I tried to drown my K5

[az ranger]

I knew the damn water was too deep at this crossing but my brother in law said to just try and I did. After the nose of my jimmy dove completly under, and water came up over the hood and on the windshield I decided I better nail it. about the time the front came up out of the hole the engine died. we got out and popped the hood hoping the distributer just got wet but thats when Ipulled the air breather off and saw all the water. I let it sit for a while and tried to crank it but it was locked. I was able to winch out of the river but thatt killed the battery. After going home to get another battery It slowly stared to crank and eventually fired and spit a gallon or so of H2O. I dont think I damaged anything internally as it seems to run fine know I did have to drive about 7 miles to get home before I changed the fluids but The oil did not seem milky.
Finnaly mY question I did a search and read about bending a push rod or damaging other stuff from the hydro lock and now I am kina nervous to drive it Is there any thing I should check or be aware of. I plan to drain diffs, crankcase oil, tranny and grease all zerts, maybe even re pack wheel bearings as it has been a while.
any other suggestions? what about electronics it is an 88
Thanks

 

[krayzie]

Well... 350 engines are tough, but lets face it - no engine in the world can compress water. Upon sucking the water into the intake, you pulled water into every cylinder that was on an intake stroke. The engine died when the first cylinder that sucked in water tried to compress it... When your engine is under a load and comes to a complete stop like that, lots of things get stressed. You seem to be fortunate in the fact that the engine restarted after all of this. However, its insanely dangerous to try and restart an engine that is potentially filled with water... If you have it running now, and nothing seems wrong, then go with it. Definately start changing fluids and repacking bearings and such... keep in mind, though it runs ok for now, you rarely come out of that situation without damage. Keep an eye on the oil pressure level, and listen for noises. If you suspect any damage, yank that engine out and have a professional go through it for you. Engine rebuilds dont start costing until you break hard parts. Or worse, throw a rod through the block. Good luck to you in any case and wheel a little more cautiously from now on! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[Grim-Reaper]

You ever do that again NEVER try to start it. pull all the plugs out and then crank it. That will get hte water out of the cylinder. Failure to do so is a VERY big risk of bending a rod.