seriously in trouble

[drifter sx]

posted this in the General section also...

ok so i went home for the weekend, left last thursday when the ocean decidied to fall from the sky.. everything was flooded, rainin so hard i couldnt see my hood. of course the worst thing that could happen happened.. i hydroplaned and spun out going 65. i wound up in the grass median, that was sort of a water trough. its designed so the water on the road falls into the median. i wasl totally alright, and my car was perfect too..but since it HAD been raining all day my tires were half buried in mud, no way i was gettin the car out. so i got a ride to the next town by some people and called my parents and a tow truck. tow truck was to far and too expensive so my dad and i decided to tw it out ourselves.. the next day. when we went back, the car was underwater !! :angry7: i had water up to my steering wheel !!!

we towed t out and 45 minutes back to my house.. i spent 2 days just drying it out. but needless to say, it doesnt start now..

of course i checked it all out BEFORE i cranked, i even changed the battery, motor and transmission oil to be safe. for one, i dont hear my fuel pump turning on, and thats an easy fix. but im not gettin spark to the engine. all my electrical works, lights blinkers wipers radio EVERYTHING.. but no spark. the engine cranks like its TRYING to start, but it just doesnt kick on.

a friend said my ECU might be fooked, so i checked it and sure enough there was a lot of moisture on it. ive NEVER messed with the ECU so i dunno how to tell if its bad or if i killed it..

anyone have ANY friggin idea how i can fix this??? or should i just bend over now? :help PLEASE HELP

[emperor_lunchbox]

Why dont you have a mobile mechanic come out and look at it?

[KFL]

Did you pull the spark plugs, and crank. I'd check and change the oil. You can see if the ecu works as the red led blinks also you can check for any stored codes by turning the bolt. I would also check the starter as it doesn't like water.

[BoyWonder]

If ya have a friend with a 240, just have him come over and "borrow" his ECU to see if you can start it up with that.

[spoolthis]

If it were me I would make sure the ECU is completely dried out, try that and if it still doesn't go then time for a new one. Very well could be another eletronic component that didn't like the water either.

[candela]

Exactly...

This is somethign that a mechanic would one **** of a time diagnosing and IMO is better left up to you...

Just start with the ECU since its the source of all life to that bad mama-jamma of a car you have. After that just take your time and diagnose/replae things as necessary. Basically anything that has a "chip" in it will NOT like water at all. Some sensors do not either. I have dealt with water damage before but not up to the steerign wheel :p Just remember its most likely not as bad as you think, if you report it then most likely yoru title will be ****ed. Jsut repair it all yourself and do it right.

The ECu is the first step...

[drifter sx]

good stuff people.. and ill do the best i can. but like i said, ive never messed with the ECU before. i replaced ALL fuses.. everything wotkes.. replaced all the plugs.. same situtaion. its possible its bad plug wires and that shoudlnt be a problem.. but again. its TRYING to start, its just not actually starting..

[Nathan]

Where in Texas are you? I know we got a bunch of rain up in north texas around when that happened to you...if your around here, hit up some of the dallas junkyards, just get a new ecu go from there!

[sage]

ive dealt with fried circuit boards before, actually i believe your computer stuff COULD still be just fine, but i guarantee that it is still wet.......take out all circuit boards in teh car you can find, and bake them at the lowest possible setting in your oven! ASAP! otherwise they will start corroding, and will be really ruined. you could even open them all up and inspect to see any corroding, it is possible to clean it off. also for your engine not starting thing, take off all electrical components on the engine- distributor, plug wires, and clean/blow dry if possible, make sure all lines are clear, water residue inside is bad! also, when you finally do start your car, run the heater on high for a long time to attempt to dry out the rest of the dash components! hope i helped some,-sage