My friend needs body parts for his 2003 Nissan 350Z. He plans to buy a flooded car from Texas with everything already pre-painted. He offered me the flood car’s carcass and his old, slightly dented body panels for essentially nothing.
The car has a manual transmission. For the race, nothing electrical other than the starter, engine, and the brake lights have to work. ABS brakes, traction control, stereo, windows, headlights, etc. can all be disregarded. Gauges would probably be nice to have. The interior doesn’t matter. The moldy interior panels would all be stripped out to reduce weight and make the roll cage easier to install. I would install new race seats. I would also upgrade the brakes, so I was planning on new calipers, rotors, and pads. I would plan to reuse the brake master cylinder and most of the brake lines unless that’s a terrible idea but obviously I’d flush the brake fluid.
Judging from the pictures, the car was completely swamped with water over the roof. There is no real chance everything didn’t get complete wet. The dash lights do come on though, so at least some of the electrical system is alive.
What should I do before trying to start it to see if it starts? I’d like to explore whether it runs in the most cost-effective manner possible. My initial plan was to:
Drain the gas tank and refill with clean gas plus a couple of cans of dry gas. (Do you think I need to change the fuel filter before I try to start it? I doubt that it has run since the flood so I don’t think that the filter likely to be clogged. If I could get it to start and run, I’d plan on changing it after).
Charge the battery.
Pull the spark plugs and crank over the engine to remove any water in the cylinders. Clean and reinstall the spark plugs.
Change the oil.
If it runs without too much complaint, I would move on to changing the transmission oil and seeing if the clutch and transmission work. Or is the transmission sealed well enough that I could test the clutch and transmission without bothering the change the oil?
If it runs, what are the next repair/maintenance items to ensure it can drive reliably? How terrible is my plan?
I have restored a flooded car, and it went into the water running and blew the head gasket. Your basic plan is sound. Don’t skimp on the fuel filter and I would try and blow the lines clear, it doesn’t take much. On modern cars there are also various canisters in the fuel system that will need attention.
Wheel bearings need attention although most are well sealed today. Ditto for the CV joints. If the rubber bellows on the joints are OK they are probably good to go. The entire brake system needs to be flushed but the rotors and such can just be inspected. Rust will clean off.
I’m not sure about the transmission but I think most are sealed. Certainly drain and refill a manual gearbox.
Squirt WD-40 in the cylinders before cranking.
I had electrical problems later that slowly developed. The speedometer and tach were never steady.
I’ll start by saying you certainly have lofty ambitions (the 24 hours of LeMans goal). everyone’s gotta have dreams i suppose.
anyway, do what you mentioned originally.
the fuel filter could go one way or the other. at least break the line loose before the injector rail and jumper out the fuel pump relay to purge the line of any water.
before i cranked the car at all, I’d find the e.c.u. (engine control unit) and remove it. take it apart & dry & clean completely. look at the harness plug real well for any signs of moisture. dry completely if there is any. it would be a good idea to do this with all control units.
I’d personally want to check lots of engine related connectors for moisture.
I’d drill a few holes in the exhaust in low points. small holes an exhaust shop could weld up easily if the need arose.
i wouldn’t crank the car till i had at least drained the transmission fluid until oil, not water, was coming out. if the car starts up, then you can change out the transmission fluid, diff fluid & brake fluid before driving it.
in general, look for any water, anywhere, and get rid of it.
probably be a good idea to disable the air bags.
expect electrical gremlins with some frequency if/ when the car is ever drivable again.
Definitely clean out the ECU. Get some good electronics cleaning fluid and flush it off. Gently brush it.
The vehicle may run. A lot of controlled parts have a default operating range. But if the ECU has problems, the car will probably not run right over it’s full range.
If it was flooded with fairly fresh water, things may be pretty good. Dry it all out and clean with the electronics cleaning fluid.
If you are really planning to race it. Depending on the race rules, you may be able to replace the very complicated ECU with a more basic system. One that does not have to respond to every little thing that is out of spec.
Most complex electronics have programmable, chips. If power is applied when wet or shorts here and there, the programming can be corrupted or erased. Clean and dry ASAP, before powering up.
I still didn’t click it out of old habits, afraid I was being trolled into a lemon party -esque website… If you don’t know what that is, good for you!
Anyhow for the OP; check your coolant hoses too and make sure you flush the radiator really well or replace it, it will soon fail if flood water was in it, change the drive belt and run brake fluid through the brake lines until it runs clear. Replace fuses in the PDU or take them out and used compressed air to clean the fuse receptacles, if any particles get lodged from the flood, it can wreak havoc, at minimum make the fuses burn out at a bad time. You can use seafoam cleaner in the engine and a quick flush of the gas tank as well. Tranmissions are usually closed, but still best to look at it just in case and smell/inspect the fluid (i’m not very good with tranmissions). If your coolant was contaminated, take out the thermostat and slowly boil it in some water to make sure in expands/contracts, or just put a new one in. Another suggestion, make sure to wash the underbody and let it dry out, then lubricate damn near everything, WD-40 first, grease and oil second. Likely about $200-400 dollars worth of materials if you shop wise (if you are planning on replacing anything). I recommend RockAuto for the parts and a weekend to get it done.
Plan isn’t too crazy, it will likely work out just fine.
Thanks everyone. I will definitely clean out the fuel tank and fuel lines. I appreciate the suggestions from mr horsepower and Kedicat to clean and dry the ECU, sensors and fuse panel too. It’s a bit more labor but clearly that’s the better course of action.
Thanks Dennis. This all seems like sound advice. This car came out of the Texas floods. I doubt it was running when it got soaked. It was probably just left behind and couldn’t fend for itself. Was the car you restored a fairly modern ECU-controlled car? What canisters in the fuel system are you talking about? Are those merely for emissions? The car won’t be street legal anymore so it won’t have to pass emissions.
Lemons, as others have noted. I probably should have explained that the gist of Lemons racing buying and running a car purchased for $500 or less. In my case, I will buy the car and sell the parts to my friend for the car’s cost. In the end, I’ll have the full $500 to spend on reliability but, let’s face it, that’s a skimpy budget for a flooded car.
I planned to start with seeing if the engine would run and then, as you suggest, deal with the transmission and differential. It will get brand new brakes. Safety gear has an unlimited budget and I don’t plan to skimp. Good idea to disable the airbags. I’ll keep that fuse out.
Any recommendations on electronics cleaning fluid?
The rules basically allow you to spend any amount you want on safety components but really nothing more than the $500 on acquisition and parts to make it more reliable. A new programmable ECU is out of the budget given that I suspect that I may need parts like a new MAP sensor, crank position sensor, etc. if those don’t work right.
Most of your advice seems sound but should I really worry about contamination in the radiator? It’s sealed against all the operating pressure so I doubt the flood water could contaminate the coolant.
On a 2003 there’s likely to be more than one ECU. ECU stands for “electronic control unit” and the one which controls the engine- the power train control module or PCM- is just one of them. The car very likely also has a body control module (BCM) somewhere inside the car which controls things like the lights, power equipment, etc. if that module is faulting the car probably still can’t start and run.
Maybe, maybe not. My old Dodge had a faulty BCM that never interfered with engine operation in the slightest. It made using any power accessory impossible (except for “unlock” and “lower window”), killed all interior lights, and flatlined all gauges (including speedo). But the engine ran just fine. No ammeter, no oil pressure gauge, no tach, no speedo, but the idiot lights probably still worked.
i actually said to deal with the transmission before you attempted to start it.
it doesn’t matter that the car will be in neutral. if the clutch is engaged (pedal out) when the engine is rotating, the input shaft on the transmission is going to be rotating also.
this will make you say to yourself, ‘well, I’ll just keep the clutch pressed in when i first start it’.
don’t do that. clutch discs can not-slide on the input shaft (from being rusty or lacking lubrication) not letting it walk back from the flywheel (like it’s supposed to) or, especially likely if the car has been under water, it can be rusted/ frozen/ stuck to the flywheel.
either of those cases means the input shaft will spin regardless of clutch position.
drain the transmission of all it’s water 1st. it won’t cost you anything. you can put the plug in as soon as you start seeing gear oil (or whatever it uses) coming out, just don’t leave the water in there. those poor bearings are going to have a tough time as it is.
regarding electric cleaner. you can buy it at O’Reillys or Walmart. it will be labeled as such. it’s a high evaporative, or flash solvent that doesn’t leave residue and doesn’t harm the electronics.
More than likely it’d be fine, but just in case the car was sitting after the flood in the water and after, had cheap hoses, one split a little or typically the lower radiator hose being under slight vacuum and sucked a little in with one of the clamps rusted off or shifted… loose reservoir cap or bad gasket under the radiator cap, water seeping through the reservoir overflow etc… Like i said probably unlikely, but still a possibility since water can and will get everywhere. Sorry, should’ve elaborated more previously. Probably good enough though if you don’t plan on keeping the car.
Assuming a decent coolant system before the flood, 7-15 psi would be the absolute minimum that water inclusion could POSSIBLY be an issue. In reality, it would be MUCH more. Failing this threshold, it should be considered how much water could be possibly be introduced into a full coolant system… Considering this criteria, how much coolant could possibly have been displaced by floodwater? With that miniscule amount in mind, what is the possible effect upon engine operation of perhaps a few ounces of rainwater introduced into the engine coolant system? This is the least of the problems concerning a flooded engine… Other issues are far more pressing.
I tend to think if something can go wrong, it will go wrong… murphy’s law?
Just generalizing since there is no way to know actually how long the car was sitting in the flood water, how much coolant was in there, or the condition of it (the cooling system) before the flood and the effects of it sitting and drying out. Anything is possible. I was kind of thinking more along the lines of keeping the car/what would be done, but OP seemingly doesn’t plan on keeping it as a daily driver after the 24hr of lemons thing, so my idea is pointless anyway.
I digress. I do agree there are more pressing matters, though.
I hadn’t thought of the BCM, which I think usually controls the security system and ignition lockout. That’s obviously a big potential worry.
Point taken and I will definitely at least drain the water from the transmission before starting.
I can have up to four co-drivers. I have interest from four people. I’d give one of them a 50% chance of maintaining his interest and the others about 10% each. If you’re serious, I can keep you posted about the available seats. I’m looking for people with at least a little track experience who can hopefully turn a wrench without hurting themselves. You’d have to pay your own way, including part of the car’s build and consumables budget. I figure roughly $600 to $750 for that.
Thanks.
I should know later today if my friend wants to buy the car. If not, we’ll keep looking for another donor so the plan may live on even if it’s not executed right away.
getting the car going needs to happen via a process that let’s him do what needs to be done to get the car running, not damage anything further (or initially) in the process of doing it, and that limits his labor and cash outlay as much as can be, in case, for a multitude of possible, potential reasons, the car isn’t going to be usable for its intended purpose.
the cooling system needs to have it’s overflow dumped out, it needs to be close to full of whatever fluids in there and have a water pump belt intact. that’s it initially regarding the cooling system.
after that, he’s got to run straight water in the car when it’s at the track if it’s going to race in this series. anything other than just h2o is strictly forbidden.
Check out the MegaSquirt. It is a DIY fuel injection controller. I haven’t looked at it for a couple of years. Don’t know if it is still around or improved. But it may be able to get your engine running with decent control. It is programmable for tuning. Takes some sensor inputs to optimize fuel injection.