oceancon

yeah I'm one of the poor bastards in Long Island with no insurance on my TL. Salt water in the flooring but not in dash or high up on engine: about halfway up wheels. Car starts and runs but of course the funk begins: lights come on, check engine, all trans selections at once, shifter locked, power locks don't work, SAT radio and NA don't work, climate control work.
Wondering about the feasibility of repair. Printed out the interior electronic schematics to see whats in the floor that got wet. A lot of stuff to be sure. Anyone have any advice other than its junk? Most likely its going to be the case but am exploring all options.

thanks guys for any help

potmilkz

its junk man.. car is not worth to fix. too much money needs to be put in it to fix a 2004.

your going to run into rust issues as well.. salt water = no bueno.

lleron

iTrader: (1)

First thing I would check is all the fuses. I'm guessing that all of them blew when they were under water. That may be the reason a lot of the electronics aren't working (as the power locks would always have some power to them, so probably shorted out).

If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you have insurance on the TL?

ZOMGVTEK

All kinds of things can be wrong. It's usually junk after something like that.

If it starts and runs, and the engine has not ingested any water, you might be OK. I'd pull the transmission position sensor off, open it up, and inspect the contacts. That could explain why all your gear lights are on and its an easy fix. This would also cause a CEL.

Pulling the codes would be a good start. See what the car thinks is wrong. You don't need power windows or a radio. You might be able to get it driving again for nearly free.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Ouch, sorry to hear

Isn't it illegal not to have insurance? Or is that only in certain states?

nttstt444

iTrader: (1)

^He probably just has liability.

mzilvar

iTrader: (3)

Just fyi most of the harnesses run through the floorboards (under the seats, etc.). The plastic pieces just below the doors (where the door weather stripping is) are actually cable-ways where the harnesses are run. That includes harnesses for the side airbags, etc..

Also the ECU is under the dash in the center console on the floor. I know some people have had a problem where the AC drain tube got plugged causing water to flood onto the ECU causing a short that melted a coil-pack in their cylinder that couldn't be removed without replacing the head. There's a thread on it here somewhere.

Wacker

I used to rebuild salvaged vehicles for a living. I have built and owned several flooded cars without issue. I always just pulled the full interior out, cleaned it, disconnected every harness connection that got wet to let them fully dry, cleaned any dirty terminals and reassembled. In salt water flooding we would rinse off the terminals with terminal cleaner to prevent corrosion and applied die-electric grease. Never had a problem. I personally drove all our flooded cars for a period of time before selling to ensure they were alright and all our customers were notified of the flood condition and told to call us if they ever had a problem.....never got a call.

oceancon

thanks for the follow-up on my flooded TL. I was thinking about pulling the interior and cleaning the harnesses but not sure if I have the time to do that properly. I might try to get an estimate for repair from a shop. The water was not that high, about 2 inches in the floor wells which hopefully will limit damage. As for insurance, well you know how it is: it is paid for 8 year old car and had liability only - was never concerned about total loss...

ZOMGVTEK

2 Inches inside the car? Just pull everything that got wet and inspect any connectors that might have got wet. I'd clean any connectors that might have been submerged with contact cleaner and pack with dielectric grease.

It should be fine if thats all that happened. No water in the transmission fluid or engine oil for sure?

rush

iTrader: (1)

sell it to me

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

^^^

OP - Take him up on that.

And...why?

rush

iTrader: (1)

pm me

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

NY to Abudabi, thats a serious road trip.

lilsid112

iTrader: (7)

I would follow Wacker's advice and go from there. Hopefully the damages are very easy to fix. If anything this would be a perfect platform for a track car. Rip everything out of it and just have the motor, trans, and a racing seat. Anyways, best of luck!

UA6

Good luck. I'd drive it til' the wheels fell off while saving your money for something else.

JerZDevil

iTrader: (1)

I feel our pain... No insurance at the time and I was working on my audio system at the same time I was waiting for a rebuilt transmission. I think everything (inc. audio equipment) is a total loss, so I've been looking around for a used car/SUV. Nothing is covered, but waiting for a reply from FEMA.

I live in the most northern part of the NJ Shore.

Good luck with everything.

kibbles906

iTrader: (14)

yea do what the guy said above..take the whole interior apart get the electical cleaner from autozone. power wash the carpet. let everything dry nice.

your most likely still going to need to replace a few modules..the theft/locking module goes in the left kick panel..the xm module and the amp goes in the right kick panel..those are your 2 main problems..you might also need to replace the ECU..that might be the cause of the tranny saying its in all positions..

i recommend to clean all the connectors and try it again, but i know for sure you need the amp and theft/locking module.
go on www.car-part.com..each module should cost no more then 100.
and none of them need to be programmed.

rush

iTrader: (1)

Pm me a price have always wanted to rebuild a car. So do it before its too late (mole) & salt water damage don't mix

4drviper

isn't it only a few if not just 1 inch of water in the car if it's halfway up the wheel?????



hm i'll take your advice n save up for whatever next hemi comes out