I was looking at a very low mileage car high-end luxury car but it was in a flood and it doesn't start up at the moment I was just wondering what is the possible damage that a car can sustain from being in a flood.

I think it would require disassembling the interior in order to dry everything off etc. but what would need to be replaced like the battery etc.?

I'm not sure what parts would be damaged needing replacement I don't think it should be many because there is NO Body damage it's just that it won't start at the moment.

Would the battery still work or need replacement?

any help appreciated

Check out this thread.. read all the pages and check out the pics....

http://cadillacforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25592

It's possible but it's A LOT of work. It's torturous because the flood cars do clean up really nice, but they're mechanically and electrically dead. Figure at least of half of the electronics are baked. When the car was flooded, the battery was likely hooked up. Any electronics that were hot when they were flooded are probably shorted. Ultimately the battery shorts, but not until lots of other stuff is damaged.

It really depends on the type of car. If it's a high end luxury car, it will have a lot of electronics.

The engine and trans will probably be okay once the fluids are changed. Not sure how long it's been since it was flooded, but the key is to get them dried out as quickly as possible. Mud and silt gets in every nook and cranny.

As far as the interior goes, you have to disassemble everything - think extreme detailing. Every little piece needs cleaned and reassembled. The link Nightwolf provided is to pics of my car. It's nearly done, but it's been a lot of work. If I didn't have a second donor car for electronics I would've abandoned the project.

Jim

The old saying was, if it gets to the ashtray, junk the car. Bottom line? Even if you manage to get a flooded car running fairly cheaply, the electronics will go bad at a very accelerated pace.

The old saying was, if it gets to the ashtray, junk the car. Bottom line? Even if you manage to get a flooded car running fairly cheaply, the electronics will go bad at a very accelerated pace.

Not if you replace them all. And, typically, if they work at all after the flood they will continue to work. You just have to clean the crud out of them.

Unless it's a saltwater flood, then all bets are off. I'm into mine at about 1/3 retail value so far. I'd go to about half of retail in restoring a flood.

It's not for the lighthearted......that's for sure. If you have some time and patience it might be worth it.

Jim

Not if you replace them all. And, typically, if they work at all after the flood they will continue to work. You just have to clean the crud out of them.

Unless it's a saltwater flood, then all bets are off. I'm into mine at about 1/3 retail value so far. I'd go to about half of retail in restoring a flood.

It's not for the lighthearted......that's for sure. If you have some time and patience it might be worth it.

Jim

Thanks guys i appreciate your input I knew there had to be extreme detailing for performance and odor reasons but the car is really cheap and I was wondering if all electronics would essentially burnout.

Especially the pcm etc. because they are expensive.

It was a hummer i was looking at but I don't know how long it's been since it was flooded.

Ill just stick to a wrecked auto or theft recovery vehicle instead of flooded cars.

a Hummer?

an origanal Hummer or one of the H2's?

if is was an origanal Hummer... those things were designed to take.... IIRC 12 years of the harshest stuff imagineable... let alone pretty much drive under water :) everything important is sealed up on those things....

if it was an H2, then most electronics from a Tahoe will work... finding a wrecked Tahoe/Yukon is easy too... just find one that is totaled... hit in front, side back... really dosn't matter since most computers/electornics within the cabin don't get damaged....

I, personally one day would really like to do that one day.... when I have my own place, big garage and time and space to do it...

Give us more details... so far, I'd say go with it...

Plus, with a totaled car that you rebuild... you always run the risk of the car never being the same... the door may not close right, trunk may leak etc... I think a fllood resto is one of the "safest" bets... as long as the engine/trans are not effected.....

Thanks guys i appreciate your input I knew there had to be extreme detailing for performance and odor reasons but the car is really cheap and I was wondering if all electronics would essentially burnout.

Especially the pcm etc. because they are expensive.

It was a hummer i was looking at but I don't know how long it's been since it was flooded.

Ill just stick to a wrecked auto or theft recovery vehicle instead of flooded cars.

The PCM is the most expensive electronic module to replace, but it's also sealed tight as a drum. I had mine apart just to be sure and it was dry as a bone inside (are bones really dry? I'm not sure what that saying means but I use it a lot). Just about everything outside the cabin is pretty well sealed against water. Obvious exceptions are the lights, but other than that there's not much to worry about. My windshield washer motor was toast because it has a control module attached to it that wasn't sealed well - technically that's outside the car even though it's tucked down in the cowl.

I would think a Hummer would do well with a flood. You just have to make sure you get the insides clean.

I don't have the whole interior back in mine yet, so I'm not sure if it's going to stink or not. Right now it smells like Simple Green which while not a bad smell, isn't ideal. Once I get the insides back in I'm going to roll it outside and let the sun get to it.

I've been keeping a diary of what I've replaced. When I'm all done I'll share it if anyone's interested.

Jim

a Hummer?

an origanal Hummer or one of the H2's?

if is was an origanal Hummer... those things were designed to take.... IIRC 12 years of the harshest stuff imagineable... let alone pretty much drive under water :) everything important is sealed up on those things....

if it was an H2, then most electronics from a Tahoe will work... finding a wrecked Tahoe/Yukon is easy too... just find one that is totaled... hit in front, side back... really dosn't matter since most computers/electornics within the cabin don't get damaged....

I, personally one day would really like to do that one day.... when I have my own place, big garage and time and space to do it...

Give us more details... so far, I'd say go with it...

Plus, with a totaled car that you rebuild... you always run the risk of the car never being the same... the door may not close right, trunk may leak etc... I think a fllood resto is one of the "safest" bets... as long as the engine/trans are not effected.....

you can see the hummer H2 here for $17,000 http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/usedcars/detail/index.html?cid=automobiles-1102353083-8930593&dst=28.01&rsr=dnR5cGU9YXV0b3MmZ3VyPTUwJm1rPUh1bW1lciZtYWtlPU FNR0VOJm1teT0xJnJlZnNyYz1hdXRvcyUyRmhvbWUmY29kZT1B TUdFTi5IdW1tZXImY3N6PTYwNDQ2 not only is it half the price of a new one but it's in chicago which is 30 mins away from my house I personally would like to fix it and give it to someone as a gift I personally think $40,000+ is too much for a hummer because they aren't in my taste but they're not bad either just way too much money.

Let me know what you guys think I really am not sure about the effects of water damage so I'm still learning but at first I didn't think there could actually be much damage considering once the car gets flooded the battery would die and electronics only go bad if u try to use them while they are wet etc.

For only a couple grand more, you're better off with something like this. Many fewer headaches to repair:

http://www.readytofix.com/Inventory/Hummer_03_White.htm

Jim

As referring to the accelerated pace of electronics, can't you coat them in dielectric grease to increase conductivity and keep the rust from getting at the copper? Brush the contact points off first with a wire rust to remove any of the stuff thats on there and then coat? Seems like that would be all thats necessary.

I persoanlly think $17k for that H2 is kinda expensive... but it is nice.. grille guard, off road lights up top etc...

... but for half the price, and it is used, 20k miles... it depeneds...

If I had that money, the time and space to do it.. and wanted a truck like that... I think i would talk them down... maybe get then to $15k... but, then again it does seem like a good start...

how high was the water at?

For only a couple grand more, you're better off with something like this. Many fewer headaches to repair:

http://www.readytofix.com/Inventory/Hummer_03_White.htm

Jim

That's what i thought too.

Seems like just bolt-on body parts and a paint job which shouldn't be more than $8,000 with a friend of mine doing the body work.