Saving OPE after a flood?

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Spent weekend helping a friend gut his home after the Louisiana 'Great Flood of 2016'. Noticed he had a box store riding mower and a self propelled push mower outside the back door. We were extremely busy, hot, wet, and tired so I did not take time to make note of models.
Water was up to 7' deep at the peak and stuck around for ~5 days.
Thinking I may offer to attempt to resurrect his mowers for him if there is a reasonable chance of success.
Have any of you brought back power equipment from drowning in VERY muddy water (he lives within blocks of the river that flooded, so lots of mud/silt was deposited)?
Obviously, I need to remove the plug and ensure no water in the cylinder. Maybe spray some lube-type fluid in the cylinder to minimize flash rust damage? Replace oil...maybe multiple times. Clean up electrical system and ensure continuity where there should be continuity, Clean out fuel system, clean air intake and replace air filter, etc.
Any clever tricks to boost the odds of a successful recovery?
This family lost nearly everything. He has flood insurance, but no way can it make him 100% whole again. I figure if I can help him save a few things, then insurance $$ can be rerouted to more important things. (?)
thx
 
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It's worth a shot! Also, remove the gas and fill with fresh. I'd let them dry in the sun for at least a day before trying anything. You can buy fogging oil for inside the cylinders. That's all I can think of, you have a good list. Very nice of you, and the best of luck!
 
I have had a motorcycle under muddy water for one day that me and my buddy pretty much killed because we did not disassemble it completely to get rid of all the dirt. Eventually we took it apart and saw why cleaning the orphices and changing the oil did not do the trick. There was fine sand in places an oil flush does not reach.

I wish you better luck than we had and Thank you for helping the unfortunate.
 
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It will take less effort than you think. Back when Katrina hit I went down there to build houses and repaired OPE and cars for side work.

I did mostly push mowers and riders. I think I repaired about 7 push and 3 riders. All of the push mowers were the same, remove plug, eject water, change oil, drain bowl and clean tank.

The riders are essentially the same, their carbs are a bit harder to deal with. Especially if they have accelerator pumps. I had to buy a coil for a Kohler 22hp.

Otherwise the electrics and wiring were fine. Except the battery, of course.
 
Drain oil the oil and gas[water] refill and run and then go from there. I had an inboard boat that sunk. I drained the fluids and filters , refilled and all was good,
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I can't get back over to help until Friday. Sounds like I need to plan to bring those mowers home with me Friday night and try to find some time over the weekend (in between flood relief efforts) to get a start on drying them out.
 
I live ona river and have had to do this a number of times ...
frown.gif


Drain everything. Fill the motor with bulk WD 40.

The tranny will be full too, and they are sometimes a bummer to get emptied. If it's a belt drive to the top of the tranny, the upper bearings will be rusting on the input shaft, so need to get that into WD 40 ASAP.

Once the carb and tank are dry, you can spin the motor with the WD 40 in it to slosh it all around and pick up the water trapped behind flashing and casting ribs, etc. Drain it (I re-use the motor WD 40 for the tranny ...) and put decent motor oil in. Dribble a little fresh gas down the carb and fire it off for a second. If it sounds OK, fill the gas tank and run it per normal.

The transaxle can be a bear to get cleaned out. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to just buy a replacement off eBay. They are usually less than $300 if they are clearing them out ... Some folks just run the old soggy transaxle until it blows up and then replace it ...

But however you do that, you'll have to check the safety switches. Especially the one under the seat. For some reason these rust into a ball of crud and then they won't run ...
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
I live ona river and have had to do this a number of times ...
frown.gif


Drain everything. Fill the motor with bulk WD 40.

The tranny will be full too, and they are sometimes a bummer to get emptied. If it's a belt drive to the top of the tranny, the upper bearings will be rusting on the input shaft, so need to get that into WD 40 ASAP.

Once the carb and tank are dry, you can spin the motor with the WD 40 in it to slosh it all around and pick up the water trapped behind flashing and casting ribs, etc. Drain it (I re-use the motor WD 40 for the tranny ...) and put decent motor oil in. Dribble a little fresh gas down the carb and fire it off for a second. If it sounds OK, fill the gas tank and run it per normal.

The transaxle can be a bear to get cleaned out. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to just buy a replacement off eBay. They are usually less than $300 if they are clearing them out ... Some folks just run the old soggy transaxle until it blows up and then replace it ...

But however you do that, you'll have to check the safety switches. Especially the one under the seat. For some reason these rust into a ball of crud and then they won't run ...


Thanks!! No idea what type of tranny the riding mower has...only glanced at it in passing....but your experienced advice is helpful in any case. Appreciate all the advice!
 
+1
Yep, my camp on on a bayou floods and gets mine some - so gallon cans and the big spray can with built in wand.

For those who don't know WD is water displacement
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD


For those who don't know WD is water displacement


Where's it going to displace it to in an enclosed space like a crankcase or gearbox?

I've got no experience of bulk WD40, but I'm pretty sure water doesn't mix with it.

In a water-in-the-engine situation I sprayed down with alcohol and then ran it on an emergency flushing mix of diesel fuel, 2-stroke and hydraulic oil. It came out milky, so I guess it was a water oil emulsion. (The hydraulic oil was specially formulated to combat water in a hydraulic system.)

Then I HAD to do something else, causing a days delay.

When I got back on it I put 20W50 in it and took it for a long run to boil the water off, but corrosion had already pretty much killed it.

This was clean water so I should have skipped the flush and just driven it on new oil. If its flood water you may need to flush or strip.

BUT whatever you do, do it quick. Rust does'nt take a break, even when its swimming underwater.
 
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Not IF, but there WILL be water in the engine... time is your enemy.

The bigger issue will be debris from the muddy water. If not cleaned out, it might damage cylinder/rings depending on severity. If it was only flooded then I'd:

  • Pull plug/s
  • Look into cylinder to assess damage (water, debris, rust, etc...)
  • Drain oil
  • Drain fuel
  • Replace with fresh oil/fuel
  • Drop carb bowl or remove carb for cleaning
  • crank engine to eject water
  • Squirt some WD-40 or light oil into cylinder
  • Reinstall plug
  • Start and run it for a few minutes and drain oil
  • Put fresh oil in run for a bit longer and drain again.

    Should be good to go. If there was a lot of debris in the cylinder I'd consider flushing it with water and/or removing the head if the equipment is near and dear.
 
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Yeah, time may very well be the killer here. 11 days ago it went underwater. It stayed underwater for ~4 days. VERY muddy water at that. I can't pick up the mower for at least 2 more days. So, we're looking at ~2 weeks of being wet before I have a chance to start flushing/cleaning/drying.
 
I displace thousands of gallons of fluids with another fluid often - in industrial applications -
so the various spaces inside a small engine can be done as well. Going to take enough for the job - repeat.
Otherwise, tear it down.
 
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