No starter action after flooding

[RichMoss]

Who'd have thought it .....two feet of flood water in the desert? (Abu Dhabi).

1996 2 door Tahoe 5.7L ........after biblical amounts of rain fall 2 weeks ago, my Tahoe spent 2 days up to its floor level in flood water. The starter motor was under water for at least 24 hours buh there was no way to get to the truck to rescue it. It's all dried out now but when I turn the key, it's as dead as a Dodo.

The battery is good, everything else works but the starter doesn't engage. I've tried it in P and N, I've tried wiggling the shift lever while turning the key but still no joy.

I'm pretty inexperienced with these trucks (I'm really a Jeep guy) so I don't really know where to start chasing the fault. Does anyone have any suggestions about where to look?

Thanks

 

[Sean Buick 76]

I would start by inspecting the fuses and another idea would be to use a jumper cable to the starter to see if it will crank.

 

[RichMoss]

Thanks. Fuses are ok but I was thinking about the jump lead/jumper cable trick. I just need to find an hour or so when I'm not trying to sort the flood damage inside my house (15" of water across the whole ground floor)

 

[someotherguy]

Sorry to hear about all the flood drama that sucks.

I'm guessing you do have good visual cues of exactly how high the water got? If floor level was the absolute high point then that's at least a positive thing; I wouldn't expect water intrusion anywhere that could have caused serious damage like transmission or engine, and for the most part anything electrical like the convenience center and fuse panel should be fine.

Starter just might be corroded stuck somehow. Might consider removing it and see if it'll turn with some jumper cable action, outside of the truck. It may even still have water inside.

EDIT - I will add, the differential vents were probably submerged so you'll want to drain, clean, and refill. And now that I think about it.. transmission vent *MAYBE* .. I hope not.

Richard

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

EDIT - I will add, the differential vents were probably submerged so you'll want to drain, clean, and refill. And now that I think about it.. transmission vent *MAYBE* .. I hope not.

I'm thinking "wheel bearings".

Ball joints, tie rod ends, transfer case (2wd), transmission, U-joints, ...

Brake caliper slide pins, pistons,...

ANY electrical connection or connector that got submerged would be suspect IMHO... yeah, "Weatherpack" maybe, but not "Floodpack" are they?

Floodwater... ugh.

Somebody with practical experience can educate me, as I've only known one vehicle that sat in floodwater and that was during an evening rainstorm (not a "2-day" event like OP). Not much later I heard from the owner it had wheel bearing problems. I suspect that was just the beginning of the problems that would come later.

 

[someotherguy]

I'm thinking "wheel bearings".

Ball joints, tie rod ends, transfer case (2wd), transmission, U-joints, ...

Brake caliper slide pins, pistons,...

ANY electrical connection or connector that got submerged would be suspect IMHO... yeah, "Weatherpack" maybe, but not "Floodpack" are they?

Floodwater... ugh.

Somebody with practical experience can educate me, as I've only known one vehicle that sat in floodwater and that was during an evening rainstorm (not a "2-day" event like OP). Not much later I heard from the owner it had wheel bearing problems. I suspect that was just the beginning of the problems that would come later.

Sure, everything below water is suspect - but considering the amount of potential damage, instead of going nuts on it, I'd go after the "for sure" things first and just keep a suspicious eye on everything else.

Richard

 

[RichMoss]

On my Jeep ZJ Grand Cherokee, it literally washed all the oil oil out of the front axle - I drained out pure water. The transfer case and rear axle were 50:50 but the engine nd transmission are ok.

On the Tahoe the front diff oil is all on the floor and the other fluids will probably be the same as the Jeep - although the Jeep as flooded longer and deeper, with the interior getting wet (Tahoe stayed dry inside).

More heavy rain due tonight

 

[GoToGuy]

" Fording " crossing a stream or creek is temporary, short term water hazard.
But being in a flood, as in " put in a pan to soak" , is what you might call " a more serious situation" . A four wheel drive will fair better, as vents are in a higher position. But water will find a way in any crack, crevice, loose fitting seal.
The financial downside of not changing, flushing all fluids from the high water in level down would far out weigh the cost those new fluids. Axle lube, chassis grease, bearing check, ATF , power steering fluid, flush brake fluid, transfer case if applicable.
I would remove the starter to test. There is a good chance any connectors are retaining water after being submerged. As said before " weatherpack" , rain, storm, splash, but not underwater proof.
I would view it as this is a new Zero point in my service records, and $ 200 in fluids and filters will be a lot cheaper than broke down somewhere.
Yes , I over think things, but if you consider the worst case scenario....I don't wanna be that guy. Good luck!

 

[RichMoss]

Success! I finally found enough time to look at this.

I crawled underneath and undid the connectors on the cables running to the solenoid, reseated them a couple of times to clean up the contacts and then gave solenoid a gentle tap with a hammer and "vroom", it engaged first time and started straight up.

I then took a look at the front differential and drained it..... to find it totally full of water, instead of oil (as expected!). So that's now been flushed and refilled and I'm back in business. I also changed the ATF in the transfer case. No water but it looked about a million years old. Rear axle next.

Thanks for your input, chaps