Well fellas, here is the story. I was offered a 96 F250 4x4 with a 460 and a 5 speed for....less than you would believe. Anyway, the catch is that the truck has suffered some flood damage and the guy can't get it running again. I don't plan to restore this truck at all really. My questions: would this truck be a good deal even though it is water damaged? It was in a flood a few months ago and I guess they are trying to just get rid of it. Also, if I part it out, what can I expect? I have heard the stories of pitting and severe internal rust from water but I'm not sure it has been sitting long enough for that to be a problem...Let me know what ya think. If it all works well, the diesel might end up with a few more goodies. Thanks.

-Dave

 

The key to this answer is how long it did sit with water in everything.

Since flood water is very muddy, everything will have to come apart to get the grit out before it is run.

 

When I was in the service I worked at the motor pool and did vehicle recovery right up to the osh-kosh 8 wheeled monsters. The choices at the time I was in was the 1976 Dodge Power Wagons which normally burned to the ground with their wonderful wiring harness or the 1986 CUCV's either the blazer or 1 1/4 Ton k-30 pick ups. Hmmm drivers would "test" the ability of those vehicles time and time again water was always the culprit only second to mud. Swamped vehicles were common and usually just a plain mess. The axle seals are really only dust shields and once your under water the pressure even in shallow water will push through the seals. This applies to anything with a moving shaft or joint. The transmissions never faired well automatics usually crapped out after they drove them back after recovery. The manuals we pulled out and cleaned the water out brake cleaned them dry and added oil back reinstalled. Engines well they never ran right if they were swamped. Once water got into places it was never designed to have it caused much frustration. Like Dave S. said dirty water leaves sludge and whatever behind. The rolling chassis probably a great canidate for a diesel. But if it was ever in salt water get it to the scrap yard before it shakes apart

 

We have a lot of mud pit competitions around where I live.

People that trailered their truck to the event rarely had bearing failure problems.
The guys that drove their rigs to the events usually had problems before they got home.
The guys that trailered to the events usually did not have any or nearly as much water in their axles as the guys that drove did.

After a while trying to figure out what was going on, it hit someone.
The ones that had been trailered had cold driveline componenets, the ones that were driven had hot drivelines.

When you drove the hot axle into cold water, the contraction of the air and fluid in the axle sucked water/mud into the housing.

Same goes for the transmissions and engines.

So if the truck was being driven when the flood water hit it, the water damage will be much worse than it will be if it was just sitting there when the water came up.

Next factor is how long it was under water.
The longer it was under water the more time the water had to get into everything and do more damage.

If it has been sitting for a couple months with water inside, by now you can plan on replacing every bearing as a bare minimum.

 

It shoudl be fine if none of the componentd were ran with the water in the oil. Also the electrical system should be fine if you make sure you don't do one thing. Don't try to start it until everything is dry. You turn on the key when it is still wet then it can be bad. I have looked at vehicles that have been in Ohio river floods in the past and I always let then sit for a few weeks. After they dry completly out they are usually fine besides washing and oil changes.