Resurrecting a flood damaged write off. Anyone done it?
Discussion
Ok, had one of those mad internet moments, and come across a website flogging exotic write offs. They have a couple of Lambos that are reported as flood damage. Picture shows no bodywork damage. So I'm wondering about the viability of renovating one. Obviously, it depends on the circumstances of the water ingress. If a car dives into water at speed, not very good. If it's just sitting, and the water comes along, not to bad. If it only gets about half wheel height, should be ok. Completely submerged, not so good. And the question of fresh or salt water. I guess a complete fluid change is required. Alternator maybe? Hopefully, no engine water ingress. Exhaust pipes full. Interior, at least a complete strip out. Myabe complete refresh, or replace from a crash car. Electrics ? I guess the dashboard area would be the most likely for big trouble if submerged. Maybe a complete replacement from a crash car that has an intact dash? Any wiring loom plugs would need attention. Over to you guys.
I did a late Opel Manta that had been half-way submerged while parked. It was fine but I had lots of faffing with ecu and alternator.
Car itself was fine after all the interior and trim was stripped out, rinsed and dried.
It depends on how good you are at taking stuff apart and putting it back together and also how good you are with sourcing parts.
Car itself was fine after all the interior and trim was stripped out, rinsed and dried.
It depends on how good you are at taking stuff apart and putting it back together and also how good you are with sourcing parts.
Cars these days are required to have a reasonable wading depth. So the suspension and the engine compartment should be ok. The most contentious region is the dash, especially if the ECU and other electric bits reside there. I'm not sure of the degree of water resistance these items would be designed to. Usually, the dash is one great big lump with all the electrics and gauges, and just gets attached to the wiring loom via plugs. Unplug it, and replace with complete dash sourced from a crash, and all the bits are now clean. I suspect that the insurance write off occurs because of the sheer time it would take to strip out, dry, clean and replace. I’d anticipate it would just be a fastidious attention to checking everything over time.
xjay1337 said:
Any water and electronics will be IMPOSSIBLE to repair without ripping out the entire interior, suspension and literally re-wiring everything.
Once there is water inside circuitry it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong..whether that's in one week or one year.
The 'weak' point of a wiring loom are the connectors. Most are surprisingly resistant to water ingress however, just a dribble/seep at the most. Pull appart, blast with an air gun, spray with appropriate water repellent/contact cleaner. Should be ok.Once there is water inside circuitry it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong..whether that's in one week or one year.
The problem will be modules in areas you didn't expect. E.g. a central locking / interior comfort ECU located under the floor somewhere (I think in some VW Passats it's below the passenger footwell for instance - if you have a slight leak it fills this module with water and *pop*)
So the same will likely happen here. There'll always be some little circuit squirreled away which got soaking wet & which is now offended, causing mysterious errors.
Personally, the only bits I'd consider from a flood damaged car are the bits which aren't electric & aren't damaged (panels etc). After that, gamble time!
So the same will likely happen here. There'll always be some little circuit squirreled away which got soaking wet & which is now offended, causing mysterious errors.
Personally, the only bits I'd consider from a flood damaged car are the bits which aren't electric & aren't damaged (panels etc). After that, gamble time!
tr7v8 said:
Just think about what was in the water as well as H2O. When floods occur drains overflow etc. This is why most are Cat A or B.
That is a valid point. Depends on the circumstances of the flood I guess.If it's just a river over flow, and 6 hrs later it's gone, not so bad. A soaking over a few days, not so good.The issue is that the water will have seeped into all the electronic parts, and sat there. If you "dunk" any thing electronic and immediate properly dry it out, it'll be fine. If you "dunk" it, then leave it sat, wet and corroding for 6 months in a breakers yard it will be scrap.
Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
I had an E36 M3 that was Cat D flood damaged (sat in, not driven into).
Much less electrickery going on in one of those I expect but all that was required to sort it was to strip the interior and dry it out properly, replace the lambda sensors and that was it.
I spoke with a tech at BMW before I bought it and he said something along the lines of "if it's running now, 6 months down the line, you won't get any issues due to the water".
Much less electrickery going on in one of those I expect but all that was required to sort it was to strip the interior and dry it out properly, replace the lambda sensors and that was it.
I spoke with a tech at BMW before I bought it and he said something along the lines of "if it's running now, 6 months down the line, you won't get any issues due to the water".
There was a thread running on one of the Mercedes forums from a guy who had bought a registered but new C Class that had been in the floods in the South West a couple of years ago. IIRC the engine started but every warning light was on and nothing else worked. It fizzled out after a while but he wasn't getting anywhere getting it going. On most cars these days, you'd need unfettered access the manufacturers diagnosis tool (StarDiagnose in the MB's case).
As pointed out above, the cars are supposed to be destroyed due to the possibility of sewage contamination.
Apparently in the US it's much more common to attempt to repair flood damaged cars - a lot of Hurricane Sandy cars, damaged by sea water, have been reported as being sold on in other parts of the US and even exported.
As pointed out above, the cars are supposed to be destroyed due to the possibility of sewage contamination.
Apparently in the US it's much more common to attempt to repair flood damaged cars - a lot of Hurricane Sandy cars, damaged by sea water, have been reported as being sold on in other parts of the US and even exported.
Max_Torque said:
The issue is that the water will have seeped into all the electronic parts, and sat there. If you "dunk" any thing electronic and immediate properly dry it out, it'll be fine. If you "dunk" it, then leave it sat, wet and corroding for 6 months in a breakers yard it will be scrap.
Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
That's my thought as well. Something plucked out of the water pretty quick I'd guess would be ok. A soaker not so good. A possible approach would be to replace all the electrics that look vunerable with stuff from a crash car. I've done a search of PH re Lambos. There's a ton of useful knowledge out there, and an amazing amount of s/h stuff available. And a few guys who have re-built crash cars you'd think weren't viable.Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
robinessex said:
Max_Torque said:
The issue is that the water will have seeped into all the electronic parts, and sat there. If you "dunk" any thing electronic and immediate properly dry it out, it'll be fine. If you "dunk" it, then leave it sat, wet and corroding for 6 months in a breakers yard it will be scrap.
Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
That's my thought as well. Something plucked out of the water pretty quick I'd guess would be ok. A soaker not so good. A possible approach would be to replace all the electrics that look vunerable with stuff from a crash car. I've done a search of PH re Lambos. There's a ton of useful knowledge out there, and an amazing amount of s/h stuff available. And a few guys who have re-built crash cars you'd think weren't viable.Then you get to the difficult issue of liability. Manufacturers don't test say the airbag, or ABS system for total immersion, so no one knows how these systems will be affected by it. As such, no insurer in the world will touch your car with a (damp) barge pole !!
Here's a typical water damaged pcb:
One that got wet, and just sat there corroding slowly. Now chances are, it still works today, but over time, the corrosion will spread, and one day, one of those pins on that smc connector will "break contact". If at the time, you're doing 70mph down the motorways, and your DSC systems thinks you suddenly yawing, well, it could be interesting.
I'd imagine most flood damaged cars are stipped for body / large mechanical parts which are unaffected by a short term immersion. The interior, wiring loom, and control modules will be recycled!
Max_Torque said:
robinessex said:
Cars these days are required to have a reasonable wading depth.
Wading depth is a short term "dynamic" immersion. ie, the water will not have time to "wick" up into wiring looms, or come (in any volume) through door seals and bearing seals etc.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff