Water Damage - Where to start?

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Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Threads
19
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Location
Melbourne, Australia
I'm sure we have had some experience in river crossings. but since bringing Jim's 25 across about as much water as you can (Pacific Ocean via China) she hasn't seen much action at all. Business has been busy and another Landcruiser wasn't the flavour of the month.

I found some storage for her in an under ground car park - Great deal and very secure – in fact I put my 1980 Rolls Royce in their also.

You may have heard that after years of drought, Australia in various sections has been flooded and Northern Queensland faced a category five cyclone (Think "Katrina" - Wind gusts reached 300 kms per hour). The cyclone was so big the end of it caused huge rain fall in Melbourne (4000 kms South). - Pic Below of it superimposed over the US. Needless to say it caused a fair amount of damage (newspaper image).

The least of the damage was to flood the basement where the 25 and Rolls were kept. This is where I need some suggestions.

The Rolls is written of completely - the 25 in the eyes of the insurance company is also, but essentially the water only came up slightly above the steps. I get to keep the 25, the Rolls goes up for auction - (I’d reckon you might pick it up pretty cheap). It sat in that depth for about three days. I imagine to get her up safe and running, lots of things will need to be removed, dried, replaced etc.

Where to start - I have the mechanic looking at it - brakes, gearbox, motor and diff for water damage, the top is off and it is open to the air as the floor pan is begining to mould. I imagine draining all fluids will be first. Is their any product to spray on the car that is best - Exit Mould?

Suggestion accepted as what to specifically look at or pay attention to?

Cheers Dobster
Yasi over the US.webp
IMG_0259 Watermark.webp
IMG_0263 Watermark.webp
 
Rob,

When I was watching the news on the flooding, I didn't think you were affected. I guess you got caught by the tail of that hurricane. The rains can be worse than the wind. :frown:

I'm not much help on the Rolls, but can tell you the 25 is just fine. Just hose it out. The diffs, tranny and transfer are vented at the cowl, you may have some water in the wheel bearings through the hubs, but I doubt it. Wouldn't hurt to clean around the wheel cylinders, there should be grease under the rubber cups though.

If the insurance pays you for it, I'll be glad to pay the shipping back here. :grinpimp:
 
I'm with Jim...the cruiser should be fine...The cruiser was probably having a grand old time while it was happening :)

If it were me i would drain all the fluids and replace as well as Jims sugestions.

the RR ....since its now on the insurances records lost alot of value....if your needing to clear out the RR its a bit more work...the interior needs to be stripped....covering off seats .... carpeting out....fluids and wheel breaings repacked IMHO ... the good thing is it didnt get to the dash or headliner :)
 
Water

Ge that is no good, bring it all the way from US and have it damaged like that. I agree with the others, all the oiles, dont forget the stearing box as it is not sealed where the colum meets the box. I found the remains of a 25 near Gympie QLD that had the diffs stil in it ,i rang the owner two weeks agao to orgnzie a look at it and he had a land slide , its now under 30 feet of dirt in the creek bed with his shed . A nother one gone. Cheers Ian.
 
The other thing I would do is pull apart the running boards. Could be water trapped under the rubber pad. I know your worried about mold but I would also worry about rust. Pull the hub caps and let those dry out on the inside. On the fluids if it's on level ground and sitting for a while just cracking open drain plugs should let you know if any water got in still water is heavier than oil. I might also pull the seats outs and let them sit in the sun (summer there now?) maybe take a few screws out of the cover to let moisture dry out. That is one of the few areas that I would worry about mold.

Good luck. I'm sure it will be fine. Sorry to hear about the Rolls it looked like a beauty.


:cheers:
John
 
If the insurance pays you for it, I'll be glad to pay the shipping back here. :grinpimp:

Thanks for the offer Jim - The insuarnce is going to pay me - Unfortunately I still think sometime I will get to take into the high country here in Vic. But if you want to get into the Missus ear she'll be your best friend.
 
Thanks for the Tips Lads.

Roller is gone - Assessor opened one door and wrote the whole thing off. He looked the 25 over and did the same when my Panel Beater suggested pulling everything apart to ensure there was no unforseen issues.

She fired up no problems and has been driven in and out of the shop a few times.

So I'll take this approach.
Get anything that can be dried out in the open. (Yep Summer here - not on a normal scale though), Seat, Hub Caps, Seat Covers
Pull the running boards apart as a part of drying
Change the fluids - Look for signs of water
Check the Wheel Bearings
Check the Wheel Cylinders
Grease everything.

If there is anything else let me know. I'll keep you up to date on what we find.

Cheers Dobster
 
I cant find the pic, but someone should post up my Fall Gathering photo where I dunked my 25. Shes still running :)

On the subject of dunking and the love of pics on mud, here are a couple of photos (Historical) of my original forty crossing the Gunshot River (Top photo) and the Jardine River (over 100 metres across) in Cape York. If you search YouTube for Gunshot river there are a few good vids on the crossing now.

Cheers Dobster
FJ40 at the Gunshot River.webp
FJ40 Return crossing ofJardine.webp
 
Update

The wheels are off and brakes apart and most fluids drained. A fair bit of water out through the brake system. The was water trapped inside the rear hub caps. The Wheel cyclinders are going to be looked at closer and rebuilt if necessary.

Jim - thoughts on this - what sort of shape are they likely to be in - without the water?

The diffs are still to be drained but we are going to change all fluids. We are going to take off the running boards, and sort out the clutch.

Cheers Dobster
IMG_0329.webp
IMG_0331.webp
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I rebuilt those cylinders, shouldn't be pitted or anything. You can pick up wheel cylinder cups locally if you need them, it's a 1" bore. Maybe I left it that muddy. :o

If you're going to go that far, I'd put silicone fluid in. I always meant to do it, the fluid is sitting here on my shelf. Just had to flush out all the old stuff.

The front Selectro hubs there's something.........yep the bolts are SAE not metric, realized it after I put the front together and had to reuse them. I think I left a set of Warns on the spare front. If not, I'd just replace those hex heads with SAE allen heads.

I'm not sure I would bother with the running boards, I think John just has a fear of moisture. :lol:

I think this water line was just about the same:
IMG_2847.webp
 
I'm not sure I would bother with the running boards, I think John just has a fear of moisture. :lol:

I think this water line was just about the same:


Your probably Jim. I've lived in the desert too long.:rolleyes: But my thought was a dunk while making a crossing isn't the same as sitting in still water for three days. I doubt water would get in to the brake system like that in a water crossing. In this case it was the time that does the damage not just the depth. Just like the seat padding. Three days sitting in a cool humid spot gives it a good chance to absorb moisture. I guess I would rather error on the side of caution.

:cheers:
 
So Rob how far is Diamond Creek from you.


Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 FJ43 BJ40 FJ45 (eBay item 230589190899 end time 01-Mar-11 19:19:33 AEDST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats


Maybe you could help a guy out:hhmm: The older I get the harder the shorties seem to ride.:rolleyes:

Or maybe get it yourself. I know it not a Roll Royce. But it is a rare vehicle.

:cheers:
John

John,

Diamond Creek is about 20 minutes away. Happy to check it out for you. I'll be driving through there on Sunday afternoon.

I'll PM you with my Phone number - Give me a bell if you want to discuss.

Cheers Dobster
 
Your probably Jim. I've lived in the desert too long.:rolleyes: But my thought was a dunk while making a crossing isn't the same as sitting in still water for three days. I doubt water would get in to the brake system like that in a water crossing. In this case it was the time that does the damage not just the depth. Just like the seat padding. Three days sitting in a cool humid spot gives it a good chance to absorb moisture. I guess I would rather error on the side of caution.

:cheers:

I'll get the running boards pulled off regardless. I think the amount of water that came out from the Wheel area would suggest better to be safe than having to do repairs later.

I'll take up the fluid idea Jim. I hope one day I can get it wet as in your photo. I am off up the high country on the weekend - would love to be taking the 25 with me.

Cheers Dobster
 
bugger to hear about all this dobster. a bit of bad luck but im sure nothing the old girl cant handle; they are pretty resilient. keep us informed we want to hear that shes back on the road.
 

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