Well, it finally happened. My son and I were out playing in a stream and he accidentally went in to a deep spot. The motor died and I had to pull the bike out. It would not start so I checked the airbox. There didn't appear to be any water in the filter but when I looked in the carb the sight was not as good. Ok, so it has taken in some water .... what is the procedure? I know that I have to change the oil but what else? I have heard some people talk about an oil and kerosene(?) mix first.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Temp
'00 Foreman 450 ES
'00 Rancher ES (quite wet)

 

tempest
After my friend drowned his 450S all he did was changed the oil until it didnt foam white anymore after it was riden. Been fine since. Never heard of the kerosene trick maybe it attracts the water more quickly.
If you have not started the bike yet it would be good to remove the plug stand it on the grab bar then turn it over with starter until all the water has come out.
Have seen and drowned many machines with no long term effects. If they stay upright its not to harmful. HTH

98 SC 500

 

I would also Change the oil in both diffs and hit all the zerks you can

 

I took my dad foreman under water. We had to change the oil 5 times. Once the oil is not white is should be fine. Once it starts up you have to get the engine hot and then change the oil.

 

i have drown my rancher 3 times i just jump off when the motor dies and keep up the muffler put it on dry land an it always starts

 

Right. After two hours, a lot of cranking, she's running again. I have only changed the oil once and there is still some white in it so I guess more oil changes are in order. Unfortunately, it appears that not only do you have to change the oil but obviously the filter as well. This is where the expense appears to come in.

Upon reflection I think that what happened is that the motor stalled once the exhaust was under water. My son did not start it up right away which gave the water a chance to enter through the exhaust. The air filter was dry which would seem to substantiate my theory.

No big deal (except for the 2 hours + of labor) but at least now I know what to do. It does make me wonder, though, about those guys that flood their bikes and then do one oil change (on the trail .... aaarrgghh) and then motor on.

Thanks for the help guys.

Temp

 

Best way to get it started after drowning it on the trail, to keep from having to tow it back, is to remove the spark plug and let it blow some water out that hole. You have to put your finger over the hole from time to time to suck gas back into the motor, then let it blow some more water out the spark plug hole. Reduces starting time greatly, I promise.

One time a friend of mine drove his bike right out in the middle of a 6 foot pond, everything sunk out of sight except one corner of the back fender sticking up a little bit. We had to build a fire and let the bike set beside it half the night before it dried out enough to start. It was all fun though.

 

I put mine under once too last spring. Filled the crank case with water. After a couple oil changes it was still white so I heard about putting diesel in and running that through first. I didn't start it, hit the kill switch and turned the starter over a bunch of times, this will get the bad oil out by the filter as well. That sure did the trick. Took all the water out. I also had to drain the water out of the bowl in the carb. After I did that it fired right up.

 

I HAVE BEEN RIDING SINCE 1978. WE HAVE ALWAYS USED DEISEL. TAKE THE SPARK PLUG OUT AND PUT ABOUT 2 QUARTS OF DEISEL IN IT AND TURN IT OVER SEVERAL TIMES. DEISEL IS A THIN LUBRICANT AND WASHES THE WATER OUT EFFECTIVELY. THEN CHANGE THE OIL SEVERAL TIMES, CRANKING IT BETWEEN EACH CHANGE. THEN RIDE IT ONE DAY TO LET IT COOK THE REMAINING WATER OUT. THEN CHANGE IT AND YOU SHOULD BE FINE. YOU COULD SPEND $20 ON PVC AND SNORKEL THE BIKE SO IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN.

GREG