So, I gotthis call from my daughter yesterday afternoon. In a rather freaked-out voice she says:"Dad I just sunk my car"! It had beenraining steadily in central Oklahoma since Friday night, and the ground was pretty much saturated. She was out and about driving her 2001 Mustang, and life was good............................ Until that is, when she drove into what she thought was a few inches of water flooding a street. Turns out that there was a dip in the road, and she hydroplaned out onto a new lake................. And then sunk to almost the window level.They had to climb out the window and onto the trunk of the car. The fire department had to send a truck that stretched a ladder out to get her and her friends to dry land.

I went and pulled the car out as soon as the water had receded enough to do it safely, and towed it home. This morning when it dried out here, we went out and surveyed thedamage. The car had asperated water and died when it sank, and I was worried that it might have hydro-locked and bent or broken something. I pulled the air filter and the box was full of water still.Pulled the plugs and hooked up a fresh battery and turned the engine over a few times. Water squirted out of the plug holes on every cylinder, but no clunks or groans of bent or broken parts. We blew out the cylinders and the throttle body with air, put the plugs back in, and believe it or not, it fired right up!

Going to chainge the oil and transmission fluid/filter, and I guess I'll have to drop the fuel tank to make sure I get any water out. Can anybody think of any other MUST do's I have forgotten? This is new, I never thought that my daughter would try to become a U-Boat commander.

 

WOW at least there safe thats the good part. I dont know anything about the fuel tank sorry.

 

I personally would let the car sit for a little bit to make sure all the water is out of all the electrical components...thats a big problem with flood damaged cars is electrical problems

 

Park it in the garage and keep all the doors and windows open, if the garage is attached to the house than keep the door open to the garage to get heat in there. get a few cans of Lyso(the anti mildew stuff)for the interior and trunk. blow air up into the dash to blow out any water that is up in it still. after you change the oils start the car with the heat turned on full blast. let it run till it gets warmed up than change the oil again.(when you drain the oils the frst time all of it wont drain out cause of the valleys and pockets) Start the car and turn the heat on full blast and let it run with the heat on for a hour and spray the lyson round in the car and in where the air gets sucked into the air vents. That should help it dry out faster and hopefully before any mold or mildew will start to form. That should work cause I have left my top on my vert a few times open when i first got itand went to take a nap or got tied up with something and it started to rain and I had to dry it out. Havent had to do that in a long time now lol. Sucks it happend and glad they are all ok, but it was kinda funny the way you put it lol.

 

LOL Unfornutately, the garage is the "Operating Room" for the 65 vert at the moment, with engine and "STUFF" on one side, and the car on the other. We did pull the seats and carpet out yesterday. The seats are drying in the garage with an anti-bacterial spray on them. I'll steam clean them before putting them back in. The carpet is getting replaced (wasn't in all that great shape anyway).

I DO worry about the wiring and electronic components though. Only ran the car for a few seconds yesterday to see if anything was bent or broken, and I'm sure that the rat's nest of wiringunder the dash still has alot of drying to do. I know water got all the way up into the instrement cluster, because the speedo and tack are all fogged up.

I'm planning on chainging the oil and giving the engine a good run to work out any remining water (maybe 50 miles or so) and then chainging it again. I figure a single change of the transmission fluid/filter should be sufficient.

 

i'd just go ahead and change the oil too. would be good insurance to do just incase water found its way in there.

glad your daughter is safe and the cars working.

 

Well, changing the oil is a given when you flood an engine like that. I have friends who go off roading a lot and they sink their trucks from time to time. Actually, be prepared to change the oil a couple more times if needed. Last time my onefriend sunk his toyota, he had to change the oil 4 times before it was fully clean.