Can-am outlander damage from lake

[SproutYEG]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum but wondering if anyone knows what the chances of my engine not being shot from a chilly dip 10 ft down in a glacier lake? the machine flipped as it went down and I didn't have a chance to hit the kill switch as I was submerged with it. It was down for 20 min before we were able to recover it and I have drained most of the water...... cannot get the left spark out to check that cylinder but the right one had water in it..... Hoping to get the left out tonight


Any help / suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[whoDEANie]

You're gonna have water in everything - crank case, diff's, coolant, and anything else with a breather hose. You'll probably be just fine as long as you don't try to run it before you THOROUGHLY flush everything out. Don't be one of those guys who drops their oil at the side of the lake and just tops it back up thinking you're OK - be sure to flush it out well, 10+ times if that's what it takes for the oil to stop going milky.

 

[Puba]

If it was running on its way down you may have a bent rod or crank if she sucked in water.
Drain it out and once you get the plugs out try and turn the clutch over by hand to see if she cranks.

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[tex78]

Sea foam in the oil will help

 

[neilsleder]

Tex you and your damp sea foam! I bought some cause of you now it's in everything I own lol.
As said go buy some cheap walmart engine oil and a couple of filters. Flush a couple of times. And pull your electrical apart and dielectric grease everything!


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[teeroy]

You're gonna have water in everything - crank case, diff's, coolant, and anything else with a breather hose. You'll probably be just fine as long as you don't try to run it before you THOROUGHLY flush everything out. Don't be one of those guys who drops their oil at the side of the lake and just tops it back up thinking you're OK - be sure to flush it out well, 10+ times if that's what it takes for the oil to stop going milky.

do this and your machine will be fine. flush all fluids (though I think your coolant will be fine) and you're good to go. my outlander has been thoroughly dunked at least a half dozen times since '04 including spending the night underwater in a beaver dam and I haven't had a single issue, electrical or otherwise.

 

[HotShotHarry]

Sea Foam. Good Stuff!!!

 

[leonard]

if you cant get at both plugs easy pull plastic.
Do not try to turn that bike over without pulling plugs on both cyl. you will forsure bend a rod if only 1 cyl is clear and one is full of water.

Drain everything. some flush with diesel also or use cheap oil like said above for a flush. main thing when you sink is not to let it Sit long after sinking.
and also dont try and crank it up without pulling plugs out , and if oil is full of water dont bother driving it.

 

[SHREK1]

Been there, just flush all components out till clean, lots of oil and filters, pull all electrical connections and dry and re grease, take your time and do a good job and it will work out just fine.

 

[tex78]

Tex you and your damp sea foam! I bought some cause of you now it's in everything I own lol.
As said go buy some cheap walmart engine oil and a couple of filters. Flush a couple of times. And pull your electrical apart and dielectric grease everything!


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What can I say, it's the best stuff ever


I also run it in everything I own, including diesels


It's the best thing to take out the moisture in the oil, will take way less oil to flush

 

[whoDEANie]

Also, if you do have a significant amount of water in your oil, make sure you flush it out "gently". After draining it and filling it the first time, run it for no longer than 3 or 4 seconds - some even say not to let it run the first time, just turn it over a few times. Flush it again, and let it run for 10 seconds. Flush it again and if it's still really milky, do not run it long before flushing it yet again. Once the oil starts to clear up, you can run it up for a little longer, maybe a minute or so, reving it up a couple of times. While you're doing this, drain and fill your diffs once.

Once you're engine oil looks clean (or very close to clean), top it up again, start it, and take it for a quick boot around the yard. Try to rock it side to side, front to back, to get the oil splashing around in the crank case and diffs real good. Then park it and drain the engine oil and diffs again. If it all looks clear, fill it up one last time and go riding! If anything still looks milky, flush it again and go for another quick boot around the yard. Repeat as necessary. I'll generally only use good oil for the very last oil change and the cheapest stuff possible for the flushing process. Some people do the whole thing without a filter until the very end - I don't like taking the chance, so I'll burn one or two filters during the flushing process.

I usually check everything once more when I come back from my first real ride. Maybe a bit overkill, but better safe than sorry.

 

[J-Roc]

do this and your machine will be fine. flush all fluids (though I think your coolant will be fine) and you're good to go. my outlander has been thoroughly dunked at least a half dozen times since '04 including spending the night underwater in a beaver dam and I haven't had a single issue, electrical or otherwise.

one thing I do is drain the oil, add a bit of diesel and Atf, crank the engine over but don't fire it, then drain. Repeat this a few times, then start with cheap Wal Mart oil, get it circulating for like 5 minutes then new oil and filter and do it again until it's no longer milky.

Then bring it up to temp and change it again.

Ditto for the electrical connectors and dielectric grease.

Make sure you don't have a bad rod before doing all this though.

Works good for the diffs too.

 

[new_nytro]

if it were me I would starting making a kijiji ad for it...

Just say it's clean and recently washed in your ad...

 

[J-Roc]

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[SproutYEG]

where do I Find Dielectric grease?

 

[SproutYEG]

thanks everyone got it running!!! and no, we didnt touch her till we got back to the garage and got everything drained. Oil is still a little milky after 9 oil changes and 3 runs of diesel going to keep going. Oh and I am running Slick 50 in the oil and gas tank......... Very lucky I didn't bend a rod!!! but man the spark plug on the left was a B*&%$ to get out. I am having problems getting the skid plate off (the bolts are stripped) to get at the transmission drain and still have water in the gauge that won't seem to come out

 

[X-Treme]

where do I Find Dielectric grease?

Any auto parts store.

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[SproutYEG]

you sound like my bf lol.

if it were me I would starting making a kijiji ad for it...

Just say it's clean and recently washed in your ad...

 

[KWIK RACING INC.]

how clean was the water? 9 years into knowing these machines like the back of my hand and V twins never like water and mud.... if the water was totally clean you might save the motor.... i say might cause the % of motors that dont last from can ams is very high.... a v twin has many corners and areas that even 100 flushes wont get everything out like dirt and even mud particals in the water....the v twins are not like any other motor... they absolutely dont like water or mud in them... the cleaner the water the better change it will survive... the screen that filters the oil sits in the bottom of the motor in a small valley... debrie will build up from the water getting cleaned by the oil changes but i have seen 100's of vtwins that after lots of flushes still have crap sitting on the screen with when you split the cases....then you can see it... what happens is the dirt that sits somewhere and can not be washed out can one day come loss and then it gets into the bearings and well you know what happens then....

the other thing that happens is you wash the cylinders down ... and the pistons leave scratch marks in the water washed cylinder walls... could cause oil usage and or compression loss....

i know its grim info.. but is very true.... i mean now all you can do is keep flushing till no more white oil and then go ride it... hard to say but usually the motor is on borrowed time.... good luck....

 

[everest8]

60 miles from brand new and drowned her, 2008 800xt. Pulled plugs and turned over to watch the water fly out. Added ATF, start,drain about 5 times untill clear. Then oil about 2 times then changed filter. Went for a shot 1 mile run each time to fully coat and soak up water. 6000 miles latter she still lays rubber. Hey, its a Can Am they can take it, the ride sayz it all ! Don