Joel Goodson... I Feel Your Pain

I'm sure you are all aware of the weather that struck Nashville and surrounding areas this past weekend. Yesterday, I'm afraid it was discovered that the weather claimed a 928 as one of its victims. The car I'm referencing is my father's. I wouldn't just call it any 928 either. 17K original miles on the clock and it looked & smelled brand spankin' new on the inside, too!

To make a long story short the car has been stored just up the road in Franklin, Kentucky for the last 17 years or so. It's spent probably 15 of those sitting in a basement there at the same property. Well, it was discovered yesterday by my father and myself, that the sump pump failed during the storm and the basement obviously flooded as a result. And with it, the pristine 86.5 Grand Prix White Porsche 928. I took a picture of the basement with my cell phone as soon as we were able to get the door raised that the car sat behind all those years; ironically to protect from Mother Nature. As soon as I figure out how to upload that photo, I will and I plan to add many more once we're able to eventually remove the car from the basement.

Now I know the feeling Joel Goodson must have experienced when he let his dad's 928 take a bath in Risky Business. It's not a good feeling walking up on a 928 this nice with water up to the mirrors. As an enthusiast of these cars, it really hurt to see a car in that condition fall victim to a bunch of frickin' rain!!

Obviously, we're going to do all that we can to save the car although I'm doubting it will ever be the same because of the interior mostly. We also own an '85 model parts car that will now donate the wiring, computers, sensors, etc. As far as mechanically, I was thinking that we need to drop the pan and pull the heads ASAP to get rid of the water. If this were your vehicle would you refill the block with diesel or take some other measure to fight off any rust or corrosion as a result? That was the first thought that came to mind, but please, and advice or other thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I'm wondering if water got in the transmission also. I'm thinking that is should not have since the reservoir was closed and it should have been totally sealed.

I know someone who rescued a 928 from a semi-submerged incident, and have asked him to see if he can offer advice.

If the engine is not turned over, cranked, there should be no water inside, unless the water was over the intake. If it is over the intake and water ran into the valves and cylinders that were open, I would, remove the spark plugs and oil drain plug, then very slowly turn the engine by hand to remove the water. I would do this as soon as possible, pore in fresh oil and fire it up.
Your other choice is to pull everything apart and spray everything down with WD 40 or something to displace the water. The trouble is that by the time you get it apart, the valves and other cast that was touched by the water will have started to rust. 6 of 1 half doz of the other.

BTW, my heart goes out to you.
drain it and fire it up as soon as possible. drain the oil after 5 min.
new oil and run it again to see if it gets milky.
pull the rug and seats out and dry as quick as possible, you can clean them after.
Fog the interior with a creeping undercoat to displace the water from the electrical, you can clean it off later.
The key is to stop the rust and remove the water NOW!

Al the best. God that sucks.

I am my own worse enemy - I have two 928's that endured the swim - in salt water. I cared for one immediately, and just inherited the other - 4 years later.
The one I cared for is being painted and hopefully driven to SITM next year.
The other is a couple of years away from running.
My eMail is sailmed at hotmail dot com if you would care for some free advice.
Then again if you want to pay for it - just ignore it! LOL

B.W.Haugen;281 wrote: If the engine is not turned over, cranked, there should be no water inside, unless the water was over the intake. If it is over the intake and water ran into the valves and cylinders that were open, I would, remove the spark plugs and oil drain plug, then very slowly turn the engine by hand to remove the water. I would do this as soon as possible, pore in fresh oil and fire it up.
Your other choice is to pull everything apart and spray everything down with WD 40 or something to displace the water. The trouble is that by the time you get it apart, the valves and other cast that was touched by the water will have started to rust. 6 of 1 half doz of the other.

BTW, my heart goes out to you.
drain it and fire it up as soon as possible. drain the oil after 5 min.
new oil and run it again to see if it gets milky.
pull the rug and seats out and dry as quick as possible, you can clean them after.
Fog the interior with a creeping undercoat to displace the water from the electrical, you can clean it off later.
The key is to stop the rust and remove the water NOW!

Al the best. God that sucks.

Actually the water just needed to be above the dip stick if the O-ring is broken, open exhaust valve or anywhere with a bad gasket - once the water is above the oil level it creates a vacuum and leaks the opposite direction.
Immediate flooding of the engine with oil (A/C vacuum pumps oil works fantastic, it is hydroscopic and absorbs the water while allowing lubrication)- through every opening and rocking the pistons back and forth is a good way to deal with her and save piston rings, valve seat surfaces, bearings, etc.- followed by flooding again with CRC... If memory serves correctly 12 gallons worth!
just sayin.
It is one hell of a project - Total rewiring is the biggest pain....
BTDT and only out of love! But why else do we drive and save these cars - Oh yeah - THE BEST RIDE EVER!

Thanks for the responses guys. Yes, unfortunately, water did rise far above the intake and there is no question that the motor is filled with water. I was just told that about half of the interior has been removed and dried so far, though no measure has been taken yet to fight the water off from all of the car's mechanical parts. I didn't get a real confident answer of whether it looked like the interior would be successfully saved or not. Time will tell.

Do any of you have any thoughts on the transmission? Is it possible that water may not have entered the transmission? By the way, it is an automatic if I haven't stated that yet.