Mower went UNDER water, what to do???

[Orkin Yards]

One of my mower to a side trip from the yard into a creek full of water, the only thing sticking out was the top of the gass tank and the handels....i need a general summation of what all needs to be overlooked before using?? Thanks in advance.... btw it is a SCAG 48" belt drive w/ 17 hp kaw vtwin and peerless 5spd tranny if that helps for anything..... 48" fixed deck...

[Esby]

How long was it under?

[The Lawn Choupique]

I would sell that thing on Ebay.

[Doogiegh]

I'd go to the nearest Exmark dealer and buy a new one. <G>

Or at least goto a reputable mechanic and see what they can do with it.

I know that if you try to start it, and there's water in the cylinder(s), etc, you can do more damage than good. So bringing it to a shop where they can drain the gas, and basically do a whole tune-up of the mower before going any further would probably be the best bet.

Ya probably need to change the gas, the oil, spark plug and air filter right off the bat.

Gary

[LawnSmith]

really its not that much of a problem. just drain the all the fluids and start it back up. if its got a noise like rodney is knockin at your door, that means it took on too much water before it shut down. rebuild or sell if thats the case.

[BobbyBcuttin]

About 4 years ago my wife ran are new stratus into 4 feet of water it hydro locked the engine and bent all 4 rods at first i thought the starter was shorted out changed it still wouldn't crank hooked my truck to it to try to pull start it droped the clutch in 5th gear nothing would turn the front wheels just scooted 500 doller deductible and 2 weeks later new motor. The first thing i would do would be drain the oil then see if the motor will turn over if it will then do a full tuneup,gas oil,plugs,filters,blow everything out good then you should be good to go.

[roscioli]

Here is the million dollar question: WAS IT RUNNING WHEN IT WENT UNDER? If so, you will have water in your cylinders, and you need to take it, flip it over with the sparkplug OUT, and crank it over by hand. Allow it a good week to dry everything, the starter, the ignition, everything must dry. Along with the things the other guys siad, gas change, oil change, tranny oil change, etc.. etc.. etc.. Just dont forget that if you have water in your cyls, you will blow the motor if you try to run it.

[VLM]

You could get some scuba gear and go into the seaweed maintenance business. Hey, this is a totally new niche. Sorry but couldnt resist. hehe.

[GreenIsland]

Simply drain the fluids from the engine block, and the peerless transmission - replace them and all should be allright. Make certain you give it time to drain all of the water out.

[AielLandscaping]

i had to salvage two of my motorcycles after it flooded here one time. when i got to them they were coated in mud and looked like they'd never run again. they'd sat in standing water for about a week. engines are basically all the same so this is what i did, and i'm no mechanic... drain all your fluids first, take off the carb and clean it thoroughly, let your air filter dry out and re-oil it, if the gas tank on your machine is metal check for rust and clean it using a rag on the end of a stick or coat hanger to knock the rust loose and flush it. for good measure put a fuel filter into the fuel line if it doesn't have one already... take off your exhaust system and flush it out... pull out your spark plugs and crank the system by hand and use a hair dryer or a fan to blow air into the engine from the exhaust side while the valves are open so it dries out the enter inside of the engine... if you take off the oil fill cap you should be able to feel air pushing out if the valves are open... next fill it back up with all fluids run it just long enough to get warm, drain the oil again... if you had mud in your engine like i had, you'll have milky oil.. if it's not discolored in any way, fill it back up and your ready to go.. if it is discolored then you'll just have to keep putting some in and draining it until it becomes completely clean....

[landscaper3]

Well not to totally answer your question but a friend of mine around 15 years ago, we were out ICE fishing on Sebago Lake and his Ford Ranger went through the ice and sank to the bottom at 80+ feet! In the middle of winter, anyways $8,000 later all went to getting the truck out they drained the oil, changed all the fluides aired it out and drove it 60,000 more miles after the the truck already had 100,000 miles on it! This was before the insurance laws stating you couldnt put your vehicles on lakes, but anyways you may get as lucky as him!!!

[FrankenScagMachines]

If it was running when it went under, then there's a chance (if it was hot, a really good chance) that you warped something, like valves, head, etc. You need to just take it to a mechanic and tell him exactly what happened. Ask him to change all fluids and filters and let the crankcase dry before refilling, ask him to clean the carburetor and check the head and valves and whatever else for warps. If you have a warped valve or head you're gonna do more bad than good letting it go at just changing all the fluids. Play it safe. Sorry to hear about this calamity... I'd hate it if that happened!
:blob2:
Good luck,
Eric

[NewbieOwner]

Ok, First off, hope the water killed the ignition before she injested any water down the intake... Otherwise, you're talking bent pushrods, valves... all kinds of nasty rebuild-or-replace-the-engine type scenarios.

First, drain all the fluids and replace, grease everything, change ALL the filters (oil, gas, air) not sure on the engine electronics, but basically in a 4x4 you'd spray the distributor cap out w/ wd40 (displaces water) Do some investigation to see what might be all-wet on yours (dont just assume it will air-dry, remember corrosion!)

Second pull the sparkplug, Put on your safety glasses. disconnect the coil, or whatever creates the spark on your mower. (don't just unplug the sparkplug wire). Tug on pull cord/ turn electric start, watch the sparkplug hole, you'll see stuff spitting out, pretty much wait until most of it is out.

Install new sparkplug, Pray to the mower-gods. Reconnect ignition and try to start her up.

[GCS LawnService]

I do recovery SCUBA Diving and did a recovery on a Diesel Grasshopper and it was totally screwed. Did you have any type of insurance on your equipment? The lawn service that lost the Grasshopper collected a nice check from the insurance company and purchased the mower for the salvage costs and used it for all the spare undamaged parts.

[Richard Martin]

I see a lot of advice about letting everything air dry. That is the worst thing you can do. If you allow the water to evaporate by itself corrosion can do damage to bearings, rings and other sensitive parts. When you pull the mower out of the water immediately change all of the fluids. Then pull the spark plugs out and get some engine oil into the cylinders and rotate the engine over a few times. When you get it back to your shop you need to get an air compressor and a air nozzle and get as much moisture as possible out of the electronics and then spray them down with WD-40 real good. As mentioned before you should inspect the tranny. These are very easy to get apart. Just disconnect the safety if equiped and then remove the shift lever. On the side of the tranny when the id tag is located you will see an allen screw recessed in the tranny case. Remove the screw, the spring and the shift detent ball. Then remove the 6 bolts holding the case together and the top case will lift right off.

[Holloway Lawns]

Best bet is to take to the dealer and have them check it out. If the oil is cream colored looking there is water in it do not try to start just take it to the lawn mower DR.

[Albemarle Lawn]

If running or even hot, the block/heads may be warped. The sudden cooldown may have even cracked the block.

Drain the oil and gas from the carb, pull the spark plug and let it air out.

Change the oil, remove the fan cover so the coil dries out.

Change the air, oil, and fuel filters.

Then, put in new oil, and if the starter motor still works do a compression test.

You may want to pull the starter and put it on a heater vent or in an electric oven at 150 degrees. Don't use a gas oven as they give off moisture and won't help drying.

Good luck!

Ken

[Tom_B]

First off theres a really good chance that you did no damage, Yea water does a number on engines but not if you take care of the problem fast.

It would have been Very Very Hot to warp anything, Ive run my ATV for 6hrs stright and then dunked the thing in water up to the gas tank with no problems and its not that much different with a Mower. Change the oils YOURSELF dont Pay anyone elce to do it that would just be stupid....If you have brains enough to run the mower you wont have any problems taking care of a little problem like drowning out. You drain your oil and maby clean the carb but most likely you can just drain the carb and start her up you are in the clear unless you left the thing under water over night.