Need Advice - Flooded Engine Compartment

I've got 95 Riv Series I with 67K Original Miles. This morning we had some pretty serious rain and the end of my street had about 18 inches of water. I drove through at a steady pace and had no issues 15 minutes later i was headed back and didn't realize the water was up to about 24" as it was pre-dawn and my street is not well lit. As i turned down my street I could immediately feel the water was higher by the cars deceleration and accelerated steadily to make sure I got out of the deepest part, I held pedal steady and almost didn't make it but right as i emerged past flooded area it shuttered and died . I knew the filter must have been saturated in the least so climbed out in some heavy rain and lightening to check. I could not see the box but know my way around it well. Reached down pushed in clips and opened the filter box I felt a brief gush of water come from top side of filter and bottom was in standing water that filled box. I loosened the clamp holding intake hose to filter box and tried to point toward ground to drain any water it had in it. At this point it was dark and I was in the middle of my street half a block from house and had to get it off road ASAP as I was only 100FT from the main highway and it was raining so hard I was afraid somebody would turn and not see me and run into me. I crossed my fingers and tried to start it. At first it didn't even turn over then after the third try it started to at least turn over but not start. I kept trying after about the 10th time it started..... but I could tell immediately it was wet inside intake enough that it was shuddering but I threw it into drive and drove it no more than 150 yards to my driveway and killed it. I know I need to pull plugs and manually turn crank to see if water comes out but imaging I can just pull cylinder 1 and see if plug is wet as it would be first to flooded. Kinda need some guidance beyond changing the oil and plugs as to what to check beyond that if its dry or wet to not further damage anything. I have AllData Service Software so just needs steps not thorough instruction.  
Thank in advance - Any input helps

Pull every single spark plug out. Crank the engine. Any water on top of the pistons will squirt out of the spark plug holes. Let's just hope that the 10 times you tried cranking it already, you didn't bend some things. If/when all the water is out, change the oil and filter. Put the plugs back in. See if it starts. If it starts and runs without any knocking or abnormalities, let it run for about an hour, and change the oil again.

Cross your fingers and pray to Jeebus.

Based on your movie I think you have a *real* headache, the water should not have gotten past the air filter and when you opened the filter box and 'drained it' that's where your headache started.  If properly installed, the air filter would stop the water (and air) and the lack of air at the MAF sensor tells the PCM to kill the engine.  You opened the air filter box in those wet conditions and may then have introduced water past the filter panel.

As for what's flooded -- Cylinder 1 would not necessarily be the first to flood.  Depends on where the water was w/r/t crank angle.  So disabuse yourself of that notion.

You need snap ring pliers (try Sears or an old line parts store) and a throttle body gasket.  Pull the throttle body and see how far the water actually got.  Check inside the supercharger inlet with your dry fingers, feel for water.

This might be a good time to replace the LIM and SC plenum gaskets, if you have to pull them to check for more water.

Vac any water out of the cylinders (all of them), be sure to pull and check plugs (you may need to clean them with some carb cleaner).  

Fogg the cylinders with fogging oil (not WD40 or its cousins) - fogging oil is sticky, burns away and takes droplets of residual water with the burn (and not chase them around and drip off cylinder walls like WD40). You will be turning the crank with a wrench to put each cylinder at bottom of stroke THEN fog that cylinder, one by each, after you vac out the water. Check the oil and transmission fluid for water, change as needed. You might need to do a transmission flush to get water out of the torque converter.

At some point spray QD electronic cleaner into alternator, radiator fan motors, exposed wire harness plugs especially the ABS and others below water line. Pull and clean out the starter.

I think that about covers everything mechanical/electrical in the engine compartment  but I hope some others will chime in.  I've only (successfully) dried out a flooded car once (not a Riv), drove it for several years afterward.

Now for the rest of the car

If you got water inside the passenger compartment pull the interior out.  Carpets, everything.  OPen the center console to dry things up underneath.  Get water out of the MALL (black box under driver seat), and out of the wiring stuff under the rear seat (there's lots). You may want to open body plugs to drain things.

Whether you got water in the passenger compartment or not, pull the interior door panels and the interior trim by the rear seat so you can wash/dry out the door and body cavities.  Same with the trunk, pull the liner out and clean out the cavities.  

Run the car up on ramps and use a hose, then an air compressor with blow nozzle and wand to clean out the blind cavities on chassis, then fog those cavities with the rest of that fogging oil you bought. Or WD40 rustproofing oil (they sell that by the gallon).  

Make a hot water disinfectant solution (I like Odo-ban from Sams Club) and pour it down the cowl vents.  

I think that covers the interior but folks do chime in for anything I forgot.

Also - important - At a health and beauty aids store like Walgreens, get yourself a bottle of Hibiclens(TM) to clean yourself up after the work - or - the flood water will probably make you (very) sick (sewage and litter).

I have to run.

Albertj

I know I read that flooding the carpet potentially damages the airbag system.

Jack the R wrote:

I know I read that flooding the carpet potentially damages the airbag system.  

Now that you mention it I think there is a sensor pack under the drivers seat, if it go flooded it needs to be replaced, and the seat belts.  Need a Tech II to do that so the computers can be coded to the VIN and set or some such.  See https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=335454&cc=1022050&jsn=1721, https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=86437&cc=1022050&jsn=1735,

I had no idea this product existed.  $11.04 at Amazon Prime.  I'm gonna assume it's available at your standard corporate parts stores



If the image doesn't show, just go to Amazon and search for "Fogging Oil".  You'll get a boatload of choices

EyeDoc1 wrote:

I had no idea this product existed.  $11.04 at Amazon Prime.  I'm gonna assume it's available at your standard corporate parts stores



If the image doesn't show, just go to Amazon and search for "Fogging Oil".  You'll get a boatload of choices

It is used for winter/storage of engines - marine engines, primarily, and military equipment held ready (tanks etc). You have to get the water out though. As a last resort turn the crank to bottom the cylinder, work some of (about 1/2 should do it) a dry red shop rag into the spark plug hole but keep a corner out to grab, turn the crank BY HAND until rag is pressed snug (don't have to crush it, the point is to wick the water, not to bend the valves). Back off a bit, pull rag out of hole. If the cylinder is really wet you might have to repeat as the rag could let go of some water when you pull it out that teeny hole. Stuffing a dripping, oil soaked rag in, in the same manner, will help you get oil around the rings where the fogger might not reach - but see and follow the label directions for the fogging oil, you don't need to do the oily rag thing if you strictly follow directions.

Albertj

Okay guys been digesting this. Not going to have chance onen up this can of worms until Saturday. As you may well know the series I rear plugs are impossible to remove from top and have to be pulled from below, I have ranps already but my brother had to remove them last time because of a bad shoulder I can't manuver my arm up there. Basically I was in and out of water all in about 3 seconds nothing made it into interior or trunk. But I'm positive water release splashed on the top of the engine there was puddles on top of supercharger housing somebody mentioned that the box wasn't installed correctly I replace air filter seven times it's been installed correctly every single time it was hooked through two Hooke on back and both tabs latched down. Also the filter was flush against rubber. As I said after I removed the intake tube it did not turn over so the ECC was doing its job and stopping me from taking any water in. it was only after about the 10th try it started to startup but it was running really rough I figured it maybe got a little water in there and what you cause a pickup like that but it drove 200 yards all the way home put it in reverse the back in my spot and stopped at their I just haven't tried it since sh around the filter but here's what I've noticed is my box actually has a side panel that comes off in the tube goes down into the body frame downward so basically sucked in like a straw

I don't have anything different to tell you. The protocol for un-flooding a car does not magically change, sorry, for only the reason that you don't think this or that got wet. If you inspect the cavity and it's dry, good on you. If you don't inspect the cavity and it's wet, it and its cousins will all bloom rust on you at about the same time and you're gonna say why didn't they tell me. It's your call. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for the best.

albertj wrote:

I don't have anything different to tell you.  The protocol for un-flooding a car does not magically change, sorry, for only the reason that you don't think this or that got wet.  If you inspect the cavity and it's dry, good on you.  If you don't inspect the cavity and it's wet, it and its cousins will all bloom rust on you at about the same time and you're gonna say why didn't they tell me. It's your call. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for the best.

Thanks for the advice AlbertJ I followed your directions to a T and ended up only with a couple bad coil packs over the next few months. I am however having some new issues with erratic idle and an occasional stall. I've checked all the PCM grounds listed in service manual and I bought an ALDL reader that has logged the issues but need some help in determining whether I am having a PCM or Computer/PROM issue. Ill post it over in the Series 1 tuning section if you don't mind taking a look.

Thanks for all the input guys.