I am the original owner of a 2000 Maxima GXE. Only 55,000 miles. All
paid for and I baby it.

My city took on a big rainstorm today. When I got to my car parked on
the street, the street was dry but there was a few inches of
standing water on the floor of my Max.

I drove the car home 4 miles so I could get to work on the interior. Car
ran ok. I shop-vaced all the water out and have got fans blowing inside.
Interior seems ok now.

Although the car seems to run fine and no electrical problems, the engine
is making this wierd noise. I can't place it. Sounds like a low-pitched
squeaking that my clothing washer would make. I can't tell where its
coming from...sounds like it is coming from something near the bottom of
the engine where the standing water reached.

I GOOGLED "Flooded cars", and am fricking freaking out. Everything I read
says my car is no good and will have to be totaled. Water in
cylinders, transmission, etc. Absolutely freaking out. Since my Max
is 6-years old, I won't get jack for it and I'm now in grad.
school....won't be buying a new car for awhile.

The car is going to the dealership first thing tomorrow morning. About 6
miles down the road. Should I get her towed? Is my engine fvcked?

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 <mike (AT) example (DOT) com> wrote:

Mike wrote:
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

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 03:41:54 +0000, AZV14 wrote:

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.

AZV14 (AT) netscape (DOT) com wrote:
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.

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 09:16:47 -0400, JimV wrote:

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 <mike (AT) example (DOT) com> wrote: