Newbie here but love the forum. My 05 LC got stuck in the Houston flood last night, a corolla in front of me stalled out, I got out tried to push her out of the intersection and by the time I had her out of the intersection rising water was to the bottom of my doors. Tried to fire it up and nothing...totally dead. Had it towed into my mechanic and am waiting on the diagnosis. To help me sleep I was hoping for advice from you guys. My questions are am I more than likely looking at a new engine? If so, can I expect the same reliability as the original? Has 120k miles on it with zero issues, wanted to get it to 250k+. If I have to get a rebuilt engine what should I look for? Thanks for the advice and really appreciate any insight.
Houston Flood
- Thread starter Talexa3
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No good deed goes unpunished...bummer. Sorry about your luck.
Was the engine running and then stalled, or did you shut it off then wouldn't start?
Was the engine running and then stalled, or did you shut it off then wouldn't start?
Doubtful that you ingested water into the intake and hydrolocked the engine if it was only to the bottom of the doors. More likely electronics under the seat/immobilizer?
You could have pulled a plug and/or drained some oil to see if you had water in the engine.
You could have pulled a plug and/or drained some oil to see if you had water in the engine.
Have the mechanic pull the plugs and let her dry out.
I had this happen to me in a Tahoe, in the pre-storm, the week before Allison. I was able to go around and up onto a curb to get around, but after I shut it down, it wouldn't start again.
I didn't think I'd ever need or use a snorkel, but after this weekend's reminder, I'm at least going to extend my diff breathers....
I had this happen to me in a Tahoe, in the pre-storm, the week before Allison. I was able to go around and up onto a curb to get around, but after I shut it down, it wouldn't start again.
I didn't think I'd ever need or use a snorkel, but after this weekend's reminder, I'm at least going to extend my diff breathers....
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Oh gosh haha been there. That's strange that it stalled with water only up to the bottom of the doors, I occasionally cross creeks that are that deep
Your engine won't hydrolock unless the water level is up to the air box. One possibility is that it sucked water through the exhaust but that's very rare especially when the engine is running to begin with. I don't know if I would be shopping for a new engine quite yet. Pull the plugs for now and let it dry. If you have access to the truck I would say focus on getting the interior clean and dry at this point while the mechanic works his magic. If the carpet is even a little damp then the matting underneath will be soaked. Remove trim, seats, and carpet. Wrap the wires that run down the passenger side with towels to get them dry. If it's in an enclosed area grab a dehumidifier or 2 and as many fans as you can find. I took the shortcut route in the photo below but you should remove all the seats and take the carpet out to hang dry. You might even want to shampoo it while you're at it. I believe in the end I only left the front 2 seats but there's only 4 bolts and a wiring harness holding them in so it's no big deal to remove them.
Your engine won't hydrolock unless the water level is up to the air box. One possibility is that it sucked water through the exhaust but that's very rare especially when the engine is running to begin with. I don't know if I would be shopping for a new engine quite yet. Pull the plugs for now and let it dry. If you have access to the truck I would say focus on getting the interior clean and dry at this point while the mechanic works his magic. If the carpet is even a little damp then the matting underneath will be soaked. Remove trim, seats, and carpet. Wrap the wires that run down the passenger side with towels to get them dry. If it's in an enclosed area grab a dehumidifier or 2 and as many fans as you can find. I took the shortcut route in the photo below but you should remove all the seats and take the carpet out to hang dry. You might even want to shampoo it while you're at it. I believe in the end I only left the front 2 seats but there's only 4 bolts and a wiring harness holding them in so it's no big deal to remove them.
We just had a crazy hail storm. Reminded me of this thread.
It could have stalled because it was just idling in the water. The water pushing against the exhaust can cause it to die. Usually when you cross a river or something you want the rpms up a bit so the exhaust overpowers the water. If it died and you tried to start it, it probably sucked water through the exhaust. Pull the plugs, crank it over for 30 seconds, put the plugs in, start it, its probably fine. Change the oil in the motor and check the rest of the fluids. Their is a possibility of catastrophic damage but I would give you a 90% chance its fine.
And especially as forger said, make sure you get it nice and dry.
The water was past the door and coming in on the drivers side on this one, took >30 mins to get it out. No real damage.