My Hurricane Humvee is Back Alive!

[bdhummerman]

Interesting situation with the hurricane that hit - rescued my cars as surge came in - wife wanted humvee for post storm vehicle or emergency so we left it in our driveway.

surge was way more substantial than news was reporting for our area. We got 6 to 7 feet of water - total disaster zone, our homes are built and did very well in North Naples but lower levels, boats, vehicles, etc. are tossed everywhere. There’s a 40 foot sailboat in my neighbors yard. The humvee did not float like all my neighbors cars and totally disappeared under the water

New Batteries and all exposed connections cleaned - opened start box and it was perfectly dry. I have a master mechanic who is a wizard help me.

All the water goes to the bottom of all the components. The key was to leave everything alone until ready to put in new fluids.

engine had gallons of water that came out before oil did, blew water out cylinders. Drained transmission (worst part) and pumped fluid through it and ouuntil fluid was right color (minor water infiltration but it was there)

fuel tank had gallons of water, but again it all goes to bottom so we cracked plug and drained until it switched to diesel - treated fuel after.

master cylinder had superficial amount but needed cleaned out

diffs and geared hubs all had water.

Truck was coated head to toe in a thick mud that is the worst part of this storm - it’s everywhere.

End result - vehicle runs beautifully. The engine specifically runs perfect no smoke, no blow by, just perfect.

part of this I believe is that it was parked and flooded and wasn’t running during intrusion.

crazy thing - won some bets rolling around neighborhood in it.

 

[Mogman]

Wow, great job getting it cleaned up!
Curious how about the gauges?

 

[bdhummerman]

Gauges good minus temp and probably fuel - cooling fan working fine so it is just the gauge.

 

[M35A2-AZ]

WOW, glad you saved it and got it back to life again. Good job!

 

[Maxjeep1]

I don’t think I would’ve listened to wifey. What good is an after storm emergency vehicle that needs everything changed before you can use it for the emergency? I think I would have removed it and drove it back home after water went down. That’s saltwater I would assume? If you could get a do over would you have moved it? I’m really sorry for how bad you and everyone else got hit. I can’t imagine coming back to everything gone, like some did. I wouldn’t think you could get a 6 or 7 foot swell so it’s possible that I would have left it behind also.

 

[bdhummerman]

3 feet of water was the worst that had been seen in modern times - so humvee would be fine if that happened - you would prepare totally differently for the amount of water that actually came in

 

[NDT]

Suggest you get a fire hose and flush the two frame rails out. Right now there is still mud and salt inside the rails which will cause corrosion. USMC has issues with this when fording from landing craft.

 

[Gcelevator]

Glad you wre able to save it. I went to Pine Island las saturday to help and it was total disaster.

 

[Mogman]

I hate to be a bummer but if it is insured I would contact them, that salt water will likely cause mucho problems down the road from frame/chassis/body corrosion to many, many, many electrical issues, nice to get it going but in the real world it is a total loss...

 

[NDT]

I hate to be a bummer but if it is insured I would contact them, that salt water will likely cause mucho problems down the road from frame/chassis/body corrosion to many, many, many electrical issues, nice to get it going but in the real world it is a total loss...

Maybe, but don't forget USMC drives these in salt water every day in training and the trucks come back for more every time.

 

[Mogman]

Maybe, but don't forget USMC drives these in salt water every day in training and the trucks come back for more every time.

And I am sure they have hell with them, a few seconds exposed to salt water is TOTALLY different than being completely submerged in salt water for hours.
I also doubt they do that every day in training.

 

[bdhummerman]

Yes, I tend to agree - I have the feeling this truck will be fine and a few items may have shorter life span, but in my 20 plus year experience, a hummer can decide to break because the sky isn’t blue. Driven them a long time and this humvee is almost tractor like compared to the h1’s I’ve had with ctis and full interiors and electronics, turbos.

I washed it down several times immediately parked and once it got driving it went straight to a high pressure soap bath - doors and hood are fiberglass, body aluminum, roof canvas.

I still see a difference in recovery with vehicle being parked during water event and not touched until everything was drained and replaced vs some guy going full bore into a mud hole with everything pumping.

it’s now officially the most interesting hummer I’ve ever had.

 

[juanprado]

The frame rail wash out is a very good idea.

I have an old m107 water buffalo and I was amazed at the coarse sand almost like small gravel very colorful that washed out. Never seen anything like it and I suspect from some exotic location...

 

[Milcommoguy]

Just an idea... and I did it to mine was to drill a 3/8 hole in the low spots in the frame. I was told by a wise man (86humv) that the frames have been known to rust out from the inside. One wouldn't think so, as thick as they are... but any water held in the frame is going to be a problem with time.

Maybe not so much in the Mojave desert?

Water in and water out, CAMO

 

[juanprado]

There is a amg kit to strengthen the frame for just that reason.

 

[GTUnit]

Pretty awesome having a tank of a vehicle where you can submerge it for a week and then drain all the fluids, spend 2 days cleaning, and have it run the same after

 

[GTUnit]

Maybe, but don't forget USMC drives these in salt water every day in training and the trucks come back for more every time.

After going through my HMMWV thoroughly I came to the conclusion that these trucks are very poorly prepared for deep fording salt water. Exposure will cause some damage to and problems with electrical system over time. Hokey silicone blobs on the connectors don't seal out the joints completely. The multi pin connectors are not waterproof. Ground connections are not greased or sealed. These will corrode over time unless disassembled, cleaned, and greased.

I was kind of disappointed after seeing promos of these things landing on a beach. Fresh water should be fine but salt I would never try unless I prepped the truck the right way or was ready to go put the work in after.