help! flooded-- 3 inches standing water

Also, water was probably 2-feet high for about 45 minutes before the sewers caught up.

Fresh water. Not salt water.

Last thing: car started immediately with no hiccup.

You should probably not have driven the car at all,,,,,if water was that high, you have water in the engine oil for sure,,,

you need to have the engine oil changed, probably several times to be sure that no water is left,,,

If its an Auto,,have the fluid flushed,,again several times,,,,manual,,then gear box should be flushed, and oil changed.

Noise might be the electronic engine mount - could be damaged, or dirty. Also might be just a wet seprentine belt,,,best case.

Hopefully not main engine bearing damage,,

Mike wrote:

I'm not saying that your car is in perfect shape ,but it looks like you came out OK. In your case, to make the best of that situation I would change all the engine fluids, motor oil, tranny, power steering, etc. Probanly not much, if any, water got into the engine. Your body and interior may have received more damage, the symptoms of which may not show themselves for a very very long time.

CD

Yeah, it was a tough call. I wanted to get the car out of the area in case of more rain, and I wanted to get the standing water out of the interior ASAP.

Since the engine turned over immediately and I didn't think the water got more than 20 inches high, I decided to make the quick jaunt home.

Sigh...I need a beer.

Not necessarily. The intake system is pretty high on that car. Pull the dipstick and oil filler cap. If there's water in there they will be covered with a thick white froth. At least it was fresh water. You might want to put a dehumidifier in the car and close it up for a few days. The water gets under the carpet and pad and in the seat foam. It might feel dry, but it's probably not.

Jim,

Thanks for the tip. I think the dehumidifier was a good idea and I'm doing it right now. And you are right about feeling dry. I took it over to my local carwash to use the industrial vacuums. Even though it felt dry, after using the big vacuum, the carpets were once again wet because of all the moisture it pulled up.

Dealing with insurance was a boondoggle. I called them yesterday morning. They set up a claim and told me to take it to Nissan Autobody. I paid to have it towed. Nissan Autobody said they didn't know what the hell they were doing and that my car wouldn't be looked at until next week. It was gonna sit outside, in 90-degree heat, with the windows up and they wouldn't budge on this. This was unacceptable to me.

I walked 3-blocks to the Isuzu dealer who said this was a terrible idea to let the car sit outside with windows up. He told me that at least he would give me garage space so it could air out. Said to check the oil. If the oil level was ok and the engine runs, drive it 3-blocks to him. I did so, and he recommended I could drive the car home and work on it in my own garage. Much better than letting it bake.

Dont you just love this new "customer service" oriented world we live in,,,?

Sorry you are having so much trouble - but good news is that it still runs,,,though that noise you reported is a concern.

Mike wrote: