legnums in water/rain

[weeaazz]

hey guys
now i named this thread how i did because i new if i wrote 'legnums in the wet' everyone would be coming in and saying how much fun it is to drive our cars in the wet.but thats not what im here to ask

what im here to talk about is as some of yous know, were getting a $#@& load of rain over here on the east coast the last couple of days,and where i am in noosa has started flooding due to such heavy rain the last couple days,and i was wondering this morning,as i had no choice,can our cars be damaged internally by driving through water? im not talking like water over the bonnet high or anything but just like 6 inch deep water spraying everywhere deep.

why im so paranoid,is that a mate of mine had a skyline for 5 days,must have had faulty intercooler piping and it sucked water into the head and basically went boom,now my legnum is basialy stock compared to his which was worked to 300hp atw,(soon to be 450-600 hp atw,but thats another story) ive never heard anyone mention anything on this topic but id probly be pretty upset for anything to happen to the legnum so i thought id ask?

i have noticed something already,it only happened earlier this afternoon while it was still wet but the ayc would light up 1 bar sometimes when driving in a straight line and sometimes while breaking,though did not light up tonight in the dry,should i start panicing or should i give it a couple more days and see what happens.

 

[SiliconAngel]

James I doubt that's anything to worry about - if you hit a big puddle the car can lose traction for any number of reasons - it could skate on a thin film of water, the sudden water pressure could lift the tyre off the ground, you might just hit a slippery patch or if you hit REALLY high water the body might become a temporary floatation device! Whatever the cause, the moment your tyres lose traction under throttle you'll probably see an AYC bar or two - its nothing at all to worry about as that's exactly what should be happening

As for other wet-weather concerns, as long as the undercarriage and body is sealed well and allowed to drain in a well ventilated and dry area then the car will handle the wet quite ok. However, cars of this age tend to have a little wear and tear no matter what you do. In such a case you may have bare metal showing, worn or cracked sealant under the car or perishing rubber seals and boots. In that case, water will obviously cause some problems as it promotes rust and corrosion.

Such things can be fairly easily addressed early, though - put your car up on a lift and take a good look under it with some strong work lights. If you can see rust, scraping, or pits and cracks in the sealant anywhere, then the damage will have to be patched up, all rust thoroughly removed and some new underbody sealant applied. If you notice cracks or wear on any rubber components you'll need to replace these too. Also check underneath your doors to ensure they're free from rust and the drains are working properly and aren't clogged up.

Also make sure you don't park your car anywhere sealed where it can get humid - humidity will promote rust faster than just about anything. You always want to allow it to dry somewhere with good ventilation.

If you have a stock air intake and stock piping in good condition you don't need to worry about water getting in anywhere nasty as long as you keep the puddles below the nose of the car. If you have lots of water coming up over the bonnet then you should probably stop the car! Obviously aftermarket intakes will vary substantially depending on what you've got, but if you can't splash water up inside it then you're almost certainly ok

 

[weeaazz]

thanks heaps trev,much appreciated

the rain has stopped now so hopefully no more water,theres no way id ever drive through water that deep,i was meaning like,up to the bumper sort of depth,was really just worried with the turbos being so slow and the front mount etc.

and yes the car has been dried in an open area luckily,and also the car was obviously not from a snowy part of japan as i, nor the previous owner have ever found a spot of rust on it,so theres a bonus

regarding the ayc light,it was coming on in dry patches of road where i was defintly not sliding,such as going up hills and cruising on 100km/h.drove quite a fair bit today but seemed to have stopped tonight,so im thinking maybe it was just water messing with the censors,(if theres is such a thing)

had the girlfriend in the car as well,so was driving sensible and didnt go through anything deep,she never lets me take traction control off either

but once again thanks for that pro feedback

 

[SU8TLE]

i guess your mates skyline is an example not skimp on connections/piping ect if you go for a FMIC. silicon hoses with a good quality clamp would make a difference.

 

[weeaazz]

yer if only hed looked closer at that sort of stuff before he forked out 15grand for it,
for wat is now costing him another 25g before he'll be driving it again

im going for a drive in a sec so ill be able to see if anything was effected by yesterdays water

 

[naughtika]

at the moment, my car's doing something funny, if i have the window controls on for the passenger.. my driver window would just drop down.. i wouldn't be able to put it back until i turn off the passenger window controls.. I'll wait til it dries out.. maybe water got in somewhere..

 

[weeaazz]

my windows have done a couple strange things too,about a week ago so nothing to do with the rain
once i put my window up but about 3 inches before it got to the top it changed direction and went back down,and then another time my mate was in the back and just looking out the window which was down and i decided to put mine up in the front and his just went up as well on its own

 

[bradc]

They should be largely fine, the air intake is quite high up in the body and I haven't heard of anyone hydra-locking their engine.

As far as other sensors go, most of them seem to handle water ok, although I have heard of a few tranmission sensors go crazy that limit you to a certain gear or just not outputting anything to the speedo! Thats about it really.

 

[JRVR4]

yeah my windows do funny shit like that to.. no idea why

 

[SiliconAngel]

Its just a short somewhere, probably within the driver's door switch itself. If it's only happening in the wet then you might be getting water down in there - pull your door skin off and make sure the plastic seal sheet is intact.

 

[snickells]

It sounds like it might have been the pressure sensor in the window motor triggering... hang on, that would make it go down. Scrap that idea.

 

[Subaru ETA]

if the window is going down once it gets to the top its the pressure sensor saftey thingie. try lubing the window rubbers with silicone spray.

as for AYC, ccheck you tyre pressures.

and driving it in the wet - i went through a BIG puddle in my old legnum and it did stupid things, staaling engine light spitting flames etc. it got water in the crank sensor plug

 

[leebutts]

My rear driver side window has gremlins at the moment (started after driving in heavy rain), I have to lock the windows or it just stays down and you can't put it up from either the front driver switch or the rear switch. Must be a short in the switch, will have to pull it apart and investigate.

cheers

Lee

 

[weeaazz]

heres a new one for you guys,about a month ago after driving in the rain my passenger side carpet got soaked,like i mean splashing with water.now in this current rain we have in south east queensland its started happening again,its coming up from under the carpet about smack bang in the middle,ive looked underneath the car but couldnt find anywhere it could be coming from,but now when this weather dries up ill have to pull the carpet up and have a look.
any ideas?

 

[SiliconAngel]

James I wouldn't wait until it dries, I'd pull it up now. In this weather it could take weeks to dry if you've gotten it wet enough, and that could lead to mould growing... Apart from it being smelly, it can ruin your carpet. Lift it out and check it ASAP.

 

[weeaazz]

will do first thing tomoro,and get back to you

 

[bradc]

There is going to be 200mm of rain tomorrow and I'm going down to Taupo tomorrow. Should be good fun

 

[SiliconAngel]

Two HUNDRED millimeters?! As in 20cm?! Freaken hell... We've been suffering massive downpours lately although according to 'official' figures a 24hr storm only accounts for 10mm of rain... Try telling that to my flooded back garden!

 

[weeaazz]

well i pulled the carpet up and had a look,could not find anything apart from a factory sealed bung that was realy squishy and could possibly be leaking,so i covered all the possible areas with dynamat and silicon and guess ill just wait till it rains again to see if the problem is still there,i thought it may have been coming through the firewall but the factory sound proof foam was dry,and only slightly wet where it met the floor.

so now i play the waiting game

 

[SiliconAngel]

Which bung was that? The O2 sensor bung?

I was just out pulling bits off the car and noticed how much rust there was on the exhaust manifolds and turbo casings - I think there's a hell of a lot to be said for having your under-engine splash guard attached...