Hi All,

It's not exactly Olds related but I am in a bind and can use some serious car advice. A couple Fridays ago the east coast was hit with a tropical storm and here on Long Island we endured some major flooding. At the time I was having some work done on my house and the crew removed some flashing from the roof and didn't replace it, so a lot of water began pouring in thru my ceiling.

My wife and I freaked out a bit and she asked me to go to the hardware store to get a tarp to cover the area on the roof. On my way back from the store I diverted from the main road because the water was deep and I thought an alternate route would be better. I was wrong it was worse. Long story short I got caught in high water (to the sill plates) and my engine seized.

I am trying to get compensated thru insurance but there is some question whether I had comprehensive on this particular vehicle (2005 Chrysler 300C w/ 50k miles in excellent condition) and I don't think they are going to honor my claim.

Assuming I get denied coverage my options are the following:
1) acquire a used Hemi engine and replace the old one
2) sell the car to a salvage company who offered $3k, and then buy a cheap beater

Fortunately I still have my Cutlass to drive locally and the primary family vehicle is my wife's 2013 Ford Flex. But I still need something reliable to get around in to the train station and in inclement weather. Right now I am leaning towards buying an old Tahoe or something that I won't need to worry about snow or standing water again. With the new Flex this is not a good time for me to add another car payment.

Please tell me what you would do? I am crushed to possibly lose the 300 over this and am tempted to have the motor replaced, but my mechanic and others who I trust are hesitant and say the water could cause problems with the electronics down the line even though they work now. I couldn't deal with that prospect at all (mentally or financially).

Looking for the experience and wisdom of others here to try to make the best decision in a crappy situation. Thanks and sorry for rambling on!

Bill

 

First off, if you had full coverage you most likely are covered.

If you engine sucked water, the first thing I would do is pull the spark plugs, crank it over by hand and blow the water out of the cylinders, check the oil and see how much water is in there. You may get lucky and with an oil change and new plugs.

Water only to the sill plate is not considered high in my viewpoint, so I don't think you damaged any electrical components.

 

My mechanic did pull the plugs and try to crank it over by hand but it would only go 90 degrees and then wouldn't turn anymore. Says there is nothing that can be done for the motor at this point and probably have bent pistons due to the hydrolock.

As for the coverage, I switched to Progressive back in January after being overinsured for many years. I think I just screwed up when I made the switch. Wish I was overinsured now...

Bottom line is I love the car but it may be too expensive to fix and also a bit risky. But I agree that the water likely wasn't high enough to fry the computers. Still waiting for official word from Progressive, but not sure which way to go if I'm not covered.

 

If that's the case then I would get an engine from the wrecking yard and install it. Also check your rear end and trans for water contamination.