Today coming off the expressway and passing through a town my car got caught in a freak flash flood... IN NEW YORK! Wtf????!?!?!?!1 hz304 :mad

Nine other cars behind me were involved along with one more in front of me... So don't point the "dumb ass" stick in my direction. Even a cop car was hydro locked after he drove into the puddle...after seeing me push my car out! I probably counted about 30 cars today that were likely going to be totaled out for damages related to water.

Strangely the police precinct I called responded to me "We don't make reports for flooded vehicles."

I had to push my car uphill while waste deep in water. I looked like a complete ass because I rolled out of bed and drove home in nothing but red shorts, boots and a t shirt. I blame my girlfriend b/c she asked me to come over the night before randomly even though she had work the next morning... :stickoutt

Good bye 540i, I did it all for the n00kie....

Anyways... It appears to be hydro lock in both exhaust and motor. The air filter was completely soaked. The repair shop I got towed to is reputable and it turns out the adjuster was the first guy I ran into when I went to empty my car out.

He told me flat out, "Its probably gonna get totaled out." So I'll be waiting this week to hear the definite news. If all goes well, maybe I'll break even on the car and get $5,000. I'm debating putting this towards a E34 again or E39 though.

And in case anyone ask:
Yes, the interior is perfectly dry w/excellent condition sports seats (recently cable repaired too!)
Yes, the tranny/diff were perfect.
No, I will not buy back the car and part it out. For the sake of this forum and the E34 community, I would... but I don't have space/time to part it.

Its in Long Island, NY. I'll find out the extent of the damage...If someone wants to look into in a week or two, I can get you the number of where its gonna end up.

We've got an alpine down, requesting backup. :(

So sorry to hear about your car...
BUT
Better to lose your car and get laid then to lose your car and NOT get laid!
Something better will come,hang in there.
Fred/Houston

If the car's in good shape, there's no reason why its not affordable to pull the sick M60 and drop in a new one for <$5k. You can pick up a good engine for $2k and an R&R is only 10-15hours of labor.
You should fight to save the car. How many 540/6's are there out there? Its a rare car.

I would if it were worth it..but its not.

Ironically I had the car evaluated at a body shop yesterday, frame is twisted and bondo all around the car... 5k to fix it up right.
I was already in the process to try to fix the beast....but its time to let it die and go quietly into the night.....err junkyard.

Its not worth it.

I'm looking at E39 528s and E36 328 right now :rolleyes

That sucks. Sorry for your loss. :(

Man, 540i's are the best, I'm sorry it had to go.

Why cant the engine be saved? Wouldn't it just be a matter of draining the fuel and making sure that the crank wasn't bent?

E39's are great cars though, so its not like you're down and out or anything. Good luck with everything though, hope things work out.

The crank won't be bent, but the rods might... but those rods are fairly tough. I have seen a 540i that hydrolocked return to life with little work, pull plugs, crank to get water out, immediate oil change, and voila. Happened once to a Dinan E39 540 at a shop where I worked, the car was fine in a few hours.

Repair? Who knows but here is a quote to give you an idea of the many things I may face as a result:

"Abnormally high cylinder pressures can bend and break pistons, piston pins, connecting rods, crankshafts and ruin bearings and can crack or break cylinder heads and engine blocks. Small amounts of liquids may pass through an engine cycle without causing damage. Hydro-lock may occur while the engine is running, the work of the compression stroke being supplied by engine's rotational inertia. Or a liquid may leak into the cylinder while the engine is being stored; the work of the compression stroke will be supplied by the starter motor."

Lot more to do than just drain fuel... :embarrasm

A lot has to do with how fast the motor was spinning when the water was ingested, as well as how much got in. In the case of the car I mentioned, we got about a quart out in total, and the car was coasting at idle when it sailed into a deep puddle, stopping the motor immediately. If there had been more water ingested and/or the revs were up, I am sure the results would have required replacement of the motor.

ah! that sucks man. i live on LI too. i didn't drive my 525i since my rear shoes need to be changed. i wonder how much they'll sell it for as a totaled vehicle. well good luck finding your next vehicle.