[MGorman41]

Forgive me if there is a topic similar already to this, everyones problem is different and I'm borderline picky.

Quick intro about myself: From Knoxville, TN, I've had my 08TT Iceberg for about 3 years now and I love it. I definitely get into trouble with it as you will find out if you keep reading. Long time forum lurker, new poster. Total newb.

My debacle: Just outside of Knoxville to the East, is a 72,000 acre off road attraction, Windrock is the name, with miles on miles of trails mixed from gravel, to extreme rock crawling. Now my TT is stock so the brutal rock sections obviously weren't my deal. But I'll always take the chance to hit a good puddle...

So to keep from boring you, heres the deal. I cruised into a puddle of unknown depth(rookie move I Know) and high centered my vehicle. My rig was at a downward position leaning towards the diver side if you can picture that, but my hood was not submerged nor was my fuel tank fill.

I stayed in my vehicle for most of the duration of the extrication, my buddy in a 4runner pulled me out :slant: , and my vehicle ran the entire time. I thought that keeping a high idle would help keep muddy water out of the exhaust. SO when we finally pulled the FJ out all was good. Opened my doors and the 3 or so inches of water drained, we had a beer, and went home. On the way home the truck ran fine, even stopped at a gas station turned off the FJ and it started back no problem. So when I got it home I started the extensive cleaning process because while getting pulled out the chain broke and slapped my back glass and spinning tires threw mud all into my rig. This was just not my day. After I got sick of cleaning the interior that night, I went to move it out of the garage and my problems started...

I went to start it, and got the solid click from the starter. Thought it may be dirty battery connections so I cleaned those. Still the click. Tried the old school knock on the starter just incase mud was in there gumming it up. After reading @ferguson 's write up on his starter project I kept on clicking the starter and it finally fired up. So I let it idle for about 15-20 minutes, and quite frankly it idled like complete a**. So this made me weary of things to come. Hopped in the rig to find a flashing check engine light, and my traction control lights on as well. I didn't have an available code reader at 10:30pm so I took it home for a swap out ride. While on the way home I found that it had no power, like it sucked. It took a noticeably longer time to shift, also a higher RPM, and didn't want to hit any higher gear than 3 while in D. So when I got the chance I ran it through L-4 then eventually to D. I would like to say that it ran better, but only a slight performance difference was noted. So finally after limping it home parked it in the garage and there its sat.

Now I'm not a master mechanic at all but I'm not a total idiot(depending on who you ask). So in the short term I'm planning on cleaning the starter and going from there. ANY input is much appreciated.

I've also been lurking on similar posts from @yeehawbaja and others alike.

Pics below for laughing purposes only. May my misfortune strike your interest.

Fun times were had by all.

 

[Whiskeyfootprints]

Wow dude,

Looks like someone used your rear window as a festival porta- potty, what a bad day... A chain to recover your vehicle is not wise, clearly. If the front passenger wheel well was submerged you could have pulled water in the intake. I would open the air cleaner up and check it out first thing.

 

[MGorman41]

Wow dude,

Looks like someone used your rear window as a festival porta- potty, what a bad day... A chain to recover your vehicle is not wise, clearly. If the front passenger wheel well was submerged you could have pulled water in the intake. I would open the air cleaner up and check it out first thing.

Pretty wasted isn't she? Surprisingly the chain held, the carabiner on the other hand was was exploded.

 

[Bar3K]

i hate mud

Wheel speed sensor/wiring might have got damaged on your entry or extraction causing some lights

Get everything dried out and then read codes

If the control systems are wet there is gonna be a lot of dead ends trying to troubleshoot

 

[Winterpeg]

You used a chain with a carabiner? :shock:

I'm not going to preach... I'm just going to leave this here for some light reading once you get your gremlins figured out. I'm glad nobody got hurt.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...-proper-use-recovery-gear-how-discussion.html

Welcome to the forum. Good luck!
:cheers:

 

[Pogiboy]

Wow. Hope you get out of this OP. I wonder if you can involve your insurance on this.

 

[MGorman41]

You used a chain with a carabiner? :shock:

I'm not going to preach... I'm just going to leave this here for some light reading once you get your gremlins figured out. I'm glad nobody got hurt.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...-proper-use-recovery-gear-how-discussion.html

Welcome to the forum. Good luck!
:cheers:

Haha yea yea, there may or may not have been a direct quote before the trip of, "I don't think we'll be getting into anything too wild". The biner was a hasty idea..and..well...we see how that worked :rocker:

 

[Tonka Cruiser]

WOW!, I would get under the truck, look everything over very closely. look for caked mud, remove as much as you can. get a code reader and do your research. if you are going to try to fix it yourself then as a last resort I would start your truck and power wash you engine. let it dry and recheck.

 

[Voight Kampff]

Quite honestly, the first thing I would do would be to flush the whole vehicle with fresh, clear water, until the drainage runs clear. Make certain everything is clean and dry. Only then will you be able to properly diagnose your gremlins.

 

[MGorman41]

Quite honestly, the first thing I would do would be to flush the whole vehicle with fresh, clear water, until the drainage runs clear. Make certain everything is clean and dry. Only then will you be able to properly diagnose your gremlins.

What do you mean flush. It's probably obvious to others, but sometimes it slips though my cracks. I plan on already flushing all fluids except trans and fuel. I have 3/4 tank of fuel...

 

[CowboyCEO]

The starter has a breather on it that can get clogged with mud and cause "the click". You said you were drivers-front down in the puddle. That means the starter was probably under water and is in need of replacement or rebuilding.
That sucks about the damage that happened with the recovery lesson.

 

[MGorman41]

I'll be breaking that down tomorrow first thing. I'll be sure to include pictures through this whole process for everyones viewing pleasure.

 

[Voight Kampff]

What do you mean flush. It's probably obvious to others, but sometimes it slips though my cracks. I plan on already flushing all fluids except trans and fuel. I have 3/4 tank of fuel...

Uh, wash the whole thing, inside and out, top to bottom. Especially the bottom. First course of action is to park your rig on top of a sprinkler and let it go to town for a few hours. Move the truck or the sprinkler until the whole thing has been covered. Then crawl underneath with a hose and a flow-thru wash brush. Scrub EVERYTHING thoroughly. Pull skids and other armor. Not a speck of mud or dirty water should come out from underneath at the end.

I would also change diff fluids, trans fluid, air filter, cabin filter, etc. Motor oil and transfer case oil not as critical, but I would still do them.

And please go buy yourself a recovery strap and some good shackles and/or soft shackles.

DO NOT GET ONE OF THESE:

 

[MissFJ]

Isn't wheeling fun?!!

Is that mud or clay? Gently tap heavy metal areas to get knock clay out.

Gently rinse the area inbetween the a/c condensor and the radiator!

Search threads about overheating and pulleys.

Good luck!

 

[Ccarr98]

Damn bro. I have no advice. Just my condolences

 

[amaclach]

You used a chain with a carabiner? :shock:

I'm not going to preach... I'm just going to leave this here for some light reading once you get your gremlins figured out. I'm glad nobody got hurt.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...-proper-use-recovery-gear-how-discussion.html

Welcome to the forum. Good luck!
:cheers:

NEVER use a chain...
Watch this video to start, then watch all the rest of his videos..

 

[jimmiee]

Here's what I would do.I would have a tow truck meet you at a two bit car wash. First disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected. Have the tow truck raise the FJ vertical and wash all the mud out. Then have him lift it from the opposite end and wash it again. Then wash the engine with about ten bucks worth of quarters. The truck probably wont start so don't even try to start it. Have him tow your FJ Home. LEt it dry out for a day or two. (Remove the Battery) Then I would jack it up and put it on jack stands. Remove the drain plugs for the front diff, engine oil, transmission, transfer case, rear diff. Let them drain and pay attention to which ones have water intrusion.

Now start at one end and unplug each connector. Blow out the connector with compressed air and then lubricate the connector with Dielectric Grease. The rear end with have 2 or 3 connectors. The EVAP system will have 4 or 5. Don't forget the gas tank / fuel pump connectors.The transfer case with have 3 or 4 and the transmission will have 2 or 3. The front end will have a couple. Unplug each wheel speed sensor and dry them out. Next remove the starter and check inside the bell housing for mud. Personally I would take the starter apart and clean and grease it. If you are not capable of doing this then buy a rebuilt starter. Take a good look at the alternator. Unplug and dry the connector. If the unit is full of mud then remove it. Again I would take it apart and clean and grease it. I would replace the sealed bearings too. If you are not capable of doing this then do yourself a favor and replace it. It probably is working now but it will fail you at the worst possible time. (Murphy's Law)

Continue with the engine connectors. Remove the air cleaner and start unplugging, drying and using grease in all the engine sensor connectors. Clean the mass airflow sensor and throttle body.

The reason you should do this is runs along the same lines as your insurance company would use to "TOTAL" this vehicle. What happens is the mud dries inside the connector. Then over a period of 6 months to a year this fine abrasive dust wears at the connector and the terminals. Then electrical problems begin. These problems can be very difficult to diagnose. A side note here (Never buy a vehicle that has been in a flood, for this very reason).

Once you finish under the hood and the undercarriage start inside the vehicle. I would remove the seats and clean and grease all those connectors for the seats and air bags and any other connectors that got wet.

Replace all your fluids. I would use full synthetic oils. Bleed your brakes because water may have been sucked into the brake cyl and calipers if they were hot. If you see water in any unit, diffs, transfer, etc then do not use synthetic oil. Use a cheaper oil and drive it for an hour to get the oil hot and then drain it and refill with synthetic. Here's the bad news. If you did get water inside the automatic this damage is not reversible. Your transmission WILL fail prematurely. This is another reason your insurance company will total a flood vehicle.

Finally reinstall the battery and start the engine. Hopefully it will run smooth. Drive it to get it hot. Pull over and turn off the engine and restart it. This will complete a "drive cycle" and will let any pending trouble codes reset. Now go get the PCM scanned. Don't use a code reader. Get it scanned with a professional scanner and scan all the modules. A code reader won't see all the codes that a real scanner will see.

Good luck. Let us know if you need any more info.

 

[THE JONESY]

I am going through and went through a similar thing. Cleaning all the wheel sensor helped with some of the lights. I have a code P0345 but mine is a solid CEL. Pretty sure its a bad circuit with the starter. It cause 3 traction lights underneath the CEL. I have pulled and sprayed every single connection i can get my hands on. Also make sure to spray generously in the frame holes and such. I was thoroughly impressed with how much mud the FJ can hide. I suggest crawling under when you spray. Youre going to get muddy.

 

[Papa Dragon]

Thick muddy water can be hell on FJ's. At a cub run a similar thing happen to an experienced drive, he eased into the puddle but the depth change so rapidly the mud was over the hood in seconds. He managed to back out but almost immediately his alternator stated craping out. (surprisingly someone was carrying an extra, talk about luck)
We did a run two years ago on one of the muddiest trails Ive ever seen. Spent an entire day cleaning the FJ. These pics were taken of me being foolish within the first 5 minutes of the 3 hour ride, I got lucky.

 

[MGorman41]

The starter has a breather on it that can get clogged with mud and cause "the click". You said you were drivers-front down in the puddle. That means the starter was probably under water and is in need of replacement or rebuilding.
That sucks about the damage that happened with the recovery lesson.

Sadly the mount that the starter connects to the tranny is an absolute PITA. Disconnecting the exhaust mount and the front drive shaft still didn't give me enough space to get enough ass behind the wrench.

Uh, wash the whole thing, inside and out, top to bottom. Especially the bottom. First course of action is to park your rig on top of a sprinkler and let it go to town for a few hours. Move the truck or the sprinkler until the whole thing has been covered. Then crawl underneath with a hose and a flow-thru wash brush. Scrub EVERYTHING thoroughly. Pull skids and other armor. Not a speck of mud or dirty water should come out from underneath at the end.

I would also change diff fluids, trans fluid, air filter, cabin filter, etc. Motor oil and transfer case oil not as critical, but I would still do them.

And please go buy yourself a recovery strap and some good shackles and/or soft shackles.

DO NOT GET ONE OF THESE:

Ah, I'm on the same page now. Yes I plan on doing that real soon. I think recovery gear will be top of the list once she gets her wheels under her again.

Isn't wheeling fun?!!

Is that mud or clay? Gently tap heavy metal areas to get knock clay out.

Gently rinse the area inbetween the a/c condensor and the radiator!

Search threads about overheating and pulleys.

Good luck!

It's that awesome East Tennessee red clay, it's just so thick and wet it just looks like mud. Good idea checking the radiator and pulleys.

Damn bro. I have no advice. Just my condolences

Much appreciated brother!

NEVER use a chain...
Watch this video to start, then watch all the rest of his videos..

Snatch strap recovery techniques & tips - YouTube

Recovery lessons learned. Definitely next time we'll be smarter...hopefully

Here's what I would do.I would have a tow truck meet you at a two bit car wash. First disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected. Have the tow truck raise the FJ vertical and wash all the mud out. Then have him lift it from the opposite end and wash it again. Then wash the engine with about ten bucks worth of quarters. The truck probably wont start so don't even try to start it. Have him tow your FJ Home. LEt it dry out for a day or two. (Remove the Battery) Then I would jack it up and put it on jack stands. Remove the drain plugs for the front diff, engine oil, transmission, transfer case, rear diff. Let them drain and pay attention to which ones have water intrusion.

Now start at one end and unplug each connector. Blow out the connector with compressed air and then lubricate the connector with Dielectric Grease. The rear end with have 2 or 3 connectors. The EVAP system will have 4 or 5. Don't forget the gas tank / fuel pump connectors.The transfer case with have 3 or 4 and the transmission will have 2 or 3. The front end will have a couple. Unplug each wheel speed sensor and dry them out. Next remove the starter and check inside the bell housing for mud. Personally I would take the starter apart and clean and grease it. If you are not capable of doing this then buy a rebuilt starter. Take a good look at the alternator. Unplug and dry the connector. If the unit is full of mud then remove it. Again I would take it apart and clean and grease it. I would replace the sealed bearings too. If you are not capable of doing this then do yourself a favor and replace it. It probably is working now but it will fail you at the worst possible time. (Murphy's Law)

Continue with the engine connectors. Remove the air cleaner and start unplugging, drying and using grease in all the engine sensor connectors. Clean the mass airflow sensor and throttle body.

The reason you should do this is runs along the same lines as your insurance company would use to "TOTAL" this vehicle. What happens is the mud dries inside the connector. Then over a period of 6 months to a year this fine abrasive dust wears at the connector and the terminals. Then electrical problems begin. These problems can be very difficult to diagnose. A side note here (Never buy a vehicle that has been in a flood, for this very reason).

Once you finish under the hood and the undercarriage start inside the vehicle. I would remove the seats and clean and grease all those connectors for the seats and air bags and any other connectors that got wet.

Replace all your fluids. I would use full synthetic oils. Bleed your brakes because water may have been sucked into the brake cyl and calipers if they were hot. If you see water in any unit, diffs, transfer, etc then do not use synthetic oil. Use a cheaper oil and drive it for an hour to get the oil hot and then drain it and refill with synthetic. Here's the bad news. If you did get water inside the automatic this damage is not reversible. Your transmission WILL fail prematurely. This is another reason your insurance company will total a flood vehicle.

Finally reinstall the battery and start the engine. Hopefully it will run smooth. Drive it to get it hot. Pull over and turn off the engine and restart it. This will complete a "drive cycle" and will let any pending trouble codes reset. Now go get the PCM scanned. Don't use a code reader. Get it scanned with a professional scanner and scan all the modules. A code reader won't see all the codes that a real scanner will see.

Good luck. Let us know if you need any more info.

You're the man! Invaluable info right here!

I am going through and went through a similar thing. Cleaning all the wheel sensor helped with some of the lights. I have a code P0345 but mine is a solid CEL. Pretty sure its a bad circuit with the starter. It cause 3 traction lights underneath the CEL. I have pulled and sprayed every single connection i can get my hands on. Also make sure to spray generously in the frame holes and such. I was thoroughly impressed with how much mud the FJ can hide. I suggest crawling under when you spray. Youre going to get muddy.

Thick muddy water can be hell on FJ's. At a cub run a similar thing happen to an experienced drive, he eased into the puddle but the depth change so rapidly the mud was over the hood in seconds. He managed to back out but almost immediately his alternator stated craping out. (surprisingly someone was carrying an extra, talk about luck)
We did a run two years ago on one of the muddiest trails Ive ever seen. Spent an entire day cleaning the FJ. These pics were taken of me being foolish within the first 5 minutes of the 3 hour ride, I got lucky.

These photos are sick! Luckily mine wasn't this swamped. I'll keep an eye on the wheel sensors. I disconnected my negative terminal and most of the christmas tree lights went off. A lot of mud is an understatement of what I've got.