Flooded Yaris

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by gswell

Scott,
Thanks for the feedback, I was hoping for some input from you. I bought a product that is for rust and rust prevention that I have from a previous unfinished project (KBS-coatings.com) It's a 3 step process and I haven't used it so I comment on it (i think it's had some write ups in classic car mags tho). If I do it, I'll look to remove the stuck on pads on the floor pan which I guess are used for sound proofing. Then I can perform the full process and paint directly to the metal (and all the other metal pieces between the two front seats). For now I'll just drive the car until I make a decision on doing this rust seal application. It's probably best to do this application/paint and then put some new sound proofing material down.

I have some time to kill before the carpet insulation pieces arrive...

It's amazing how much water those insulation pads can absorb. When I pulled the ones out of Crashy they weighed about 20lbs each.

The rust preventative, or at least a light coat of WD40 is probably not a bad idea on the bare metal parts. Since you have windows, I would suggest putting a household dehumidifier in the car an running it overnight (with the drain plugs back in). That will suck the moisture out of the harnesses, head liner, and all off the things that are a hassle to disassemble.

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Originally Posted by CTScott

It's amazing how much water those insulation pads can absorb. When I pulled the ones out of Crashy they weighed about 20lbs each.

The rust preventative, or at least a light coat of WD40 is probably not a bad idea on the bare metal parts. Since you have windows, I would suggest putting a household dehumidifier in the car an running it overnight (with the drain plugs back in). That will suck the moisture out of the harnesses, head liner, and all off the things that are a hassle to disassemble.

they also have these big tubs of Damp-Rid which would not need to be plugged in (also if cheaper if you you don't have a house dehydrator already) I think you can get them at hardware stores...

[talnlnky]

i would've done the same thing.... but probably would've pulled all wire harnesses out that would have been submerged and weren't a complete pita to get to. multiple rinse and dry steps with fresh water of course, and of course make sure all lube is present where lube needed to be. Salt will corrode metals faster than normal... but really its the connectors that will corrode, not the conductor(metal) in underneath the insulation in the middle of a 5ft run of wire.

hand cleaning each connector including your fuse panels would be a good idea. There are multiple electronic contact cleaners made for purposes like this.

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Maybe you can find a wrecked yaris (or 2) in a junk yard and replace most of the electronics? Might be worth it...

[birdman]

If the water wasn't too high too long it might be fine. I lived on the coast of Maine and was gifted a 5 year old '82 Honda Civic wagon that was in a beach house garage where a tidal surge came half way up the doors inside. I washed everything in place with Lysol and aired it out and drove that car without any related maintenance issues other than my front rear fender bottoms rusting apart. A couple of metal clothes hanger pieces and some longer self tapping sheet metal screws rectified that. After 12 years of reliable service I sold my somewhat rusty car to another eager owner. I think you lucked into a super sweet deal.

[ozmdd]

Originally Posted by birdman

If the water wasn't too high too long it might be fine. I lived on the coast of Maine and was gifted a 5 year old '82 Honda Civic wagon that was in a beach house garage where a tidal surge came half way up the doors inside. I washed everything in place with Lysol and aired it out and drove that car without any related maintenance issues for 12 years before selling it to another eager owner. I think you lucked into a super sweet deal.

Good info, but remember that an 82 Honda is a different animal than an 08 Yaris, electronically.
I do agree, fundamentally, that a well-dried and cleaned-up water-damage car can live a long life.

[yaris-me]

I think you lucked out. Have fun!

[birdman]

The Yaris and Civic are different but I would wonder why a Yaris would be more vulnerable than the Civic.

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Originally Posted by birdman

The Yaris and Civic are different but I would wonder why a Yaris would be more vulnerable than the Civic.

My guess is that more electronics = more vulnerable. An '82 civic is practically stone age compared to today's cars... Think about it, that was 27 years ago. If Moore's law applies (not sure if it does tho) and technology doubles every 2 years (That's exponential growth!), technology has doubled 13.5 times since '82. Even if Moore's law doesn't truly apply here, I would bet the Yaris has at least 1000 times more circuitry then that civic (by my calculations Moore's law says it's about 8,192 times as advanced as the 82 civic)...