Water damage cleaup

[JAS]

So it seams like the most people are familiar with the spot where I had my ‘incident’ and I don’t have to describe that in detail. I did want to document and share the experience of cleaning up this mess.

Once I got pulled out we drained the interior, disconnected the battery, disconnected the air intake system to check it out, and drained and dried up the air box as it was full of water. The filter was toast, the IPDM and relay box had water in them but there was no evidence at the throttle body that water got that far. Prior to disconnecting the battery every light on the dash was ON even though the key was not in the ignition. Once everything was cleaned up and dried out to the best of our abilities we connected the battery and were able to start the truck – we watched in amazement as the X sputtered, idled rough for a while but stabilized in a few minutes. I was able to button everything up and continue north to Salmon lake road minus the air filter. At this point the guys aired up and I took the truck for a little boot so see how she felt. Only now did I realize that I was in limp mode and was not able to rev over 2500 rmp, something that was not apparent in 4 LOW, but the AT was shifting and I was able to drive to the cottage in this fashion.
Once at the cottage we unpacked the truck, disconnected the battery, and decided to leave it alone for a while. We theorized about my predicament over a cold beer, got the kids fed, and wrapped up with DiscoPete and Lukasz since they need to get home.
Pete (Petespath) and his son were staying at my place for the night, and after the kids went to bed Pete and I started working on the truck. We completely gutted the interior so that it could dry up and the X could dry out on Sunday. Our effort took us past midnight. Before we retired for the night I connected the battery and started her up again this time without the 2500 rpm cut out. This was great news and allowed me to sleep only slightly better.
The next day was spent power washing, sweeping, cleaning, checking fluids (which looked fine) and reassembling the interior. I decided not to replace the carpet as the insulation was still wet. Pete did me a huge favour by driving into Peterborough and getting me a new air filter for the drive home. I got home under my own power but the gremlins were crawling through the truck. Only once I started driving did my Service Engine light come on, was getting an SRS warning via the airbag light, and a 4X4 warning via its light. I read the codes for the three system and was able to isolate each issue:
4X4 light – power circuit issues which were solved by pulling the two transfer shutoff relays and plugging them back in.
SRS – only indicated an issue since I started the truck without the seats plugged in. The code cleared simply by going into diag mode and back out
Engine light – EVAP code and voltage issues in my cruise control circuit. The EVAP code was cleared by pulling the EVAP unit and its filter, draining/blowing them out, and reinstalling. The cruise control error cleared it self out - I suspect it dried out due to the great weather.
Stereo – I still don’t have a stereo since I pulled the amp, Bluetooth module, and subwoofer as they were completely submerged. They have been drying out most of the week and I will check them out when I have time.
Today I got to work OK, but the truck would not crank over at lunch. I traced out all electronics and they were functioning as expected. Finally got her going by tapping the starter while a buddy cranked the key. I will be pulling the starter tonight and either replacing it or giving it a good cleaning if I can get at anything.
At this point I am not in a hurry to get the carpet back in even though it is all dry now. I am considering Lizard Skin for a floor treatment and running without carpet – so much easier to clean out and I hate the thought of wet insulation sitting against my floor (it was still wet from cleaning the truck after getting MuddyR50 out). I am also replacing all fluids as they are due anyway.

Somehow I don’t think my troubles are completely behind me, but I am very lucky and thankful that I have a working truck. I am starting to believe in karma - I picked up garbage along the trail at every spot we stopped – it could be that the 4x4 gods have decided to teach me a heck of a lesson but ultimately spare me.

[Miner]

Thanks for sharing this lesson with us.

It makes me think back on many bad decisions that the 4x4 gods overlooked, and others that they didn't.

Hope everything dries out and the only thing to linger is the lessons learned.

[Bow_Tied]

great write up. And to pete for helping out.

[JAS]

Pulled the starter tonight, blew it out with air, sprayed some dry lube into the vent hole as well as around the main gear shaft then worked the mechanism manually for a little while. I then blew the lube out and repeated the process. The starter is working well at the moment and the X fires up nice and strong each time.

I did try plugging in the amp but no luck, I blew it all out before attempting anything. At this point my stereo/sub/Bluetooth are the remaining issues unless something else creeps up. I will be reading up on the stereo system tonight and looking at it on the weekend but not holding out much hope though.

[Miner]

I think tech12volt on Club Titan and Titan Talk makes an excellent and economical upgraded replacment for the stock amp and sub. NismoJunky my have done this upgrade, so you could talk to him about it, or convince him to sell his original.

[PiDGE]

I remember power washing the engine years ago. That bunch of relays and fuses up near the passanger side fire wall had water enter there some how. Went to start and no go, alot of clicking and lit up dash. 3 beers later and with the help of a hair dryer aimed at the relays it was good to go again. Needless to say that was the first and last engine wash. Take the cover off Jas and make sure its dry in there. Good luck.

[JAS]

Since it is the season of giving, I thought I would post up an update to my original post. I hope it will give a few some laughs and to others who play in water a few tips on protecting your vehicle.
Other then the stuff I already posted, I still had to deal with the following issues:

Starter had to be replaced – Regardless of the amount of lube and compressed air I blew through the original started it would never last more then a week.

Front Diff, Transmission, and the T-Case all got water in them. This is due to the breather which is vented by the air box. Front diff and T-Case have been flushed twice and the fluid is now clean. I flushed the transmission four separate times and the fluid was clean after the third flush. With $120+ per flush this was getting expensive. My recommendation is to extend the breather to an even higher point. The rear diff was fine as that breather has previously been extended up to the rear lights.

Rear T-case seal started leaking about a month later due to dirt/sand accumulating at the seal and being held in by a dust cap. The cap is vented and has a drain hole at the bottom, but once the dirt dried out it compromised the seal. Both had to be replaced. My recommendation is that you flush out the dust cap with clean water whenever you submerge it for any length of time until clean water runs out.

I discovered that the transfer case shift motor got completely seized about two months later due to water/dirt getting in. I completely overlooked this but it makes sense since this is vented with the front diff, T-Case, and transmission. To get me out of the immediate issue I rewired my locker so that I can engage it even if I am not in 4-Low, and started investigating what I can do to fix this. I have designed a cable actuated engagement system and will implement this in the near future. I have also sourced an installed a replacement shift motor from a wrecker. This allowed me to shift between all the modes, but my dash lights were wonky. I have isolated this to the 2WD/4WD, wait detection, and 4-Low sensors in the transfer case. To get around this I have poured over schematics and done a bunch of testing on the sensors and associated logic (now there is not much I don’t know about the 4x4 system in these things). Pulling the sensors and testing them with an Ohm meter I confirmed that they were intermittent, but more importantly confirmed that they are only used to work the lights on the dash. I disconnected them and have been driving this way with full 4x4 use for a few months. The net effect of not using them is that my 4x4 lights blink and the computer doesn’t know to make them go solid, but the drive train functionality is fine. The only danger is that I don’t have a warning if the T-case was in a neutral position which may effect parking. I always use the emergency break and don’t turn off the truck while the T-case is shifting to stay safe.

While I had a line on a donor Xterra at the wrecker I also replaced my amp and Bluetooth module. These worked out great and now I have sound and steering wheel controls as intended. My recommendation is that if you are going to be playing in water, pull the fuses for any floor mounted electronics. I am confident this would have saved me a couple of hundred bucks here.

My ARB compressor also seized up a few month later due to water intrusion similarly to the T-Case shift motor. I have taken it apart and rebuilt it but still no go. This is a lower priority so I am going to either get parts or replace it. Another few hundred here. My recommendation is to extend the air intake for any air compressors if they are mounted anywhere water could get at them.

My HVAC system got water and dirt into it via the firewall drain hole for the AC evaporator. This was a funny one since once the summer came around and I started using the AC, the water would accumulate and dump on my foot from the lower air duct. Once I figured it out, I blew out the drain hole, but it kept getting clogged. The best way to clean it out is to wait for some water to accumulate and then clear the hole from the engine bay side. Dirty water would come gushing out each time. I am guessing 1-2 litres each time. Repeating the process has washed out she system and the problem got solved. I don’t have any ill effects with smell or water accumulation any more. My recommendation is that if you are playing in water, extend the drain by using a hose on the drain nipple and routing it to a safe location (while you are out playing, then return it back to stock). If it is summer and you are using the AC on the trail, stop every now and then and lower the hose to drain the system, then put it back up out of harms way.

To conclude this essay, I am very impressed by the design of the Xterra. If you keep the truck within its limits it is a solid design (save the known issues such as alternator location and belt driven rad fan). A number of very easy and cheep tricks can be used to protect it from damage if the owner wants to push the limits but keep in mind that it is still a family SUV, not a military vehicle. I read a fair bit on the subject of 4 wheeling, yet there is a lot that can be done which I have never seen. I suspect that the people who know these tricks are too embarrassed to write about them. I could have saved my self many hundreds of dollars by pulling a few fuses and working some magic with 10’ of clear hose from Home Depot and a pack of zip ties.

Merry Christmas and Happy Wheeling to all!

[CruiserRomey]

nice write up Jas! i know that took time! hopefully some guys take notes for next season.

happy holidays!

[FrontyFlyer]

Thanks for the update, definitely took some notes. When you say it was submerged... like how deep are we talking here? I'm sure when this happened the last thing on your mind was to take pics... but did you get any?

[JAS]

This was posted up as part of Yazza's thread back when it happened. The pics are still there. Water line was just bellow the door handles. Measured up to around 40" when on my driveway.

http://www.cntc.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php ... 1&start=20

[Nismojunky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN0hAd8cJ-8

been there done that

[Scotto]

The best part of that video is the very happy Baltimore Oriole singing away.


Sent from my iThingy

[kdj]

Is this where the TOTM Dec. photo came from? I just voted for it! I liked seeing exhaust still rising so I knew it wasn't just "dead in the water".

[JAS]

Yes this is the incident. The exhaust wasn't bubbling for long, at which point cameras were put away with more pressing issues. Once dead, every light on the dash was ON and the key was not even in the ignition. After some work on the trail the truck did take me home.