Flood Disaster

[MForsch 79]

A bit of my past experience; and time is not on your side.

Water and oil will not mix even under ideal conditions; therefore, a drain and refill will not suffice. The reason being is that the water will be "pushed" to the corners, crevices, or remain at the bottom, even with the most vigorous of aggitation. You'll recall that contaminated fuel will respond to an alcohol flush or a methanol additive; minimally,such is the case with oils and hydraulic fluids. Some seals (particulary hydraulic, do not tolerate methanol or more harse solvents like MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone); in those areas a kerosene rinse or WD-40 will rid most of the contamination (not all). WD-40 was created as a water dispersing agent #40, developed for use by the military, relative to tropical use where high humidity was a constant problem; contrary to popular belief, it is not a lubricant; though it is very helpful in displacing water.

This is what I just did to my transaxle (I bought it salvage and it had water in it): fill with kerosene, rotate, or agitate; drain; repeat until clean; watch for particulate, if found, you have no certainty that the bearings are not loaded with grit and you should prepare for a disassembly, so as not to damage the bearings. If there is no particulate, follow the kerosene with a liberal rinse with WD-40 (the Kerosene does little about the water, but is a less expensive first step and removes the bulk of the thicker oil). If you have very little discoloration of the discharged material, you may assume that the majority of the contaminates are out and now need only worry about any remaining water in the bearings. Methanol or alcohol will "suspend or absorb" the water and allow it to be removed. (MEK works the best, although it is a vicious, and potentionally dangerous solvent and very aromatic; it will however blend everything together in solution, allowing for easy removal and dries quite well afterwards) (Your local air board or regulatory agency may not allow non-commercial purchase). Dry well with compressed air or blow with what ever you can rig for a moderate air volume passing through the case. (Be wary of rigging a shop vacuumn; the sparks of the motor could ignite any fumes). After drying, you may refill with the appropriate oil or lubricant.

Your gasoline engines will repond in a similar fashion. You should "top lube " the engine by a minor application of WD-40 through the spark plug hole to satisfy the rings.

The longer the water sits in the case the more certain the bearings will be damaged---a matter of a few days can ruin the works---I have seen bearings destroyed overnight.

The fuel tanks are a bit easier; drain, flush with WD-40 (gets the water out of the seams as it was designed to do), rinse with Methanol or alcohol, dry, then refill. If a surface rust has formed and you are concerned with contamination, the major brands of citrus degreasers are mildly acidic; they will remove the surface rust if warmed to 125 to 140 degrees farenheit; soak until rust is removed, rinse and dry as per previous steps.

DO NOT USE CITRUS CLEANERS IN ENGINES OR TRANSAXLES OR PUMPS----IT WILL DESTROY THE BEARINGS.

Alcohol works well with your electrical connectors; staring ether will do in a pinch (Ethanol---Ethyl Alcohol); some of the (any Halogenated or Petroleum based) other solvents can attack the plastic, causing it to crack or become brittle.

All your thread areas and joints (hubs) will appreciate some WD-40 and it will push the water out as designed.

Clutch facings and brake bands can be salvaged with a Methanol bath and a thorough drying.

I would suspect that the wheels may fill with water in the hollow where the bearing rests; although I'm not familiar with each type of wheel. WD-40 and a Methanol rinse would suffice there.

Your solvent could be saved, allowed to settle, then poured off, so that any water remains on the bottom, then passed through several large coffee filters lined with news paper. It could then be reused for your primary wash solvent, minimizing your expense.

I hope that this helps-----I am shocked and saddened to see your collection sitting in that water; you have my sincere sympathy----best of luck to you.

[midnight rambler 36]

thats terrible guys, if you have the 6 or 8 speed model try flushing with diesel fuel, it should get the moisture out and still have some petroleum lubricants to it, best of all you can let it settle out and reuse it by draining the water off of it, that is waht i would use if i were a smoker, a non smoker could use gas due to the fact it will evaoprate faster. good luck

[welderman85 53]

I hope everything is ok protect you and your family the horses can be replaced

[Wheelhorse84 87]

Good luck

[MForsch 79]

An after thought to my ealier post:

I neglected to address the full electrical issue; here, I will mention windings. The stator in those models with an alternator should be cleaned with alcohol, methanol or contact cleaner; the starter motors as well; SOLENOIDS (IF VENTED, can be cleaned with METHANOL OR ALCOHOL ONLY)----(a special caution should be applied here; modern contact cleaners have switched formulas to where some contain methanol, toluene, heptane, benzene, and or, flammable secondary solvents; DO NOT USE THESE SOLVENTS ON WINDINGS, NOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS, the solvents can and will cause immediate failure of the plastics, and lead to failure of the insulation on the windings. The cans makers fail to tell you that the intended application is for removing grease from external surfaces or related parts)--------the older versions of contact cleaner contained Percholroethylene (Tetracholroethylene) non-flammable, and were safe on insulations (NOT PLASTICS), dried quickly; but displace oxygen, therefore, they must be used with substantial ventilation and never in a closed room. Never use them where they come in contact with heated surfaces, they will produce phosgene gas, (highly toxic & deadly).

A brief rinse with the solvent, followed by a prolonged drying period is a must. The coils themselves, if not fully encapsulated in epoxy can absorb moisture, altering their electrical capacity. The water alters the inductive balance causing the coil itself to overheat, if not promote a short circuit. The iron plates used in making the stator or rotors, do have layers and can hold water for quite some time; a dash of the WD-40, followed by a rinse with the Tetrachloroethylene, then the drying, is the best your can do on your own.The extended drying time is critical and usually requires 24 to 48 hours at 100+ to 140* Farenheit with good air circulation. The part can then be placed in an inflated plastic bag and sealed; warm lightly; allow normal cooling (only a 20 or so degree variance over ambient temperature will do); if any condensate forms on the sides of the bag, moisture is still present and the drying process should continue.

A petoleum based silicone lubricant spray is valuable for treating sockets, bulbs, spade connectors, plugs, key switches, throttle/choke cables and the like, where they are usually out of sight and cannot be observed. The silicone prevents oxidation, is friendly with electricity, doesn't deteriorate plastics, nor stain parts or clothing. I've seen many a Jeep or Rover that had taken a dip, have the lights restored with a good spraying of silicone lube. I've been using it on my trucks for some 30+ years.

[Stigian 1,234]

How's the flood situation Neil? I hope the water didn't find it's way into your house..

Not wanting to add to your problems, but if possible you might want to drain any water from your WH's, etc.. Very cold weather is on the way, you don't want a trans/engine that's full of flood water freezing up...

[Anglo Traction 759]

I think he's ok so far , We have been sending eachother humourous E-mails, but I think the Horses still need lifejackets?.

[AMC RULES 36,956]

...and swimmies. :ROTF:

Edited November 28, 2012 by #1 WHEELHO

[Ken B 3,116]

I'm very sorry to hear of the hard ships you guys are going thru right now. My Dad always says there are better days ahead.

[MForsch 79]

Still thinking of you fellows-----wishing you the best-----and for the holidays as well-----

[philpjuk 19]

Hope your house is ok,my garden backs on to the trent which is 10/15 feet above normal and looking very angry,my house and W-H are still well above the waterline but I stick a garden cane at the waters edge each morning to see how much it has risen and it is still on the rise.If you have decks on any of your W-Hs it may be a good idea to flush the bearings with grease,I use waterproof grease for boat launching trailers (just because I have a big tin and I have no trailer!).In the past when I have had gearboxes/axles with water in I have drained them refilled them with oil,done a couple of laps of the garden and drained them again,and done this again until the oil drained looks clean (use cheap oil!) good luck!

[philpjuk 19]

Not much left to mow!,had some mad canoeists through my garden,the river is very fast and dangerous,my BBQ,park benches,large clay pots etc are under the water (I hope) It is scary to see such a large volume of dirty water moving so fast without making any noise with still water over the garden.It has flooded before while I have lived here but never so high.The village upstream last night bult their own flood defences with clay and a JCB and saved the houses from flooding.We dont have huricanes in the UK (well not big ones) but get plenty of rain!

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

Still thinking of you fellows-----wishing you the best-----and for the holidays as well-----

Same here Neil. Every day I've been thinking of you guys affected by the flooding. I really hope things are getting better for you.

[philpjuk 19]

The trent is still rising,we are told that it will peak on the 24th,as yet it is no threat to the house but will reach my workshop first.There are properties localy that have been flooded for the second time in three weeks..The bottom 20ft of my garden floods most years and when it is spring the next year the grass grows fast and lush( I think is the nitrates but I would not like to think where they have come from!) so I expect my C101 will have some hard work next year,I hope that those "down south" are all ok..We had quite a few canoeists down the river this morning,they seemed to know what they were doing but we also had two teanage lads come by in an inflatable that I would not think was safe in a paddling pool,just hoodies on,no lifejackets on and there is a weir downstream!,I think the emergency services are busy enough!

Edited December 22, 2012 by philpjuk

[neil 2,398]

sadly we are now about to round two of the floods

The fields are starting to to show surface water and it roughly about six inches deep .

I am guessing that by the time i wake up in the morning we will have another lake appear, hopefully not as bad as a couple of weeks ago .

This time i have put the tractors up on higher ground ,