Options for a moron

J

Jamie25

Member
 Gloucestershire
I drove through a flood and killed my car. There. Its out of the way. No real excuses - I'm a moron.

Now I need to weigh up my options. I'm fairly sure I've bent something in the engine trying to start it afterwards. I said I was a moron! It was turning over then something went pop. After that it just clicked like a stuck starter. I towed the car home the following day and started digging. Air intake ducting full of water. Took the plugs out, egg cup of water in one cylinder, less in others. Tried to crank it, nothing, just a click. Took off the starter just to check, tried cracking by hand, no movement. I think that conclusively tells me there's something bent/seized but I'm open to more expert opinion.

I've let the insurance company know online just in case they're full of Christmas spirit and want to pay out. They're closed till Tuesday. Assuming they don't cover morons, I'm looking at options.....

1. Car to garage to investigate and repair.
2. Car to garage to replace engine.
3. Start breaking the car on the drive.

I don't really want to break the car : I've refreshed all the suspension and generally got the car back to fine fettle during my ownership, plus the time and effort involved in breaking it should be time spent with my 7 year old. Plus it's be sad to break the best car I've owned! (I know, I've already broken it).

Thoughts and /or advice? And yes I deserve some abuse I suppose. 😳 Have I missed anything when trying to rotate the engine?
 
Don't waste any more time and money on investigation etc etc, just drop another motor in.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E85-Z4-ROADSTER-3-0-PETROL-M54-306S3-ENGINE-BARE-NO-ANCILLIRIES/284089169583?fits=Plat_Gen%3AE85&hash=item422508b6af:g:JqcAAOSwQqRfuQh0
 
Yeah the more research I do the less point there seems in trying to repair any damage, could be a long list to repair. I'd seen the ebay engine you linked to, £700 seems to be the going rate for an M54 3.0.

Anyone have any idea how much a garage would charge to swap the engine?
 
Going on my past experience when I did this some 20 years ago in a month month old car, they wrote it off, and that was a 10k car at the time.

It's a shame you told the insurance company as that will be a marker, even if you don't go through with a claim. You could of course claim, let them write it off and then buy it back. That would cover the costs of repairs easily, but you would have a CAT car.
 
If you need to pay a garage to do it then it gets much more expensive of course! They'd need to build up the motor, so swapping all the bits over. The engine bay is huge so i can't imagine the actual swap would be difficult. Maybe a full days work? DIY over a weekend.
 
£700 for the engine Rockhopper quotes so I’d think in the region of £1200 all in fitted, somewhere in that ball park.

I’d be so tempted to take the head and sump off if it’s not your only car first however, if nothing more than to confirm it’s dead, might not be. Either way best of luck...you ain’t the first and you won’t be the last squire. :thumbsup:
 
A friend put his S5 into a flood a couple of months ago, killed it, write off and insurance paid out in a few days.
 
john-e89 said:
£700 for the engine Rockhopper quotes so I’d think in the region of £1200 all in fitted, somewhere in that ball park.

I’d be so tempted to take the head and sump off if it’s not your only car first however, if nothing more than to confirm it’s dead, might not be. Either way best of luck...you ain’t the first and you won’t be the last squire. :thumbsup:
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Thanks for the kind words. I'm happy to tackle most stuff on the drive but I'm not sure if I'd know what was damaged unless it was obvious.

Likewise the engine swap.... I've swapped the engine in my old T25 camper a few times but that was much more basic. I guess if its plug n play it should be no different. Maybe more gaskets etc.

I was 50/50 on letting the insurance know, but I figure they'll either payout and write it off, or they won't be interested.

Its not my only car but my van is booked in for a full respray on the 11th. Typical.
 
It seams that you are capable of the work in a modular type of repair

So remove all the inlet bits that may have water in them and let it dry out
If the air box is out along with the intake it makes removing the starter motor this eliminates anything to do this the starter motor
Remove all the plugs etc
Now with a socket try and turn the bolt on the front pulley of the engine if it does not turn either way and is proper stuck it is looking like an engine

Quary motor parts in Sheffield will have an engine

While waiting for it to turn up remove as much as you can in easy bits then hire an engine hoist to get the old lump out fit to the new engine any bits that will be hard to do once in the engine bay fit new engine refit all the bits you removed and away you go.
 
I think you’ll find if water is ingested into several cylinders, which it seems to be the case, then it’s almost certain it’s suffered from hydraulic lock, usually this damages con rods, pistons and has been known to crack heads etc..so unless you’re dealing with a high value must restore at any price engine it’s beyond any concept of economic repair..

So it’s just the balance of write off in an absolute sense or rebuild with a replacement second hand complete engine..IMHO..

It gets even better as if it’s ingested that much water then there may be water damage to other electrical systems.

A friend of mine who worked as an insurance assessor for an insurance company had a house policy on car water damage that if the water had gone past the half way height of the wheels then it was a write off on the ground that water driven corrosion would set in at some stage..
 
Spot on Peter - and that's how I got my nickname. Though in my case it was a leaking fuel tap on a Kawasaki GPz900R which filled one of the four cylinders with fuel. After hitting the starter the conrod on that cylinder was bent about 45 degrees, and it became a standard display item on the Owners Club stand at bike shows!
 
I am led to believe that a lot of flooded cars find there way back onto the marketplace with no mention of this. This seems logical with all the news pictures of flooded cars. They cannot all end up scrapped. Have you taken the oil filer cap off and taken a look inside. I would be inclined as others have stated to remove the air intake ducting to give it a chancee to dry out and then drain the oil with plugs removed to let it all dry out. then with a hair dryer warm up all the sensors etc. You could be lucky and its just a damp sensor . Then refil with cheap oil and see if it starts after a few days. Dont assume the engine is dead but obviously I am not aware of just how much flooding the car took. At this stage you shouldnt have told the insurance company as they will increase your premium as when my day car had the front wheels stolen and i just asked them whether this might be covered but didnt in the end make a claim and they still shafted me.
 
Conrod said:
Spot on Peter - and that's how I got my nickname. Though in my case it was a leaking fuel tap on a Kawasaki GPz900R which filled one of the four cylinders with fuel. After hitting the starter the conrod on that cylinder was bent about 45 degrees, and it became a standard display item on the Owners Club stand at bike shows!
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I was fortunate I did the same trick on a BSA 441 but it had a decompressor...so as I kicked it over prior to the main event I had a whole lot of fuel pushed down the exhaust pipe, saving me from the bent rod..

I think that engine is toast..if the cylinders have any water in them with that compression ratio and trying to turn if over on the starter.. :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
 
I agree that any further investigation into whether the engine is salvageable is likely to be a waste of time. It might make a nice coffee table. :evil:

I don't envy you an engine change unless you’re in it for the experience although I reckon it would be a lot easier than most other modern cars due to the size of the engine bay and the configuration. If you decide to do it yourself be sure to post lots of pictures. Good luck and I hope you can get your Z back on the road.
 
Thanks for all the replies folks.
I'd already done almost exactly as PDJ advised; air intake ducting removed which was FULL of water!
IMG_20201224_162510.jpg
Removed plugs and found about an egg cup of water in the front cylinder which I siphoned out, none in the other five, or at least not enough to suck out. Tried to turn it over on the key, just clicked. Then disconnected the battery and removed the starter, tried to turn the 22mm nut on the front to turn it over, no movement. Some mayonnaise on the inside of the oil filler cap. Oil looks to be normal and at normal level on the dipstick. As the engine is not rotating I think something is seized rather than it being a damp sensor. Does this sound sensible?

I think I'm leaning towards waiting to speak to the insurance on Tuesday. If they pay out, so be it, if not then you've all pursuaded me to swap the engine myself. I don't know why I'd talked myself out of it in the first place really. Doesnt seem to bad a job and the massive engine bay is sure to help.
 
john-e89 said:
How did you get it home Jamie...?
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I towed it in my van. My wife very much enjoyed the 40 minute experience. Shortest route was only about 6 miles but some very steep hills and junctions so we avoided those and went the long route. I abandoned it the previous evening. It was a small unnamed road in the middle of nowhere. The flood was in a dip under a rail crossing. It stopped in about eight inches of water and I harnessed the power of anger to push it out of the water.
 
Jamie25 said:
john-e89 said:
How did you get it home Jamie...?
Click to expand...
I towed it in my van. My wife very much enjoyed the 40 minute experience. Shortest route was only about 6 miles but some very steep hills and junctions so we avoided those and went the long route. I abandoned it the previous evening. It was a small unnamed road in the middle of nowhere. The flood was in a dip under a rail crossing. It stopped in about eight inches of water and I harnessed the power of anger to push it out of the water.
Click to expand...

Yeah it’s f**ked.....

Power of anger.....! :lol: Top man for having a sense of humour about it... :thumbsup:
 
The night it happened I was very calm about it all. Now it's home on the drive looking as good as they do, I'm more and more frustrated with myself. 😤
 
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