My old petrol 1.6 carb engine car CA16S engine went through a flooded road. It got through the flood but conked out after and wouldn't restart successfully. The car is all mechanical (no electronics as such, as far as I am aware)The breakdown guy came out and tried to get it to start.Trying to dry out parts with WD40 then turning starter motor over for long periods of time. The top of the engine seemed dry, but there was signs of water inside the air filter housing even though the inlet is pretty high and protected by splash guards. Can only think it must of been spray off the wheels, as the water was pretty bad but not really deep. The inlet is near one of the wheels, but still seem fairly protected.
I have come to realise that if water had got into the engine then attempting to restart it was not a wise move, is this correct? The breakdown guy never warned about this when getting me to turn ignition over for quite long periods of time (I was pausing every 10s or so as not to burn out starter). Should he of warned about this? Am not sure what he was doing in the engine compartment while I was turning the ignition over.It was still "sparking" apparently, a good sign I think, what does this mean?
With all the starting the battery went flat (battery not so good) and car was towed home. Now how do I prepare to try and restart the car, bearing in mind its already been turned over quite a bit? Should I drain the oil first? Oil on dipstick does seem a bit watery on the finger although I am no expert. Oil level on dipstick also seems to be lower than when I checked it before the incident.Will it be necessary to immediately change the filter too before attempting to restart it or can I get away leaving it?
Is the prognosis good or bad? Possible damage/remedy?