HELP!!! my car has been flooded and not w/ gas...

[phreaker23]

I have a 1992 Plymouth Laser RS AWD, the 2.0 engine w/ turbo. I got the car originally when I was 18, about 6 years ago. In about 1999, the car was in a flood in downtown Kansas City, MO. I swore to myself that I wouldn't get rid of the car and would one day fix it. What I am needing help with are things that I need to check on the car to get it running again. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. To give you a little history of the car, it had regular tune-ups and was running great before the flood. The water only got up to about the front bumper so it never completed covered the engine. I started the car that night and drove it about 40 miles. Since then I haven't messed with it much to get it started again. Do you think it would be a better idea to buy a used engine and have it rebuilt? The body and exterior are in decent shape. Maybe I should just haul it to the crusher and get another one to fix.

Thanks for the help...
phreaker23

 

[DMS-WhiteGSX]

try to get it started... its worth a shot..

 

[2-0turbo]

Where did the water come up to on the wheels? Center of hub? Higher? I can give you some suggestions. It is going to depend a lot on if you want a car that runs (aka beater) or you want to strip it out and have it immaculate when you are done. Which is it?

 

[phreaker23]

hey 2-0turbo, the water probably came up to about 3/4 the way up the rim on the car. I don't have to be at work until noon each day and can check the messages here at work. For the update about what we did this morning. We replaced the battery terminals and tried to get in and clean out all the hoses. None of the air hoses had water in them and there were no cracked hoses. I have both the Chilton's and another book for troubleshooting and basic repair. After hooking up a spark tester for the spark plugs, we found that there wasn't anything coming there, no sparks on all 4 of them. So, we tested the ignition coil and it is registering low at .49 ohms, they should be between something like .7 and .86, if its not within target area, it says just to replace it. Luckily we have a used parts place right down the road. (U-Wrench-It). Next on the list was the ignition coil. The response on all 4 plugs should come out the same and read between 19-27 Kilo-Ohms. It was reading somewhere around 12-15 Kilo-Ohms. I also got in and tested to make sure the engine was getting gas. I got in and popped off the tube leading to the fuel filter and had a friend try to fire the car briefly to see if gas squirted, it did. Next stop tomorrow will be to pick up some used parts.

 

[phreaker23]

The car does try to turn over... its just not firing. the engine just turns and turns, but just won't start.
phreaker23

 

[Atari007]

Did you flush the system? If the car has been sitting that long, the gas that was in it is bad.... maybe thats why it wont work? just my 2 cents-- good luck

 

[phreaker23]

I am going to get in and try to clear the fuel line. Is there any easy way to do it? I know I need to take the tank off and clean it out also.

 

[crankbender]

If the tank is low just add alot of good gas and idle it a lot. Make sure you replace ALL the fluids. You may also want to take the half shafts out to get rebuilt. From what you said the water did not get high enough to get into the intake or the exhaust. Other than that if your seals are good you have a sealed system and you should have no problems other than electrical.