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Flooded the Foreman...need advice

14488 Views 24 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Robb
I flipped my Foreman today in the water, and the oil is looking pretty milky. This was nasty muddy water, nothing clean about it. To make things worse mine is snorkled and it took in a bunch of water through that, airbox was soaked, I did have a rerouted crank case tube, but water still would have made it through. I probably drove it about 2-3 miles afterwards back to my truck.

What are the best steps to take from here to get it healthy again? Is it possible to have already done some damage? Should I be expecting smoke from the exhaust soon? Rebuild time (big bore)?

Thanks.
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I did the exact same thing you did. Go out and buy at least 15qts. of the cheapest oil you can find. Enough for at least 5 oil changes or until it clears up. Put in about 3 qts at at time & crank it up so that it circulates in the engine. Drain. Repeat until the oil is not milky & clears up. When the oil finally comes out clear, then put in the good stuff. There ain't no sense in buyin' the expensive oil just to run it through to clean the motor out. You will need to change the filter a time or three during the flush process. Do not let the water set in your motor very long. It could cause severe damage. Get it out asap. Other than you should be fine. It is a Honda, what are you worried about.
You can run deisel fuel for a short time in the motor to flush it. Just turn the kill switch off, and turne the motor over for 10-15 secs. Then drain do that a couple times then start with the oil. You may want to pull the oil cooler it can hold a lot debris and water. A tranny shop can flush it for cheap or you can flush it yourself w/ deisel, brake cleaner and compressed air.

But you need to get the water out very soon, or your cylenders will start to rust, thus killing your rings. Thats when you'll start to smoke.
Truegrit sounds like you had a bad experience one time or another.
Yep thats why I snorkeled my old SP500. Thats also why I got rid of it too, many things to get wet.
Thanks for the tips....time to get to work!!
QUOTE ("Robb":3ddjarhh)
Thanks for the tips....time to get to work!!
Yep - it will take a few hours of time to make sure it is cleaned out properly, but once you've done the several oil changes and checked/flushed the oil cooler...you should be fine.

You might have to clean up the carb if trash/dirt got in it. At least take the bowl off the bottom and blow it out with some compressed air.

Don't worry...she'll run fine again.
Update..I went and got a bunch of cheapo wal mart 5W30, I have added, ran, and drained now 5 times, still milky, my concern is its smoking pretty good, is this cause of the type of oil? IM hoping a couple more changes and it will be cleared up, but im concerned about the smoking. I have flushed the oil cooler, after the 3rd change, and have changed the filter a couple times as well.
If the mud/sand in the cylender scored the block it will never stop smoking. Time for an engine bore. As far as the water still in the oil, you may want to try a motor flush. Don't use a whole bottle made for a car, just use 1/2 plus oil. Be aware of the exhaust fumes though, They will be toxic. Try the deisel it is the only thing thin enough to fit in the tight spaces.
i think it might have something to do with the oil.
G
pull it apart - p&p the head, high comp pistons, run alcohol and a SDS and you are set

sorry, flashback, get it fixed - we need the tow/pit vehicle healthy this race season


james innes
haha....good to see you here James!!
How long should I let this thing run between changing the oil, ive only been letting it idel for about 30-45 seconds, ldles clean, give it gas and it smokes.
A couple minutes, progressivly getting longer. Have you seen improvement in the oil yet?
Oil started looking good, put in some honda oil, and its smoking alot still, guess I gotta rebuild it, sucks :!:
Try a motor honey like "stop smoke" It may work temporarily, until you can get motor work done.
QUOTE ("Robb":1fv52n84)
Oil started looking good, put in some honda oil, and its smoking alot still, guess I gotta rebuild it, sucks :!:
BEFORE you rebuild it. Did you EVER drain the gas out of the carb and maybe even the gas tank? When I flipped mine in that ditch last year I got some water in the carb. It will continue to blow smoke out the exhaust because it is trying to burn water mixed with the gas.

That is NO good and you'll never clear up the smoke unless you empty the carb bowl completely (little screw on the carb) and maybe drain the gas in your gas tank...I did just to be safe.

This is much easier than a rebuild and could very well clear up your smoking problem if you haven't done it yet. Start by draining the carb and then start it up.



I ran mine enough to warm it up (3-5 minutes) between oil changes when flushing it out. Then let it cool down. It needs a few minutes for the oil to warm up and flow through the engine so it can pull ALL the moisture out of it when you drain it.

Go drain that carb now and report back to us. MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE GAS OFF before draining the carb.
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We drained the carb right after he flipped it cause it wouldnt start. Yes the carb had alot of **** in it but it all came out. So the carb isnt the problem. Also when he had water in the gas the thing wouldnt even run right so i dont think it is either of those things.
QUOTE ("Rubicon3303":doj124qs)
We drained the carb right after he flipped it cause it wouldnt start. Yes the carb had alot of **** in it but it all came out. So the carb isnt the problem. Also when he had water in the gas the thing wouldnt even run right so i dont think it is either of those things.
****...that sucks. I was really hoping y'all didn't drain the water out of the carb yet.

Oh well...since you have to rebuild the top-end anyways...you might as well just go for the big bore kit. I know I would!!
Robb three diferent people have mentioned the machine shop I gave you. But its pretty far down south.
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