flooded car possible, need help!

[radley]

Hey guys, it was POURING all day here, real bad.
I drove home from work on wet roads and etc etc, well I was driving into my apt buidling and there was standing water there, sure, had NO idea how deep it was but did not expect it to be as bad as it was. I drove into it thinking a couple of inches, no big deal, I have a 2003 Malibu.

The water was getting deeper FAST and I was like, oh shit. Water was going everywhere and I had to get outta there so I hopped the curb to get up on the grass and out of the water. As soon as I got there the car shut off. lights were still on in the dash but the car quit. It was still raining so I waited a while to let it dry out a bit. I pushed it back onto the road after we cleared out the street gutters from the mulch that was laid a month back, and the water receded fast.

It had to be 12 inches deep after I took a look at the water line.

WHen I try to start it up, I hear a good CLICK and the engine moves a bit, but nothing, No turning over or cranking...

I hope to holy hell I didnt seize the engine and water got in there..... then I'd be SOL ... F*CK!

Do you think the starter shorted and I need to replace it, did I short the alternator, which I may not know til after I can get it started, I"m not sure. Never been in a situation like this.

I had no idea how deep the water was til it was too late and I had to bail the road. I turned off the road and hopped up onto the adjacent apt lawn to get out of the water.... Steam was coming out from around the engine when I stopped, and the car quit, but that's expected since the car was at temp going into that crap.... Why the car shut off I dont know.

What is the next step?

I am going to wait til tomorrow morning to let it dry out a bit more and jump it again. See if it cranks over. I'm not sure and am worried cuz damn, I've done enough to that car and have had it running well for being high miles. Can't afford to scrap it. F*CK!!!!

Letme know what you guys think, thanks!

 

[blaxmax]

Take a can of wd-40 with you back to the car. Either the starter solenoid got wet or the distributor cap has condensation or water. Try starting it first after sitting and if it is not the solenoid take the distributor cap off and spray a short shot inside the cap.

 

[poppop]

May be water locked,Hope you hadn't done any engine damage.Is the intake pipe low?If so you could have sucked water in there.If it were me i would pull the plugs and then try to spin it over.First remove the air cleaner and see if it is wet.If so then do the plugs.It could have already bent a rod,But maybe not.Hopefully you got a dry air cleaner if so jump it,And best of luck.Only other thing to worry about is the exuast manifold is it iron if so the water could have cracked it,You will hear it when it starts.Hope and prey all is ok,All you can do is try.Hope it's a 4 banger them back plugs on a 6 is aggravating to get to.I wish you the very best of luck.

 

[Sweetwilliebrownjr]

Ain't no dikribitor on that one. Did you leave the lights on while you waited? Silly as it may sound, could be a dead battery. Just a thought.

 

[poppop]

Does it have a dist or coil packs?

 

[poppop]

WHen I try to start it up, I hear a good CLICK and the engine moves a bit, but nothing, No turning over or cranking...By the sound of it.It's water locked You can take a chance and keep tapping the starter till you get to the exuast stroke and it will push it out but will miss like hell for a while.That will be your call.Damn im sorry that happend to you.

 

[caseyjones955]

Likely hydrolocked, remove the plugs and give her a few spins to spray water from the cyls then put her back together and see whatcha got. You risk bending rods if you attempt to start it with a cyl full of fluid. It wont compress like air and puts tremendous stress on the rods mostly. I have hydrolocked 3 engines so far and each time a rod/s took the damage. If the starter is not budging the engine my money is on a lung full of water.

Maybe you will get lucky and there will have been no damage from the hydrolocking event itself. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you bud. If/when you get it started again listen for any knocking or loping. Be ready to do an oil change if everything else checks out.

 

[Fire-medic]

I wrote a few days ago about how the south FL BMW-Mini drivers get hydro-locked engines when it rains heavily here. They drive thru deep standing water, and that's it. Their intake is too-low. The dealerships fill up w/cars being brought in on the hook/on the bed.

You need to try removing the spark plugs and then turn the car over, if it will. If it hydro-locked, this won't help, because you got engine damage already, but if it got a bit of water in it, not enough to cause hydro-lock, that should purge the water. Use a water-displacement product, like CRC or WD-40 into the spark plug holes and hope for the best. If you get it running, change the oil.

 

[jfeagins]

I hardly think that 12" of water splashing up under a Malibu would cause hydrolock, unless a 2003 Malibu has it's intake mounted extremely loooooooow. I can see splashing through 12" of water hurriedly would causing an electrical component to short out and kill the car. My guess is the key was left on while waiting for the water to recede, then a dead battery took affect.

Put a volt meter across the battery to see what, if any voltage, is left.

 

[blaxmax]

I just saw on the news Mankato Minnesota floods.
There was an suv flooded.

 

[sdt354]

+1 to WD-40.or some type of water displacement spray. Douse the engine & electrical parts with it. Buy a gallon, it's cheaper. Pull the plugs and crank it if you think you're hydro-locked.
I've had AGM batteries on boats go under for a very brief time, and still work. You might have blown some breakers and fuses. Spray the WD all over the fuses too. Get the breaker box under the hood, if that model has it, too.I think CRC marine grade might even be better if it's available to you.Don't wait.Good luck.

 

[radley]

Alright, thanks guys.


I'll do the stuff you mentioned with the spark plugs and wd40. I'll spray all the stuff down you said, SDT354. Hope it cranks and isn't seized or anything cracked exhaust manifold as mentioned, etc. I'll listen for knocking rods if it starts after I take out plugs and try to turn it over..

Thanks I'll keep ya'll posted. Now the long wait til I get off work.... ok shorter wait, I"m leaving work early to get in there.

p.s. I wish the bike was running so I could go get around.... hope this turns out OK and I can turn my att'n back to the Vmax.



Yeah Blaxmax, it was CRAZY up here yesterday. We get dynamic weather from time to time, but yesterday was something else.

 

[V-Four]

good luck radley.

Man, reading your posts, you've had a spell of bad luck lately.
Stay positive, and I'm sure it will turn for the better soon.

 

[radley]

Ok.
the air filter was soaked, so definitely not good.

sprayed electricals and fuses all over with wd40 and took out the plugs. they were tough, even the coil pack wires were a SON OF A B to take off, and not to mention the 3 on the firewall side of the engine were tough... to access, everything....then sprayed wd in there best I could. turned the key and crap spat out the plug holes. did it a couple more times and no more stuff spraying out. all i could hear at this point was the starter whining.....wheeeeeeee.

when I took off one of the plug wires, it was so stuck, the inside metal part stayed with the plug. I had to pull that off the plug, then take out the plug so I am down one coil wire.

i called oreillys to see what a coil wire would cost, and asked about my situation. he said an engine seizing or a bent rod wouldnt normally happen in my situation, but obviously i'm not crossing my fingers. he said the whining of the starter would be the normal sound at this point. so i put in the new plugs. i think i got them all the way sat down as I was able to finger tighten them with the wrench extension for quite a while then had to tighten up. i plugged the wires back into their respective locations, except for the broken one. Oreillys said it should start up, and I could run the car over there to pick up a single wire as opposed to buying a new set, which is only 23 bucks anyways.

i turned the key again at this point to start the car and only hear the same starter whining....
i checked the fuses and only found out why my accessory/cig lighter plug isn't working...the fuse was blown. But, the car isn't firing up at this point and I think i did everything right....
now i'm sitting on a dead car that won't fire up and jug of wd40...sh*t.

i'm not sure whats up now. perhaps the coil packs fried out?

the coil pack wires were extremely hard to pull off the spark plugs. the old plugs were real nasty too, and i saw that only one of them was wet when i pulled it out, but i know water was in there cuz of what sprayed out and the filter box had water in it....

still hoping it's something fixable, suggestions?

after some research i'm reading that i should try to spin the engine by hand, plugs out, in neutral. whats the best way to do this? also perhaps measure the distance from the plug entrance to the top of the piston, for each cylinder...not sure the way that motor works 6cyl. but if there is an oddball number, then for sure piston seized and engine toast....

......I just tried to recheck the plug connections to the wires, and another wire pull loose from the metal inside part that connects to the plug.... maybe pulling the others initially jacked up the other wires... and the electric conductivity isn't reaching the plugs.... I'll have to pick up a new set of coil/plug wires by the looks of it anyways..cheap enough option to start with. guess i'll do that tomorrow cuz my other bike won't get me there in time.

 

[Fire-medic]

Well you're doing what you need to do. I bet the plugs are OEM to the car, and have never been replaced. That's what it sounds like, the way they're 'welded' to the wires. They have been that way for too-long, and now you're finding out about it.

Get someone to turn the engine over and put a finger or thumb over each plug hole in turn, your finger should get blown-off the hole if you have good compression. If you can easily leave your finger on the plug hole, that would indicate no compression, or very little. Throttle should be open. The plug wires should be grounded while you're doing this to prevent possible overload of your primary circuit ignition components.

 

[poppop]

Does the motor spin over like it did with the plugs out?Are you sure it's spinning over?Sounds like you are by yourself.With new plugs in it and tight it should have some compression,It sounds to me like the solenoid on the starter has went south,I know you are aggravated with it.If you could you need to know for sure it's turning over,It dosen't sound like it,If not you would probably be better off just getting a new starter.You may try twisting the key quickly with your hand several times just enough to make the starter engage you can also tap The starter with a hammer.If it is turning over how is your oil? that is something you will need to change soon if it runs.Have you checked your compression?If it's low you can squirt about a ounce down each cylinder It should build up some.I usually use kerosene But wd outta work.I hope it is just the starter.Best of luck.

 

[radley]

The motor seemed to turn over that very first time after I pulled the old plugs out. THe water and crap spat out as mentioned before. After that first time, it didn't appear to be shooting anything else out, but I didnt flood the spark plug holes with wd40 either, so I wasn't sure if it was still turning over not because I had figured there was so little fluid in there at that time... but I am hoping you are right. I'll start with the starter next.... I'm assuming it is possible that even though it worked that initial time, it could be shot now. I'm not opposed to purchasing a new starter for that thing, and i"m sure it is way overdue just like every other thing I have fixed on that car... I'll get a new set of plug wires as well. So, next step is to remove the starter and take it into Oreillys for testing... But first, I'll try to tap the starter with a hammer and turn the key. If all I get is the same wheeeee sound, then I'll bring it in to test to make sure it is shot. The oil looked good when I checked it out, I could see no evidence of water being in there and the level was good, but I'll change it if she gives me the opportunity...

 

[caseyjones955]

Your description of the starter action has me wondering if it's not engaging the flywheel or if the engine is spinning to freely r/t some other issue. The fastest way to tell is to stand outside the vehicle with hood up and window down. In P w/Ebrake on, reach in and turn the key to try to start and look at the belts underhood, if you see the belts moving at normal start speed or better than the starter is probably doing it's job just fine.

 

[poppop]

Forget about the wd 40.You have enough to worry about.Watching the belts as you engage the starter is great.But with you doing this by yourself it's tuff, if you can't see the belts mark one chalk crayon anything.Jump in hit the starter,Then go see if anything has moved.That whirring sound is only the starter motor itself.I hope for you that that is the problem.I really hope it is.Loss of compression is serious it could be several issues.most all of them will have you will take quite a bit of time,And usually cost $$$.Not wanting you to put hours of labor and a bunch of money in something that gives you no results.Trying to get you through this as cheaply as possible.That's why i mentioned tapping the solenoid.Best of luck.If you have truly lost all compression I would call it a lost cause close it's mouth because at that point all it's gonna do is eat $$$.Mabye some other members on here may have better idea's than myself.Anyway hope it's the starter and that's it!.Again best of luck.Terry.

 

[radley]

Thank you sir! I will keep you posted and try this out as soon as possible, hopefully tonight.