What a night...

Sunday night I'm driving eastbound on Rt80. I see lightening up ahead and the roads are getting progressively wetter. I am driving behind a big a$$ tractor trailer, and I take exit 68 towards Ridgefield Park. If anyone is familar with this exit, you know there is construction going on. Now, this intermediate exit road breaks off into 2 lanes, one for the Turnpike and one for Rt 46. The tractor trailer in front of me switches over to the left lane and due to be prior lack of visibility, I have no idea what awaited me.... an ENORMOUS pond of WATER. With no time to react, I am forced to plow through it at about 35 mph. The steering wheel shudders and my windshield and car are drenched with road water. I can't see a damn thing, and I am praying that I don't stall. I jam on the brakes and clutch pedal. As I begin to slow, I am able to regain my bearings. I downshift to 2nd, switch over to the left lane where the water wasn't as deep, and get the fawk outta there.

Anyways, when I reach my destination, I inspect the integrity of the maxima. Floorboards and Floormats are SOAKED (as well as my McDonald's chicken sandwich takeout which was resting on the floor). Other than that, I don't notice any other probs. I soak up the water with rolls upon rolls of bounty paper towels and febreeze the shiet outta the car.

So my concern: Is there anything else I should check? The car seemed to drive fine -- still had its normal throttle response. Just a little worried about my baby and any issues that could creep up as a result of this incident.

BTW, Thank God I didn't have a CAI/injen intake and/or had lowered my car! Considering the circumstances, I think I lucked out!

 

damn..u lucked out my friend. now ur making me worry cuz my car is dropped....and i live in miami......now for those who r familiar with miami rain....wen it rains it pours...and wen it pours it floods!

i hope ur car is fine

 

oo i thought u had a CAI!! good thing you didnt bro, your fine

 

as long as it didnt come near ur intake snorkel u should be ok. ur car would have run alot crappier if u did inhale that water

 

Damn that is crazy, how did your floorboard and floormats get wet? Was your windows not closed?

 

Prob pissed in his pants

 

yup. Windows were halfway down!

 

just get a good carpet shampoo or it might start to stink

 

it probably came in through the bottom of the door. 6" or more is a lot a freakin water

 

I dunno what happened to tell you the truth. I was too busy trying to maintain control and see through the blinding wave of water that flew onto my car.

 

I took a couple 9" puddles today at 40mph. It's pretty cool, but I could see why it could be a problem if your car is manual.

 

WHAT? There is no reason why it would be any more of a problem with a manual than an auto. How does the transmission affect fuggn hydrolock?

 

i think he just means that cus you slow down so much that you would have to downshift.

 

This is retarded. The reason he made this thread is the danger of hydrolocking an engine, and therefore wrecking it. Not because he took a narly huge puddle doing 35, and since he has a manual transmission, he had to slow down and downshift. He made this thread because he's thankful he still has a car to drive.

 

hahahha next time don't tailgate a 18 wheeler. i go through that stretch of highway everyday from work in hackensack to rt46. there's always water there when it rains, on the right side.. you should know that!!

 

Dude, I'm living in Ridgefield Park for this summer only. I've NEVER driven down that road before when it has rained. The only time I ever drive that road is when I go to/from home in western NJ (like this past weekend).

Wrong place wrong time I suppose. But why weren't the cops there if they know it floods everytime it pours? The rain had stopped there for a while I believe.

 

I am Jersian too and I have CAI. I always get ppl honking every time i go thru a not-that-deep puddle of water since i take it SO SLOW.. .and on 2nd gear (5spd) to keep the rev lower and do not force my intake to suck much air. Glad to hear you made it ok. I would take a ride 2 and back from work for the next 3 days if that happen to me and work (dry, clean) on my babe while keeping her on the garage until all possible water/humidity reamining its gone.

 

I was also on that stretch of road about the same time last night - it was a nightmare! I'm very familiar with that particular off-ramp, and it's a narrow, sloping, almost blind right turn. Thank god you didn't hyrdo-lock (hydraulic lock?) your engine. If you did, you would've known about it immediately.

However, if your floormats are "soaked", that's a bit of a hassle. There's an inch or two of poly-foam underneath your floor carpet. It's designed as insulation/sound deadening, and unfortunately, when it takes on water, it absorbs like 5000x it's weight in water. That will stay wet for weeks, and it will STINK. If you are so inclined, pull up your door-sills, pull the carpeting up, and inspect that foam for wetness. If it feels slightly damp, it's most likely soaked through. Trust me, no amount of vacuuming or air-drying will remove water from that foam. Just keep a bottle of febreeze in your trunk, and leave your windows open as much as possible to help the moisture clear. Hopefully it's not to bad.

Best of luck!

Edit- oh, i just realized you're from sparta - that's some great driving up there - my personal fave is exit 27 of 80 taking 15 north to the 206-94 area, and just getting lost around lake swarstwood - awesome roads - wooOOoot to the sparta area!

 

Wow, sorry to hear that. I would suggest you drive the car as much as possible to evaporate as much moisture as possible. This way, you'll save yourself from possible corrosion if you react quickly. I wouldn't keep it parked in the garage, because this would make it worse. The evaporation process will take much longer in a cool place. Believe it or not, this is how cars rust more faster by leaving them parked in the garage, especially when wet. Keep the car outside. To dry the inside out, leave the windows up, slightly cracked. Heat and humidity will build up and dry much faster. It may stink like mildew, but at least it will dry much faster. The faster, the better.

 

or just break hard and clutch.

 

exactly... which i did (all the while minding the explorer right on my tail).

 

Funniest part of the story

 

LOL. It felt twice as heavy due to the amount of absorbed water, but would you believe I had to think twice before throwing it out because I was STARVING?!

 

jw, if I had a CAI and had hydrolocked my engine, would my insurance have covered the cost? (I have flood insurance).

 

Bump .........

 

i said that cus even if you brake/clutch, you could get stuck.

 

Where in Ridgefield Park? me and kormax97 live near you.

 

my friend sucked water into his 91 twin turbo z and his ins. paid him for a new long-block. we pulled his plugs, cleared the water , changed the oil and it ran fine. he spent the loot on exhaust, rims/tires, and a system...lucky f@cker !!!!

 

Don't you just love legal extortion...

 

he got lucky in more than one way

 

not quite, about 8 mths. later it got jacked at a club in the city....completely stripped, $2000 anteras, 5 grand in jbl audio, seats, t-tops etc..

1 mth. earlier he paid it off and took it off full coverage ins. he got nothin !!!