Hello folks.....sunk my 350 Rancher to the point where the water (muddy water) was touching the bottom of the seat....i kept the throttle open a little so it wouldn't cut out (exhaust under water)....after being towed out i cheched the airbox....no water in airbox but air filter slightly wet...started up again and for the next 10 minutes she was spittint some steam out of the exhaust and then went back to normal....there is no sign of water in the oil...at least it isn't milky to any degree....the question is, does it sound like everything is ok or could i have done some engine damage...thanks in advance for any help.

 

I would say to be safe, drain the oil, replace the oil filter, clean the air filter and if it's not tooooo much trouble, take off the muffler and drain it out as well.

Then you know more-or-less that you're safe.

 

I sank my rancher literally out of sight in a mudhole. When I finally got it out (2 pickups with jerk straps) I drained the oil, filled it, started it up for a short bit, and drained and refilled the oil again. This is necessary if their is even a chance of water in the oil, IMO. I also cleaned the air filter, dried out the airbox, and drained the muffler. It ran just fine after that, but in the winter time my brakes froze up to where they could not be released. I would suggest making sure your drums are clean and dry.

 

Good point on the brakes maddog .. forgot about the drum brakes on honda's

 

thanks guys...i think i will chamge the oil as you suggest....even though it appears clean....after this incident we rode about 20 miles to get back home....if there was any damage would it appear during this time...also, if the oil is NOT milky, would you think that i am safe from water damage (at least to the engine).

 

It's possible, but why leave it to chance on the price of a few quarts of oil and a filter?

I just noticed you're from St. John's .. I'm just over in Foxtrap .. where do you do most of your riding?

 

I do most of my riding around Paradise area.....i've only been living here for a few years so i am still figuring out the trails around here....we left Paradise on Saturday and went out towards Cochrane Pond and on across to Bay Bulls Big Pond....85 km...crossing Topsail Road in Paradise is an adventure!!...speaking of crossing roads, do you know the regulations on that?...are you allowed to cross roads?...talking to a cop at a party Saturday night and he didn't know!
by the way, i change my oil very frequently....much more than required...i changed it only about 100 km ago.

 

I think you're only truly allowed to cross at designated crossings (usually under-road culverts), but I've found as long as you're showing due dilligence to safety and being responsible, nobody will bother you much.

Me and another buddy who has a Warrior as well were out riding in Foxtrap on friday. We had just left my house and were putting up over the road when a cop came along. We stopped and shut off the bikes. He simply asked how far we were going, and told us that while he couldn't condone our riding on the side of the road, if we kept on like we were, riding slowly and were careful then we were ok. He also thanked us for stopping instead of running [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

It was a good idea to stop.....one thing the cop did tell me Saturday night was that running would be a criminal offense.....did you guys have helmets on?...is that a law?

 

you just got some water/mud in your muffler. nothing big just drain your oil and replace the filter like NLWarrior said