Broken banks of river = broken vectra...

[andrew e]

GRRRR Heading home after a particluary messed up 12 hour night shift, and scuba drove round the M25. Nice. Finally after 64 miles get within a mile of my house - hurrah! Well nearly... going through the back lanes I spy an abandoned Astra estate, in about 18" of flood water - no driver to be seen.

I jump back in the car, lucikly I'm going the opposite way at the T junction. So gingerly I go round the blind bend with "just" standing water... to the point where a sudden rush of water starts crossing the road, but I keep going to the point where it stalls about a metre from dry land. No joy. I crank it over a few times until my brains says "I know its bedtime but stop cranking a diesel engine in a flood..... BALLS".

Now I get out the water is touching the rear bumper, ruin my favourite shoes, roll my trousers upto my knee and open the tailgate while I still can (to get towing eye and towing strap) I wander to the deepest part, the water is now 18" where I am, the Astra is now to the tops of its wheels! You can really feel the resistance of the running water now.

At this point I swore a lot. Rather a lot actually

Then the Astra owner turns up (in wellies) with her other half, she's a Vet on a call out, and is rather suprised at how deep her car is, bearing in mind it looked like mine 15 minutes ago. I was panicing a little now, so got the old man out of bed (the wifes Kia isn't going to tow HMS Vectra) with the Zafira. As he turns up (and in true Dad form calls me all sorts ) the RAC have arrived for the Astra, and reluctantly (with my tow strap!) they drag me out the way to get to the Astra. So out of the water I give it one crank - no chance, so we decide to drag it home in neutrel (it is an automatic) at about 15 MPH... faced with a 4 metre wide back lane or a lunched box, I figure I'm knackered either way....

So back home about 9am (I left work at 06:30) we have a look - the ignition lights up without warning lights, its doesn't seem to be ****ing oil or transmission fluid, and nothing looks/smells burnt.

Hydraulic lock? Pfft... I'm a man I have to give it one last crank still nowt, just a dead solenoid type flat battery sound. So I rung my shoes out and went to bed! Now I'm back at work again 12 hours later and it is time for investigations - any pointers?

My plan is to have the airbox apart first, see what the story is, if that looks o.k. have the bumper off and solvent clean any electrics and give it all an air - are there ECU's in there??? Put the electrics back together, check the fuses. I suppose glow plugs out next, and crank it over? Then I will know if its time to ring the insurance company.....

I really loved those shoes too.

[andrew e]

BTW I know I'm a bell-end But it has been my route to work for the last 10 years, so flooding is nothing new!

[merikiito]

No pictures? LOL

I drove my Wifes Vectra C Estate into a rather large puddle once. Thing packed up in the middle of it. Managed to push it out and it started after an hour or so. Took a few days before it ran correctly again.

Hopefully yours will start in the morning once its had time to dry out

[Barlow]

weird how it packed in. Diesels usually shrug off water as long as it doesn't get in the air intake.
I've watched old diesel Land Rovers drive across ponds, lakes and rivers with the engine fully submerged with only the engine snorkel showing.

[AntSSSS]

Remove the glow plugs and release the preasure in the inlet.. Be careful as I bet you will remove the first one to the throttle boddy and it will psst with preasure as you remove it.

Put back together and then try

[ridgers84]

Sadly I am unable to help. However I just wanted to say, that is some epic post!

[andrew e]

Remove the glow plugs and release the preasure in the inlet.. Be careful as I bet you will remove the first one to the throttle boddy and it will psst with preasure as you remove it.

Put back together and then try

Tuesday morning I will have a go, ta for that! is there any other in situ things I could try prior to pulling it to pieces? I'm working/commuting/sleeping at the moment.

[Grumpy1954]

As for the shoes, I had the same problem when I fell into the canal at the end of March. Warm some crumpled newspaper up in the over and stuff them with it. Put them in airing cupboard,keep warming and changing the newspaper as it gets wet/cold, took me 2 days to dry mine out, then gave them a good polish, ok now.

[rushy]

Hope its just the electrics mate and not Hydraulic lock. My old man had this happen to him a few years ago in a brand new Pug, the Hydraulic lock was bad enough, but the fools who put it on the low loader somehow managed pull it up the ramp wrong and it fell off the side of the truck and landed on its roof, so thats one brand new car written off.

Thankfully you got home under your own steam, fingers crossed you get it sorted m8.

[lutonmatt]

i would do what antssssss said take the glow plugs out is the easyest way todo it
am surpised it stopped if it was only up to the bumper had mine half way up the bumper the other day

but also there is a ecu behind the front bumper at worst is a bit of water in that


went out paintbaling today and thought i would take my landrover clad i did same puddle i did in the vectra was up to the doors on the disco and thats lifted with bigger tyres lol