Need some advice,car troubles

Need some advice,car troubles (Full Version)

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slvemike4u -> Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 10:47:14 AM)
Okay,my sister,admittedly not the sharpest knife in the drawer.....committed a few fundamental errors while driving thru NC's storms yesterday.She approached a body of water,and decided to proceed(first mistake) than chose to stop in said body of water(second,and in my opinion greater of the two,mistake).The car quite naturally died.She needed a tow home,I was of the opinion that letting the car dry out(so to speak) would result in it's starting again.......well I am now afraid that she has kilt her car good and dead....it still isn't starting,as a matter of fact when the ignition is turned....little more than a clicking sound ensues. Any advice as to how to resurrect this prematurely drowned vehicle ? All advice,no matter how whimsical will be appreciated...please keep in mind the idea of drowning said sister has already been considered and for reasons too numerous to enumerate rejected [:)]

JstAnotherSub -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 10:48:55 AM)
clicking normally means battery. I would start there and work my way out to the battery cables etc. Hopefully you will get lucky and it will be that easy of a fix.

slvemike4u -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 10:52:08 AM)
Guess I should have mentioned that I tried a jump last night...no go.But seeing as it is now today,and no longer yesterday I will now give that another try....I shall let you know how it goes.

Lockit -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 10:52:43 AM)
Take off the distributor cap and make sure it is dry. Then charge the battery. If when she turns the key, it makes no sound... battery is dead. Tow truck driver took her for the money, because all that was most likely needed was to dry out the distributor cap. I had lots of friends that waited by the water for people to flood and die and make a few bucks just drying them out. lol It could be more, but that is all it was when I ran auto parts and CA would flood from time to time. If that doesn't work, you might check out the alternator.

pahunkboy -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 10:53:31 AM)
which part of the car was under water? it sounds like some wires got wet

slvemike4u -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:04:22 AM)
Thanks Lockit....should it not take the charge,that is the next step.Hunky,I wasn't there(if I had been I just might have kilt her when she decided stopping in this body of water was the prudent thing to do)but the engine compartment did not look as if it was deluged when it was dropped in the driveway...this is a woman who thinks "oil change needed" is just a suggestion,rather than an imperative call for some sort of action. If it seems I am taking this in rather good humor please understand my vehicle runs like a top.....lol.

justforfun1811 -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:22:11 AM)
I agree with pahunkboy that the wires have gotten wet. I would open the hood to let everything dry out. Get a dry cloth and wipe off all of the ignition components: spark wires, coils, etc. Go to your local parts store using another vehicle and buy a can or two of a spray designed to dry wet wiring. Make sure the battery is fully charged and those cables are dry and good to go. Depending how deep the water was the starter may have gotten flooded, not a good thing. Before you try to start the car again I would check the oil to make sure no water has gotten into the crankcase. If it has, you need to change the oil and filter before you run the car. Good Luck. Can't you drown her a little bit?

slvemike4u -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:27:42 AM)
Okay,still no go...so let's change the question a bit....if my assumption are correct, car got wet...ergo ...car won't work. Just how long will it take ,for said car to dry out...this car has been sitting in the driveway with the hood open all morning...short of taking things apart,how long will it need to sit.It is a beautiful spring day in NC,about 70ish,sun is shining...shouldn't things be expected to dry out in the normal course of events? Sooner or later my good humor starts to dissipate..I'm wondering whether that happens before or after the car dries out.Let me be clear my good humor dissapears the moment my sister needs to use my car to go to work,not solely due to the inconvenience of being without my car.....more to do with my car being with her [:)]

pahunkboy -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:30:25 AM)
If the water got inside the engine- then there is no hope. If it dampened a wire- there could be hope.

slvemike4u -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:32:33 AM)
Well she claims the water rose up over the hood....it was at this point she thought it prudent to stop

pahunkboy -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:43:09 AM)
...check the oil. The oil stick should not have water on it.

Lockit -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:44:56 AM)
Oh shit, that much water.. forget what I said. Call a professional! If it sat in the water a long time and that much... whoa. Good luck!

pahunkboy -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:45:35 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: justforfun1811 I agree with pahunkboy that the wires have gotten wet. I would open the hood to let everything dry out. Get a dry cloth and wipe off all of the ignition components: spark wires, coils, etc. Go to your local parts store using another vehicle and buy a can or two of a spray designed to dry wet wiring. Make sure the battery is fully charged and those cables are dry and good to go. Depending how deep the water was the starter may have gotten flooded, not a good thing. Before you try to start the car again I would check the oil to make sure no water has gotten into the crankcase. If it has, you need to change the oil and filter before you run the car. Good Luck. Can't you drown her a little bit? Oh ok. I did not know changing the watered oil could work. I cracked an engine block- so I know that water is bad.

areallivehuman -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:46:31 AM)
Year, make and model of car would help. To put it in technical terms, it is probably well and truly fucked. Doubtless water was drawn in through the air filter(many cars air intake is below headlight level), and the cylinders filled with water. If you're really lucky, you can pull the air filter, remove the spark plugs, drain the oil.Put some new oil in, cheap, because you'll have to do it again, try starting (cranking) the engine with the plugs out to blow the water out, just a couple of times. Keep the plug wires away from the holes as you're cranking, might be some gas in there. When water stops blowing out the cylinders, put 2 tablespoons of engine oil in each cylinder, crank it a couple of times to distribute, drop some new plugs in, or dry the old ones off. If you're really lucky you can save that engine. Or just call the insurance man. I work on cars for a living and know what I'm talking about.

JstAnotherSub -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:50:02 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slvemike4u Well she claims the water rose up over the hood....it was at this point she thought it prudent to stop Bless her heart.....I know ya can't drown her, but perhaps a bitch slap and make her write 1000 times "Never drive in to water on the road. Never means never!" Then show here this http://www.tvakids.com/river/popanswer5.html

slvemike4u -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 11:54:09 AM)
Areallive- a 2007 Pontiac G6 piece of shit....lol. Lockit....my sister is known iin the family for,lets say a certain penchant for sprucing up the truth of a matter with exaggerations for....dramatic effect....so I takke the water level story with a large dose of salt....the stopping in the middle part I have no trouble believing(one of the reasons her operating my well tended to vehicle...does not sit easy with me...lol)for that is the nature of this particular beast.....to do the exact wrong thing at the exact right time....lol.

Lockit -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 12:00:01 PM)
Don't make me hijack your thread getting into that sister talk! [:D] Don't even tempt me! (Running away fast!)

outhere69 -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 12:14:34 PM)
Oh boy, if she stuffed the engine, then you're screwed, as the man said above.

areallivehuman -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 12:15:53 PM)
Pontiac G6 4 cylinder, spark plugs are easily acessible, pretty simple to do for the average backyard mechanic, pull the air filter out, that's easy enough, if it is saturated with water I'm right, I could probably walk you through it if you have any tools at all.

Muttling -> RE: Need some advice,car troubles (4/17/2011 12:58:43 PM)
I'm late to the game, but the above comments on figuring out where the water got to is critical. What you describe could just be a water logged muffler and a dead battery. It could also be a totaled out engine and transmission. My first suggestion is to call her insurance company and try to file a claim. Much to their pain, insurance does cover stupidity damage. My second suggestion is to ask friends and find a back yard mechanic. Offer him $50 to figure out what happened to it. If you can't find one, pull the air filter and see if it's wet. Then drop the oil out of the engine and look for white froth (water won't show up on the dip stick unless the engine has recently been running.) If you find water in the air filter or the oil, the engine is almost certain to be toast and require replacement which will most likely total the car.

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