Hi folks. My fieros were completely under water. Is it possible to save/restore the fieros? I did have time to disconnect the batteries since I could not get them to high ground.
Drain EVERY FLUID, Oil ,Trans BRAKES. then the only thing left is the wiring and electric Motors (which COULD take Years to dry out) I'd personally Change the wire harnesses. the headlight, fans, and window/dash motors should probably be taken apart and cleaned. as for the engine/trans, suspension and body, Sure it can be saved.
Yes, it is possible, but keep in mind that every inch of the electrical system has to be replaced or refurbished. Every piece of engine, drive train and mechanical apparatus must be rehabed. Places you wouldnt think of, need to be addressed. Mud gets into every nook and cranny of the structural parts that are welded and not accessible. I did a flood car in 1972. It is very labor intensive and you can't cut corners and expect to have the car last.
Draining and refilling fluids doesnt usually work. Mud gets everywhere. That med can only be removed by disassembling the parts. Engine, transmission ans any other non sealed place has to be disassemballed. Keep in mind that seals are designed to keep oil in, not to keep dirty water out.
That's a great reminder that it's not just water that's gotten into everything... it's the mud and the grit and anything/everything else that might've been suspended in the water.
I have a friend at a car shop....The guy has had an 88 Fiero GT sitting for a few years....Older lady owns it; IT went in a river- full submersion...and will not run right. Starts and runs until warmed up then goes super rich....
He wants to replace the whole wire harness....So, does anyone make a replacement harness?
If it was submerged in salt water I'd say forget it but a fresh water dip may turn our different. A friend from a while back submerged his Fiero in fresh water. He changed all fluids and filters, drained the gas tank and sucked out residual water from the cylinders with a shop vac. He sprayed all switches , ignition wires and connectors with electrical cleaner and used a heat gun for drying. . He replaced the ECM , Distributor, MAP sensor and since it was summer he let the windows down and let everything dry for a couple of weeks. Surprisingly the car started again and ran but the radio and most of the gauges were trashed. It took a long while for the seats to dry out but after some cleaning they looked good. The answer is that a submerged car can be salvaged but items like headlight motors, side view mirror motors, heater motor, the radio, power door locks, power windows may or may not work. The A/C system is sealed so that should be OK but the compressor clutch might not be. Its a small investment to attempt a fix so try it and see what happens.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Keep in mind the inside of your engine, dash, HVAC, ... everything... will look like this.
Yes, they can be saved, but unless you were going to do a frame off restoration anyway, they'll likely never be "right" again. To me it wouldn't be worth the effort unless you had a rare or custom vehicle, or a lot of sentimental value tied into it. In those cases, it's a labor of love. It will never be a financially sound decision for the average Fiero.
Even if you can save the car with his method, it's still a crap shoot how long it would last.
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 10-16-2016).]
Sorry, "freshwater flood" is a Myth. Hurricane and others big floods, even if you area gets only rain, are not the same as driving into a lake/river. Yes Mud/dirt gets into everything But Because often polluted with sewer water, fuel and far worse HAZMAT materials. If you try to save anything, not just cars, You should use HEPA filters and well fitting mask to prevent breathing god know what crap. Cheap dust mask isn't good at this.
Saving Engine etc is only a start of your problems. polluted water and mold and germs after soaking in it can cause big health problems if not clean fast and well. Is why many started ripped out carpet and drywall from homes the day they get access to the property. This weeks weather is calling for high 70's and 80's won't help because most Molds loves warm to hot weather.
Seats Carpet and many soft parts love to grow mold and some germs because can easy hold the "water" for days or weeks, even longer.
Wiring can hold water too. "Freshwater" is often very conductive and can short or "eat" the copper. Worse for Stranded wire in a car because will wick the water and crap deep inside the insulation and attack the wire over time. Example: Many Fusible links blow when old soft insulation lets water etc inside then that will "eat" the wire until too small to carry the power and fries off. The same will happen anywhere and often little to no warning to many flood cars that are "saved." Even don't cause a fire, you'll be chancing wire problems forever.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Originally posted by cvxjet: I have a friend at a car shop....The guy has had an 88 Fiero GT sitting for a few years....Older lady owns it; IT went in a river- full submersion...and will not run right. Starts and runs until warmed up then goes super rich....
He wants to replace the whole wire harness....So, does anyone make a replacement harness?
Find a junk 87-88 car w/ same engine and trans (Stick or Auto) and get the wiring, electric motors, etc. Replace ECM Sensors etc too. (ECM's PROM/MEMCAL may or not be good. EPROM can take getting wet but can let water inside depending on several things. EPROM likely has corrosion on pins..)
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 10-16-2016).]
Back around 2010, as we returned from one of the Run For The Hills events, we encountered torrential rains. Those rains continued in the Atlanta area for most of the week. Jerry Thayer, who now lives in the Charlotte, NC area had to vacate his abode and didn't have time to get his 85GT out before flood waters engulfed it. I believe it was submerged, at least part way up the windshield.
He totally disassembled the car, cleaned everything and painted everything, tore the engine apart and I think he only flushed the manual transmission, and put it back together. Of course, upholstery had to be replaced. I believe he is still driving the car to this day. It can be done. I believe it took him about a year, but I don't know how often he worked on it. Jerry did it all by himself, since he was working in a secure area at the Atlanta Hartsfield airport.
Hi folks. My fieros were completely under water. Is it possible to save/restore the fieros? I did have time to disconnect the batteries since I could not get them to high ground.
Sorry to hear your situation --- that really stinks. How many did you lose? What state were they in before the flood? will insurance give you anything for them?
Originally posted by E.Furgal: 1. Find a auto body shop with a heated booth, and see if they will put the car in there overnight for a few days.. this will dry everything out..
2. Water that entered the engine has to go through the air filter, so no mud there.. 3. brakes are a sealed system.. no need to drain that..
1. Might help but can take longer then a day. Example: Pads under carpet can hold water and many don't dry easy. If the shop can't do this fast, car can get mold etc growing and that can cause health problems to many people even after drying. 2. Maybe or not... Depend on other opening that often have little to no filter etc. Even if engine is clear of mud... Alternator WP and others parts can get enough flood dirt/mud to wreck them. WP seal keeps coolant in the systems and away from bearings.... Many things have "Sealed" bearing but aren't sealed enough to keep out flood water and crap. 3. Wrong. Brake system seals are only keep out water in air and bad weather driving. Fluid Wet Spec is under 4% water. Leave a tank or bottle open over night and fluid can be bad because pull water from air. Many Flood Cars (and Mud Crawlers etc) can have a lot more then 4% because Brake Fluid can pull flood water around all seals and even thru hoses and easy become so Wet the Fluid can boil as water. Worse... Fiero and others Rear brakes can have piston problems too. "Water" can get into the space in the "yellow plug" covers and sit to corrode them and make fluid wet too. See my Cave, Rear Piston notes (Some valves maybe a different color. Recall kit pistons have a small hole on the side just under the the piston boot.)
I've had industrial equipment that I had to save after floods, one here back in the 80's that submerged 2 forklifts and a 125ft man lift from Katrina. Most of the electrical had to be replaced, however the engines and hyds weren't as bad as I thought. Fluid flushes and they were up and running. The good thing with that was no carpet to suck up water and mold.
My 88 GT was completely submerged by tropical storm Irene 5 years ago. Believe it or not almost everything can be saved if you get to it in time. The only things I replaced were spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, the jute in front of the dash, the odometer and a couple of relays. Put over 20k on the car in the last 5 years, and no issues with mold or rust. I pulled everything apart and powerwashed and cleaned the heck out of everything though. It can be done, but its A LOT of work.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by E.Furgal: 1. Find a auto body shop with a heated booth, and see if they will put the car in there overnight for a few days.. this will dry everything out..
2. Water that entered the engine has to go through the air filter, so no mud there.. 3. brakes are a sealed system.. no need to drain that..
1. Might help but can take longer then a day. Example: Pads under carpet can hold water and many don't dry easy. If the shop can't do this fast, car can get mold etc growing and that can cause health problems to many people even after drying. 2. Maybe or not... Depend on other opening that often have little to no filter etc. Even if engine is clear of mud... Alternator WP and others parts can get enough flood dirt/mud to wreck them. WP seal keeps coolant in the systems and away from bearings.... Many things have "Sealed" bearing but aren't sealed enough to keep out flood water and crap. 3. Wrong. Brake system seals are only keep out water in air and bad weather driving. Fluid Wet Spec is under 4% water. Leave a tank or bottle open over night and fluid can be bad because pull water from air. Many Flood Cars (and Mud Crawlers etc) can have a lot more then 4% because Brake Fluid can pull flood water around all seals and even thru hoses and easy become so Wet the Fluid can boil as water. Worse... Fiero and others Rear brakes can have piston problems too. "Water" can get into the space in the "yellow plug" covers and sit to corrode them and make fluid wet too. See my Cave, Rear Piston notes (Some valves maybe a different color. Recall kit pistons have a small hole on the side just under the the piston boot.)[/QUOTE]
There is more flood vehicles on the road,, that after the flood got nothing but oil/trans /and if needed rear end fluid changed.. and the interior cleaned and dried out.. There are hundreds of thousands of them.. running around with no issues.. todays water tight connections are not like the old days..
A few nights in a headed paint booth will dry out the interior and wiring.. A quick blast of air from a blow gun will get the dust out of the alt.. etc.. it's super easy on a fiero to get to the heater vents to clean that out..
I've found that most electrical problems on these flood vehicles come from bonehead techs that back probe wires and with a power probe or test light breaking the wire insulation and not bothering, sealing it after with liquid electrical tape/insulation ..
Most of the900 N.Y. taxi's brand new ford crown vic's that sandy flooded now have 300k + on them.. with nothing but a few days baking in a booth and oil,trans, and rear fluid changes..
[This message has been edited by E.Furgal (edited 10-18-2016).]
A couple weeks after I got my first Fiero I watched from inside as it got flooded at least up to the door sills, over the hubs, and up the exhaust. It was just sitting in the parking lot when it rained hard and faster than the drains could keep up. For the SUV's in the lot this was a non-event, but the Fiero sits so low to the ground. This has likely happened to most city-dwelling examples.
I waited a couple days, but all that happened right away was water sprayed out the exhaust. The brakes worked, but later I found the lines were pretty close to rusted through. The floor has small holes now. That car hasn't started for two years, which probably has more to do with sitting for two years before that due to the brake problems.
I've also driven this car through high standing water. When I've done this with cabs, etc. I hear that the hubs had to be replaced. Apparently the grease gets washed out.
I had a Volvo that smelled from the carpets getting wet. I took them out and left them in the sun for several hours over a couple days while I fixed the holes in the floor. Worked great!
Often electrical parts that get wet will be ok if you don't try to use them wet. The water causes shorts.
Sorry to hear your situation --- that really stinks. How many did you lose? What state were they in before the flood? will insurance give you anything for them?
No flood insurance; homeowners policy covers nothing. I'm in Goldsboro, NC. The fieros were: 87 3800SC GT, 87 SE, 88 Formula. All were registered and driveable. The non -fieros included a fully restored 66 mustang coupe, 70 mustang fastback in the process of being restored (a project with my 13 year old grandson), and my 93 ford ranger farm truck.
As I told my wife, they are all material things that can be replaced. we got out safely. BTW- thank you all for your input.
