oil (and filter, of course) completely. Motor oil has detergents in it that helps to suspend small amounts of water and keep it from damaging your engine. But a flooded engine may have too much water than the oil's detergent can handle, thus leaving the engine without any lubrication and a very expensive repair bill!!

Next, check your transmission oil too for water contamination. The transmission dipstick opening is pretty low on Preludes, making it easy for water to enter.

I found this web page that will offer you more info: http://firechief.com/apparatus..._care/

Best thing for most people, IMO, is to take a flooded car to a highly experienced mechanic to revive. Your insurance company may have a list of names, as flooded cars are "common" insurance claims.

 

if the car is auto and has oil in the trans...you're pretty much done for...it'll most likely need a new trans.
the clutches literally dissolve if they get wet...

I doubt water could enter from the oil pan gasket or either end of the crankshaft via the seals...if water could get in, what the hell is keeping oil from getting out

 

I got the car running again! Turns out water inside the ECU was the problem, I removed it and let it dry over night. After re-installing the unit the car fired right up! Thanks a ton for all the tips guys!

 

Grenade2k7, I'm happy to hear that!

Tsiah, the oil pan gasket and crankshaft seals normally don't hold pressurized oil within the engine. The oil level in an engine is normally maintained below both the gasket and seal, and pressure in the engine block is about equalized to the outside atmosphere through the PCV valve and breather tube system. The oil gasket and crankshaft seal only need to keep oil that's splashing around the crankcase area from dripping outside. In a flood condition, the gasket and seal may be dealing with liquid pressures it's not designed to contain. Keep in mind that most crankshaft seals are directional and have a lip designed to resist inside pressure from leaking out, but not outside pressure from leaking in. The breather tube and PCV valve won't allow the engine to maintain pressure within itself, so sufficient outside water pressure can thus allow water to enter the engine through the gasket and seal.

 

Wow.. thats got to be crazy hard to fix

 

true, but it would probably have to be submerged under several feet of water to cause enough pressure to push water into the engine... water up to the sides of the car wouldn't be enough to do this.

I'm not saying its a bad idea to change oil after the car has been flooded...if it happened to my car, I would disconnect the battery, remove and drain the ECU, blow dry the fuse box and main harness connectors and change my oil before I even tried to start the car.
...I'm just saying its not likely that water is inside the engine.

 

Thats what i did and all is fine So FAR, lets hope it stays that way I am driving down to florida soon. 1150 miles.

 

oh you should change trans fluid as well.

some guy at the dealership I used to work at had his s2k flooded...his tailshaft bearing rusted all to ****