Drove my 944 through some flood water - BAD IDEA and the problems that followed!

[sushiman007]

On Friday, July 18th, the Southeast Texas area experienced flash flood with rainfall over 8-inches in 24 hours. I took my regular morning commute route to work and was caught off guard by how deep the water was in the lowest part of the street. The car briefly stalled for no more than 15 to 20 seconds (in my best estimation) in what appeared to be 10- to 15-inches of water. I turned off the a/c and radio, and was able to restart the car and drive out of the flooded area.

The car felt fine as I arrived at work. I intentionally idled the car for another 10 minutes just to "dry off" the car. Later in the day, a co-worker told me that if I ever stalled in water, I must check the oil for water, and if there's any sign of water, I should drain the oil and refill it w/fresh oil. Well, it was about time for an oil change anyway, so I thought that I would do it the next day which was Saturday.

On Saturday, to my dismay, I found condensation under the oil filler cap, some creamy film inside the filler tube, and the dipstick also had some goopy substance. (Also, I had water in the lowest part of the air filter box.) I quickly drained the oil (which had a little bit more of that goopy substance), installed a brand-new Mahle oil filter, refilled it with some fresh O'Reilly-brand 10W-40 oil, ran the engine for 10 minutes (just to flush out the water). Then I drained that oil, replaced another brand-new oil filter, and filled it with Mobil One 15W-50 (the good stuff).

On Monday, during the commute home, I noticed the car was acting funny a few times. It idled fine; but hesitated, stumbled, before it would surge ahead. Same thing on Tuesday. By Wednesday, I could barely make it home. When I popped the hood, I found one of the vacuum lines had broken off.

I made a repair to the vacuum line; but the problem persisted (see VIDEO), so I went to the "What did you do to your car today?" searching for suggestions.

argiopeweb suggested that I should check the AFM, so finally today, I was able to open up the AFM to have an inspection. As it turned out, it was dry inside and everything appeared normal. Tomorrow, I will put it back on the car, reconnect the battery and check the voltage to see if it's really fine. Next, I shall replace the vacuum lines, check the speed sensor..., and what else?

My 944 is currently sidelined; but I feel that by working on it a little bit each day, I will eventually find the problem(s) and soon the Porsche will be zooming down the road again as it was created to do!

[John_AZ]

Does your '84 944 have the "wheel well air intake rubber sheild" upgrade to prevent water from being sucked into the intake?

Intake air conduct

GL with the repairs.

J_AZ

[Techno Duck]

Check the distributor cap for moisture.

[944 Ecology]

Check your compression. You may have a bent connecting rod.

[zedsn]

yellow gunky film on your oil filler tube is common. It is caused by condensation. Do a tune up or start by replacing your plug wires and see if this helps.

[v2rocket_aka944]

i think youd need to be in higher water than that to suck up any into the motor.
the 944's wide low front valence is great for fording 8-10 inches of water if the need arises ...btdt

is your air filter wet?

[argiopeweb]

Originally Posted by v2rocket_aka944

i think youd need to be in higher water than that to suck up any into the motor.
the 944's wide low front valence is great for fording 8-10 inches of water if the need arises ...btdt

Also btdt, but it only works if you keep moving (in my case, I downshifted and GTFO). sushiman stalled, so may not have worked as well.

I'm not sorry the AFM wasn't the problem. Those things aren't cheap to replace. I look forward to hearing what ends up being the cause.

[cockerpunk]

never drive through standing water.

and never ever ever drive through moving water.

[Rasta Monsta]

Originally Posted by cockerpunk

never drive through standing water.

Raced some guys with this philosophy on a rainy weekend at the Ridge. . .made for some super fun splashy passes!

[sushiman007]

Potentiometer conducting strip has a couple worn out spots. I am thinking about doing the steps from Clark's Garage.

[88Silver924S]

+1 techno duck. But think about this: What caused the car to die when it hit the water? It probably shorted out the distributor cap or coil high voltage with the water. Once a track like that is established on the coil tower or distributor cap towers (One central from the coil & four cylinder towers) during high loads such as acceleration etc. the spark may jump that track rather than fire the spark plug encountering elevated cylinder pressures (voltage increases with cylinder pressure). The solution is to look very carefully, maybe even with a magnifier, to see any tracks. If it gets to be constant at no load you may be able to spot the arc in the dark at night.

I know it is not a Porsche but I had a '67 Chevy Van that would short out every time I splashed through a Texas low-water crossing. Had to lift the cowl and dry the distributor cap. A real pain. That never actually developed a carbon track but I always carried paper towels in that van. I also had a VW bug that developed a carbon track inside the distributor cap. Took me awhile to spot that. Good luck

[BajaPro]

Any progress to report?

[sushiman007]

We're experiencing some unusual cool weather in SE Texas - high in the high-80's in August, unheard of. Needless to say, I did not work on the car too much this weekend except that I have just ordered the vacuum hose kit from Lindsey Racing, and will be doing some voltage tests and checking on the distributor cap and wires as some of you have suggested. Thank you all!

Here are some photos after the flood:

[sushiman007]

Does your '84 944 have the "wheel well air intake rubber sheild" upgrade to prevent water from being sucked into the intake?



Intake air conduct



GL with the repairs.



J_AZ

I guess not, for this '84.
What would it look like?

[Lapkritis]

Originally Posted by sushiman007

This is bad. Did the engine make any noises when running funny after the incident? Hydrolock/bent rods happen very often when you find standing water in the air box. Otherwise I would unplug all electrical connectors under the hood and allow them to air dry. Use compressed air and WD40 to drive moisture out. Let everything bake under the sun for a couple days with the hood open even... clean the contact points on the connectors of any corrosion before reassembly.

[John_AZ]

Originally Posted by sushiman007

I guess not, for this '84.
What would it look like?

Plastic sheild with rubber seals on the top and sides.

It goes in the drivers side wheel well between the tire and intake snorkle.

NLA on Pelican. Used??



J_AZ

[sushiman007]

Originally Posted by Lapkritis

This is bad. Did the engine make any noises when running funny after the incident? Hydrolock/bent rods happen very often when you find standing water in the air box. Otherwise I would unplug all electrical connectors under the hood and allow them to air dry. Use compressed air and WD40 to drive moisture out. Let everything bake under the sun for a couple days with the hood open even... clean the contact points on the connectors of any corrosion before reassembly.

No. Not a lot of unusual noises; but it was running very sluggishly before I shut her down. I will check all connections next. Thanks!

Thanks for the diagram, John_AZ, I will check that, too.

[sushiman007]

Today, I replaced some of the 30-year-old, cracked, stock vacuum hoses w/ones from Lindsey Racing, and reinstalled the reconditioned air flow meter and my '84 N/A fired right up for the first time in 3 months after it stalled in a July flood!

Not only did she rev strongly and accelerate smoothly (just like a 944 w/a rebuilt engine should); the high-pitched noise associated w switching on the A/C, which I originally thought was a belt, or a roller issue, also disappeared.

I want to thank you all for giving me many great advice and encouragement to keep me from giving up. Now, I can get back to driving and enjoying this wonderful creation from the Big 80's!

[Gawernator]

Yay

[argiopeweb]

Glad it all worked out. No more running through standing water, eh?

I've been meaning to do a vacuum hose job sometime in the near future (more because I like the red silicone than because I need them...). How was it? Can you pull the swap off without dropping the intake manifold?