Can My Flooded M3 Be Saved?

[Onefastsicilian]

1M with single digit mileage!!! What the FUCK

SAD... older guy in his 70s.. collects cars and lost that and a rare aston martin.... he was not happy. lol

[EthanolTurbo]

I’m local to you and luckily I had no issues but you’re one of many in the area. I work for westchester bmw and we had SOOO many cars towed in today that were flooded. One being a good clients 1M with single digit mileage and my other friends e30 m3.

Part out the good stuff that you can and move on. Or gut it and go to work on restoring.. those are your only options.

1M with single digit mileage!!! What the FUCK

[FBloggs]

while we're on the topic....and I'm not trying to be a vulture here.....what's the opinion of transmissions being able to survive a flood? I could use one and it seems like one of the parts of the car that would be just fine even after being fully submerged.

drain it, fill it, drive it 50 miles or so, then drain and fill again?

I would think a diff should survive, what else should we be on the lookout for?

I lost a car in 2010 to flood water.
The mechanical bits I promptly flushed with cheap versions of their respective fluids, then some alcohol, then more cheap lube.
Saved them.
I dried the electronics but the boards were damaged and the ecu caught fire.

[tnord]

while we're on the topic....and I'm not trying to be a vulture here.....what's the opinion of transmissions being able to survive a flood? I could use one and it seems like one of the parts of the car that would be just fine even after being fully submerged.

drain it, fill it, drive it 50 miles or so, then drain and fill again?

I would think a diff should survive, what else should we be on the lookout for?

[Onefastsicilian]

I’m local to you and luckily I had no issues but you’re one of many in the area. I work for westchester bmw and we had SOOO many cars towed in today that were flooded. One being a good clients 1M with single digit mileage and my other friends e30 m3.

Part out the good stuff that you can and move on. Or gut it and go to work on restoring.. those are your only options.

[eacmen]

How many pounds of rice will it take to submerge a whole car?

jk: Sorry for your loss op. Good luck!

[Jimbo's M]

If the battery was disconnected then most electronic modules/parts should work after drying up all moisture. But with fresh water flood there is still hope.

OP, to save the engine, change the oil, then you need to crank the engine to lube all critical components by shot gun the starter to turn it: disconnect the starter big cable from the right fender jump post, then jump that cable to a good battery (battery negative to car chassis). you need to bypass the EWS by pulling out the two smaller wires off the starter, then use a short wire to jump from the big 12v nut to the small terminal (used to connected to EWS wire) and this should spin the engine (remove the spark plugs before doing this).

Soak up the carpet then use hair dryer.

You are racing against the clock.

Remind me NOT to buy a used car from you...

[lvm3sm46]

Between insurance and parting it out you should get some good money. I thinking moving on is the best idea.

[Obioban]

If it was completely submerged… it’s sadly time to let go. She’s done.

[sapote]

Your interior will likely be the least of your problems. Anything electrical that was submerged is unlikely to be salvageable. That includes the full wiring harness - which (in my experience) is always toast.

If the battery was disconnected then most electronic modules/parts should work after drying up all moisture. But with fresh water flood there is still hope.

OP, to save the engine, change the oil, then you need to crank the engine to lube all critical components by shot gun the starter to turn it: disconnect the starter big cable from the right fender jump post, then jump that cable to a good battery (battery negative to car chassis). you need to bypass the EWS by pulling out the two smaller wires off the starter, then use a short wire to jump from the big 12v nut to the small terminal (used to connected to EWS wire) and this should spin the engine (remove the spark plugs before doing this).

Soak up the carpet then use hair dryer.

You are racing against the clock.

[Nate047]

Not worth it. Sorry for your loss!

[OneSwellFoop]

If you want to strip it down to the frame and replace almost everything, then you can save it, but it'll cost you less money and be a lot less trouble to just make an insurance claim and buy a new one. Fortunately, for you, you ought to get a good value out of it with prices being what they are. Depending on options and configuration, you might get enough to pick up a 996 911 with the IMS bearing already taken care of.

[rbg]

Actually, rain water is pretty poor conductor. Assuming you will let it dry and then clean properly, electrical stuff would be least of the problems.

[FBloggs]

Let her go.
she was immersed in water....all the while, quite a bit of the circuitry was active, and we know what water does to live circuits.
Commiserations..

[tnord]

unless you're planning on a full rebuild.....like stripping it down to the shell full rebuild...don't even bother. you might as well just light money on fire. as mentioned, water will enter into at least a couple of the cylinders based on whatever valves were open at the time. It's a great re-build candidate, as you should be able to just put new bearings in it, hone it, and go through all the basic engine rebuild steps without having to worry about a bad crank, severely warped head, etc.

just off the top of my head I can't see how you'd get this car back up and running even in track car form for less than $20k.