Caught in a Flooded parking lot - need advice (1 Viewer)

[Rbrandolph]

My 1985 FJ60 got caught in a parking lot for a few hours that flooded just above the door jambs. Carpets / floor soaked. NY State has a salvage law for flooded cars if flooded that way. I'm in the process of ripping out alll the carpets to get it to dry quickly / minimize damage. Also - the bottom had been previously oil sprayed to protect against rust. I think I will have the option to get insurance money and start again but I love this truck (my first cruiser that I bought about 6 years ago) and would really prefer to keep her going. Interested in any advice / suggestions on what to check and how to best move forward. Driving fine so far. Been trying to dry out carpets but just too hard and slow. Only 154k and not too much rust at all

 

[Mark W]

I could not even begin to guess how many times I have had water that deep and much deeper inside my Cruisers over the years.

Let it drain and dry. Keeping it open obviousy speeds the drying and also helps avoid mildew. Make sure the drain holes in the bottom of the doors are not clogged.

Since it was above your axle seals, it is worth checking your wheel bearings and knuckle grease and also the diff fluid for water.


That's about it. this is really a non-event in the life of a Cruiser.



Mark...

 

[cps432]

Dry it out. Pull it apart and take time to hit it with some anti-mold/mildew spray and install new carpet. Ought to be alright. It’s a land cruiser.

 

[OSS]

Frame is fine. No need to worry about that. The thing that rots out vehicle frames is salt.

Yeah replace the carpet — it’s going to be a health hazard.

 

[White Stripe]

You have to remove the carpet completely. Hose out the interior of nasty flood water. Shampoo and pressure wash the carpet, then let it hang dry. In the meantime fix that floor rust before it accelerates any more.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Drain and refill your transfer and transmission cases as well. Won’t hurt to have peace of mind.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

The flooding did you a favor by exposing that rusty floor edge. With the carpet removed you'll get busy dealing with it, right?

 

[MarkBC]

The Aussies regularly do that on purpose to their vehicles. Where do your diff breathers route? If submerged, replace diff fluids, And knuckle grease. Regrease uni joints on shafts.

You have bigger problems with interior floor rust, I think you should take this as an opportunity to address that, it looks pretty bad.

 

[Rbrandolph]

OK - thanks for the comments. I just tore out the carpets, will hose it down this weekend and give it a clean. Agree this is the time to clean out that rust, treat it, re-paint, etc. I will also check the other items - wheel bearings, knuckle grease, diff fluids, etc. The dark color on front floorboards (aside from the rust) is just the carpet liner stuck to the floor - which I will remove as well obviously.

 

[cps432]

That black stuff is sound deadening from the factory. You can freeze it with dry ice and it will chip off, but good luck removing it any other way.

 

[MarkBC]

OK your floor doesn't look too bad otherwise. I think what happens is that people get in in winter with snow/slush/salt on their boots. This melts and collects in those low areas by the door. It might evaporate away but the salt is left behind and from humidity in the air it will just rust that area away over time. Was the flood all fresh water, no salt water? If so it did you a favour and washed the salt out for you.

 

[Godwin]

this is really a non-event in the life of a Cruiser.



Mark...

^^this. Land Cruisers were designed and built to deal with things like this on a regular basis.

 

[Rbrandolph]

No salt water but probably a mix of oils / sewage / other flood. Will wash out accordingly. The floor boards (even where the rush shows) still feel very solid.

 

[gregkline55]

Yeah this really isnt that bad, replace the carpets completely, pull the wiring harness out where it goes along the floor to the rear of the truck, then put a dehumidifier inside and let it run and drain to the exterior of the vehicle.

If it were me I would probably also pull the the sheathing off the harness and lay it out so that it dries out, that whole rear section of harness can be disconnected at the drivers side kick panel.

 

[Spike Strip]

This happened to me twice with the same VW Golf where there was almost two inches of water inside the car. I removed the seats and used a shop vac to get out as much water/moisture as I could, then lifted the carpet best I could using wood blocks so it was off the body, then put a high-velocity fan in the car and let it run for two days. Never smelled any mold

 

[onemanarmy]

Yea....that's nothing. No need to talk of totalling/insurance/branded title nonsense

 

[ChaserFJ60]

x2, drain the front and rear diff, maybe the transmission and transfer case too.

 

[Rbrandolph]

quick update - insurance company has offered me 28.5 but they would have to salvage and it I can't buy it back due to flood laws. So the question is do I fix it up myself - new carpet, other works / fluids as indicated above, clean up rust in door well (also some rust on the rain gutters but otherwise pretty clean) - or take the morey and see what else is out there? It only has 155K on it and engine has been running fine for the past 6 years I have owned it (general work over the years but nothing major - new heater, smog pump, power steering pump, etc.). There is some bubbling rust around the rain gutters and various dings all around. Also - the pain is original so probably would need a new paint job in the future too. Interested in thoughts.

 

[Rbrandolph]

From what I can tell - it probably sat in the flood water for ~5 hours or so. Rear seat is finally drying out (as it was folded down the the flooding occurred).

 

[Mark W]

I have run into this decision before. I doubt that your rig would bring 28.5K in a private sale of any sort. (Discalimer: I have not really been watching the market for '62s all that closely for a while and I have no idea what the regional aspects might be or how far you are willing to travel to replace it.) I would expect that you truly can replace it for that. (???) So, from a purely financial point of view, it makes sense to take the money and walk away.


From the point of view of a Cruiser Guy...My understanding is that rig will be destroyed if the insurance company take possession of it. And that just seems like a crime.

Of course it is not your task to worry about all of us upset Cruiser Guys.

Perhaps offer it for sale and see if it will actually bring more? If it will... then KEEP IT!

Any actual flood damage it has suffer is without a doubt, so insignificant that it would barely rise to the wear and tear of a weekend campout on the trail with the family.



Mark...