Help My 5 ton is under flood water!!

[FASTNOVA]

OK. That being said about what to do once she's out let's talk about how he can get her out of there in 10ft of water now. I would try to float it out of there with some type of floatation device like airbags that could be taken on site and inflated enough where it could be pulled by a small boat to higher ground.

 

[mobileauto2000]

The problem you will have is the time under water. It's not the same as driving into a deep hole and pulling it out a while later.

vehicles submerged for days in flood water need to be completely torn down cleaned and reassembled.

If the water where it is submerged is clear you might be OK. But i doubt it is. Even sealed units will fill with water if deep enough. The seals are old and will seep.

At the very least pull the oil pan and see how much sediment is in there. Just changing fluids will not remove sediments. And a short run will wast all the bearings.

yes it can be saved but will most likely need to be torn down cleaned and reassembled.

Sorry for you loss
John

Ruth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

 

[papabear]

Write her off

The problem you will have is the time under water. It's not the same as driving into a deep hole and pulling it out a while later.
vehicles submerged for days in flood water need to be completely torn down cleaned and reassembled.
If the water where it is submerged is clear you might be OK. But i doubt it is. Even sealed units will fill with water if deep enough. The seals are old and will seep.
At the very least pull the oil pan and see how much sediment is in there. Just changing fluids will not remove sediments. And a short run will wast all the bearings.
yes it can be saved but will most likely need to be torn down cleaned and reassembled.
Sorry for you loss John

I agree...and think of the electrical nightmare you will encounter.
Yes...things will dry out eventually but they will cause you problems...I just betcha.
I'm no expert...on anything...and I can prove it...but.

I would wait til the water recedes and just salvage whatever parts I could.

You will spend more in time and money "saving her" than it would take to replace her.

 

[FASTNOVA]

If you were closer I'd help you get that truck out of there. It just breaks my heart to see a truck like that.
Rider why were you not able to get the truck out of there in time? Did they not give any notice of what was going to happen?

 

[R Racing]

Having lived to see far to many floods hit the Keystone state over the years, I can surely simpathize with your plight.

In 1972 Hurricane Agnes caused a dandy flood that put the town of Harrisburg in about 30' of water. Pennsy Supply had all their cement trucks parked in the yard along the river and when the water rose the trucks all floated, cabs down under water and the cement barrels up. Now I'm talkin about 30 trucks or more.


After several days the water finally receeded and they commensed to untangle the pile of trucks. Most had sever cab and body damage, but others were just full of water & mud. Those trucks were completely washed out with clean water, under the dashes & all. Fluids were drained from the motors, drivetrain components, fuel tanks, then they were flushed with clean water also and allowed to air dry/drain for a day or two. With new filters in place they refilled everything, put in new batteries and began to fire them up.

Now this is sounding easier than it actually was, but they got some running. After several days of service they brought them back in as others were able to take their place and new filters and fluids were put in. Aside from the river smell that was always present in the cabs most ran for a good while afterwards till eventually they were all replaced.

The biggest problems they had to deal with in nearly all the flooded trucks was in the electrical systems. Now these were all older B, DM & early R model Macks, so the electronics were very basic, but they still had there problems with lights, guages and everything rusting.

There's no way to really undo whatever damage the water may cause, I'm sorry to say. It may not be very noticable at first, but down the road things will start to crop up.

I lived in Tamaqua when Agnes came thru. Down town was 26 feet above flood stage and we took a boat thru main street since the water was so deep !! Most second story buildings were under water.

 

[M813A1]

Just try what Gimp is saying !! I know guys down in Fla and the boats sank so the leave under the salt water till they can raise it and then they pickel the motor and flush all fluids and they can save their engines even after several months in the salt water !! Try that before scrapping !!

 

[ctmustang]

the engine is going to be so full of sand -silt and what ever that it would make sense to just replace the truck instead of trying to save her. If the electric gremlins would leave you alone put another motor in her

 

[Chief_919]

You will spend more in time and money "saving her" than it would take to replace her.

I gotta agree. There is a point of dimishing returns.

If this was a $75,000 concrete truck or a $20,000 boat, it would be worth the effort.

But at what M54's sell for, you can buy a new one for far less than you will pay to try and fix it.

Buy another one. Then strip the old one down as you have time, figure out what parts are savable and what are not.

 

[deathrowdave]

I would put my money on cleaning and changing fluids --- Good to go after that ---. These things are way more durable than what you think designed to be repaired and maintained in the worst conditions. Just thing of what you cuold do with good conitions and work area. Not to many of us know the whole lifes of our units .Don't go down with out giving it a fight !!!

 

[KsM715]

All of you that say tear it down, clean and lube it are forgetting one thing, Its 600 miles away from where he lives. (on his hunting property) I doubt, (but I could be wrong) he has the place and time to spend that far from home doing all that work, or he has to get it shipped back home to do the work. My vote would be to buy another one, and when you can get this one out, tow it home and part it out.

 

[ridered131]

Jeff,

unfortunately you are correct it is a 7 hour drive from my home going 80mph and stopping only for gas. I new that the water was coming so I parked it on the highest ground I had, unfortunately it wasn't even close to high enough. Not only did I loose my truck but my tractor, mower, planter, disk, two cars and countless tools. I am just going to have to try to change the fluids drop the oil pan soak as much of the truck in wd 40 and oil as I can... just cross my fingers and hope she fires back up. as far as removing the water from the cylinders any ideas? or tips on how to remove the glow plugs or injectors. what do you guys recommend like I said my knowledge of diesels is very limited. but I do know how to work on gas motors so I'm sure i can figure it out. also what kind of oil do I put in the diffs trans and transfer I have read gl-1 but I cant find that anywhere in town, also does the winch have its own separate oil? I'm sure it does but I really have only owned the truck for a few months and really have not hat much Time to learn about it. Also If any one has any repair manuals that would be awesome!! thanks everyone!

 

[trukhead]

Very tough break on your machines. How much time casn you put into your projects? I wouldn't give up yet.

I would start with draining every thing and filling it back up with fuel oil. then P-B blast the **** out of everything. On to the engines, remove the fuel injectors or spark plugs and flush the cylinders. perhaps a parts washer style pump and a tube to get into the nooks and crannies. I would pull the oil pan off and see if there is sediment in there. Get some kind of siphon-sprayer and wash the crank case and from the valve cover down. Wash from the top down. Then install the oil pan and fill it with cleaning solvent or fuel oil and run the oil pump externally and flush the lube system. I would flush fuel systems form the atmosphere to the filter. Replace the filters and see where you are at. Axles , trannys, transfer cases-clean and flush the same way.

Electrical systems, HMMmmm Drying it out is the issue and corrosion. Elevating the the temperature may dry it out. may be some type of torpedo heater blowing air at a distance in to the compartments may do it 120 -130 degrees in the compartment may do it for a period of time..

try baking the electric power tools in an oven at 120-140 degrees for a while, that ought to dry them out.

What have you lose except time, hope fully you can arrange it around work and 7 hour s each way is a lot of time. I know this is a lot of effort for questionable returns.

 

[docfarmall]

Get her out and bring her to me i will drain her and pull injectors she will run again "I WOULD NOT JUNK HER"

 

[65BAJA]

Call up the National Guard and offer to lend them your truck for an "airlift training exercise". Have them deploy a CH-47 to pull it out.

 

[clinto]

as far as removing the water from the cylinders any ideas? or tips on how to remove the glow plugs or injectors. what do you guys recommend like I said my knowledge of diesels is very limited.

Just unhook the feed lines and the return hoses and remove them. Dead simple. Remove all of them and slowly turn the crank so the pistons can pump the water out.

also what kind of oil do I put in the diffs trans and transfer I have read gl-1 but I cant find that anywhere in town,

Go to Napa and ask for part # 65-205. 5 gallon bucket of GL1.

also does the winch have its own separate oil? I'm sure it does but I really have only owned the truck for a few months and really have not hat much Time to learn about it. Also If any one has any repair manuals that would be awesome!! thanks everyone!

Can't remember on the winch, but you can download the Lube Order, which is the military guide to lubrication for every item on the truck, along with ALL the tech and parts manuals from JA Tonka's website:

JATONKA's M54 series TM download page






Good luck man.

 

[Gunfreak25]

There will probably be a lot of fine sand in everything from the water. Can you work on the vehicle where it's at now, when it is dry? I wouldn't worry a whole lot about rust and corrosion. If you can get the vehicle on dry land and begin the disassembly process as soon as possible for inspection, rust should not be an issue. I have seen guys take apart entire Mack 10 ton trucks and rebuild them in a years time. Don't worry about the electrical bits, electrical is easy and small potatoes. Yank the entire drive drain and service everything. It will be labor intensive and time consuming, just take your time and keep in mind the truck will look brand new when you are finished with it. After all, with the entire vehicle disassembled it will be a great excuse to put all new paint on everything. You figure the drivetrain components will have so much diesel oil, gear oil, grease (etc) on them that rust on the internals probably won't be a big problem. If there is any rust on the internals it will likely be minor surface corrosion at best, and can be cleaned up easily with no need to replace the parts.

 

[cranetruck]

If you are that far away, you probably don't have any up to date photos, but is the avatar an indication of your situation?
The engine can take in water via the crankcase breather, air intake or exhaust and is otherwise sealed for running submerged.
Axle housings, transmission and transfer may or may not take in water depending on the condition of the seals. I imagine a "static" exposure to water is different from actually driving it under those conditions.

 

[hoop]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb7EmgJ9mcA[/media]

Footage starts at 1:57

 

[kastein]

It's too bad you didn't have more warning. Could have made a Cuban refugee boat out of it, i.e. get ahold of every 55 gallon drum within 50 miles and lash them all to it, then hope it floats upright.

If the water has not gone over the intake yet, certainly seal that off. Same with any breathers and the crankcase slobber tube.

 

[Maverick1701]

If I was going to salvage most of the parts and the motor was already trashed as some people think say I would crank it up just to see what happens...if it works it work and if it blows itll be a good show...just take pics/vids