Flooded 39 Ford help 24 inches water

[Bubba]

Need help on what I need to do first It got about 24 inches, drained engine, drive train etc may Need tips on pulling wheels maybe should have ben first see what I can do today I'm 85 and I know they can be tough and so many other things to try to save. Have or had a top notch 8BA out back water up to carb 30 inches out there with lot of parts etc.

I feel BLESSED water liked Two 2 inches coming in house.

I'm in Sour Lake 77659 Texas 75 miles east of Houston and got 40 + inches rain over 3 days

Thanks for any help

[Big-Foot]

Bubba - I wish I wasn't 1500 miles from you or I'd be right there to help.
Make sure you get the cap off the master cylinder and use a turkey baster or something to suck the poisoned fluid out, then get fresh fluid in the brakes and bleed them good. Brake fluid sucks up water like crazy and will rot out everything that's steel and iron.
Of course you'll want to drain the fuel system also.
Best of luck to you - been praying for you all down there for quite some time. Got family a few hundred miles north of you and most have been down there trying to help out.

[JSeery]

This could be a tough one! The water could have gotten into just about anything. The engine vents could have let water into the engine, same with the transmission. Water could also get into the electrical components and brakes. It possible to get into just about anything that was submerged. You are most likely going to need some help, some of this is not easy on your own. I would start by draining the engine oil and transmission oil and pay close attention to see if there is any water present.

The light switch at the end of the steering column will most likely need to be dried out and the steering box might have water in it as well. Sorry, but can't think of much good news.

[G.M.]

I would spend a lot of time with compressed air and a blow gun. There is a red
paste you could find at any gas station. Put some of it on a heavy wire or some-
thing that will go down in the gas tank. It changes color if there is water in the
gas. Blow the brakes out with air between the drums and backing plates and
shoot a load of brake cleaner in. If the is water in the trans or rear it floats to
the top and will come out first if you slowly remove the filler plugs. I doubt at
24"s it got in the brake fluid but as described above remove the fluid and refill.
Spray a LOAD of electrical contact cleaner in the head light switch. You drained
and changed the oil so the engine will be OK. Good luck G.M.

Don't forget back in the days when these cars were our everyday driver they
were driven though all kinds of water.

[mfagan]

Get a case of WD-40 for the electrics ! Lol.

[rotorwrench]

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With a hub puller (KR Wilson type or equivalent) available from restoration sources, a person can pull the rear hubs and unbolt the front hubs to get at the wheel bearings and brakes. They should be checked out, dried out, and serviced to prevent corrosion. Dump the engine oil, trans oil, and rear axle oil and re-service with appropriate lubricant. If water comes out of the engine, the cylinders will need to be cleared and oiled. The distributor should be removed and cleaned/lubed, especially if it is a helmet type. If it is an 8BA type, it may not have been affected. The starter should be checked out. You might have problems with other items like the clutch, throw out bearing, U-joint, and drive shaft damper bearing. All suspension & steering grease points should be serviced. Shock absorbers may have been inundated with water and should be checked out and shock oil changed if needed. Electrical wiring may have been saturated on anything that was under water and could end up with corrosion problems. Any where water could be trapped needs to be dried out and flushed in some manner to preserve it. The fuel system and all brake parts below the water line should be thoroughly checked and service as appropriate. If the water stayed out of the fuel tank, that would be a good thing but even the sending unit & wiring should be checked out.

This all is going to be a daunting task but it's the only way you can insure the future functionality and serviceability of the vehicle. Most folks just collect the insurance on flooded vehicles (if they have it) and go get another vehicle but these old historic vehicles are worth preserving if possible. I'm sure your not the only person in the east Texas coastal region with this dilemma. It's been rough on a lot of folks for sure. I'm sure glad to hear your living space is good. My niece in League City stayed dry but her family had been flooded out twice before moving to the house they're in now.

[George/Maine]

Having owned a flood car drain the steering box, they are hard to fix.
Loosen the 4 boxes and put new oil ,next the brakes.

[40 Deluxe]

High humidity will aggravate trapped moisture problems as things just won't dry out. If you have an enclosed garage, seal up any openings as much as possible and get a good sized dehumidifier going as you follow the previous suggestions. Keep the car's doors, trunk and windows open, too.

[richard crow]

you did not say if it was fresh water or salt. if it was salt it,s much more of a problem. if fresh water drain eng trans rear & steering box gas tank refill then take it for a fast ride at least 50 mpn step on brakes till they feel right fresh water is no big deal salt water that,s a much bigger problem how maney times have you gone through a deep puddel & had no brakes but you keep working the brakes & the water dries up & you get your brakes back if it got in the inside of the car park it in the texas sun with the doors trunk hood open that heat will dry it

[koates]

Hi there, Sorry for your situation. I know its hard to do physical work on your truck when you are older. If your distributer is original and down the front of the engine then it will at least have to be opened up (caps or coil lifted off) and a good blow out with compressed air and then let it air out for several hours before refitting caps. Hope you can get back to normal soon. Regards, Kevin.

[fordor41]

reminds me of a '65 ford wagon I bought that was flooded in '72 from hurricane Agnes to the head liner. removed the interior, opened the doors & went to florida for 2 wks. came back and painted all the interior metal with Rustoleum damp proof primer,reinstalled the interior. installed the engine and trans from my other ford wagon. cleaned the speedo and reset to 0000. put 85,000 miles on it and only problem I had was the brake booster really got goofy acting. no electical issues at all.

[Bubba]

First I won't THINK all for your feed back

It was fresh water

The pan had 1 1/2 gal water transmission 1 Qt. rear end 0 for some reason Master cyl. 0, and it was 6" under I had jacked the front up had no water in distributor so it fired up an I backed off the brakes moved it back and forth to louse them no transmission oil so did not drive it. Today I will start pulling wheels clean pack bearings I don't know if I need to change all the brake stuff +don't know if I can get the drums turned or trued around here, called and have not found anyone I have a good set of drums from a 36 pickup don't know if they will fit 39? Bubba in Texas

[David J]

Your U-joint cavity will have water in it .

[JSeery]

Brake drums get water up around them often, wouldn't be to concerned there. I would bleed the brakes with fresh brake fluid (basically flush out the lines and wheel cylinders).

[barnfind]

A heat gun, basically an oversize hair dryer, will probably be helpful for forcing hot air into body cavities.

[richard crow]

what do you guys do after you drive the car in the rain or go through a deep pudle. it,s fresh water we drink it we bath in it just drive it like you stole it .the insi. did not get wet ther,s no coumputer the car is a simple old ford not a high teck mecades.just thank god it was not salt water

[Mart]

Yes, I would not have the drums skimmed. just drive it (when everything else is ready) and they will soon dry uot. It wouldn't hurt to pull the hubs and drums to let everything air out. You could check there is no water in the bearings also.

Best to not overthink it. do the obvious, and drive it sooner than later. just driving and getting the air blowing through it will do it good.

It's not that much different than driving in a torrential rain storm. Keep going and it soon dries out.

Mart.

[stangblue]

I worked in a transmission shop that flooded. We opened about 2 dozen trannys that were on the bottom rack. I blew all out the planetaries and clutch packs with compressed air an squirted trans fluid over the bottom end while removing the valve bodies. None of the trannys worked properly after they were installed..
Oil and fluids attract water! And you can't get rid off it without a complete disassembly.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by richard crow

what do you guys do after you drive the car in the rain or go through a deep pudle. it,s fresh water we drink it we bath in it just drive it like you stole it .the insi. did not get wet ther,s no coumputer the car is a simple old ford not a high teck mecades.just thank god it was not salt water

That's true, but there is a big different between driving through water and having a car set in water for an extended period of time. He has already found water in the engine and transmission. That doesn't happen just driving in the rain or going through a deep puddle.

[rotorwrench]

Flood water is a mix of all sorts of crap. Mud or fine silt gets in right along with the water. All that crap has to get flushed out. I've been through a few floods and what they leave behind inside cars ain't purty. I sure wouldn't leave anything I own like that to run. I sure wouldn't bath in flood water either. That crap is dangerous.

[richard crow]

that,s the difference between the army & the air force

[V12Bill]

I once had a body shop and had a Cxxx pickup towed in that had run into a creek. Only the engine got submerged. I drained the engine oil and changed the filter and put an once or two of oil in each cylinder. Used compressed air to blow out the carb and distributor and started the engine. It smoked pretty good at first, but then cleared up. Customer never had a problem or at least I never heard of one.