i have a friend who unfortunately found his car buried fender deep in a flood after a bad storm... i normally wouldn't bother with trying to fix the car, but he is washing his hands of the car and told me i can do what i want with it before sending it off to the yard or donating it... before parting her, i was trying to see if i can get it running... if i am successful, it would be a perfect car to give to my niece for her college commute to the crappy side of town... cosmetically, the car is in great shape for its age, just the engine was drowned...

the interior got wet, but we had a spare ECU laying around so swapped it to be safe... interior has dried out over the last few days since we had really hot weather...

i pulled the spark plugs and they are soaked... i haven't attempted anything yet but am trying to figure out how to get the water out of the engine... do i just leave the plugs out and try to start it? it should push the water out correct? what else do i need to do for the engine? change the air filter, change the oil is on my list too...

i thought i recalled that Seafoam can help absorb moisture, should i dump in a bottle if i manage to get the engine running?

 

take all the plugs out crank the car itll shoot all the water out

 

Has anyone attempted to start the car yet? If no then you could possibly save the car. Might be a bunch of work but the best way to get the water out would probably be to tear the entire engine down and replace the all the seals.

 

Stay away. Nothing good can come from a flood car. They have multiple electrical problems which will haunt your niece (and you cause the car keep breaking down on the crappy side of town). Do you really want that headache? Just get her a good used grandma grocery-getter Accord like all other girls drive in college.

 

Don't waste your time.

 

will give this a shot...

errr that is a good point... i am not sure if he tried starting it after the water subsided... i am assuming if he did try, it prob didn't start... what would have happened if he did try starting it? bent valves?

good point, but sometimes it is hard to pass up free... especially if it isn't too bad a fix... if i can get the engine running, i'll really think about what i want to do... the electronics all seemed to work when i just turned it on the other day... wonder if stripping the interior and baking it in the sun to dry it out could help? as i mentioned, i already swapped the ECU for a clean one...

 

^Same thing with TV/Audio equipment. It might work fine at first, but 2 months down the road you'll be grabbing it and tossing it out a window because black smoke is coming from the back of it.

 

hmmm maybe i should just part it then...

 

That's what i would do.

 

more than likely if he tried to start it there would be bent valves