Questionall the lights on the display come on.. we took out the plug and there was water, the oil stick shows no water in the oil.. the car makes a click when you try to crank it and then everything starts to dim< dash lights,etc.. could it be the starter??
AnswerAt the very least, you'll need to remove all the spark plugs and crank the engine (without the spark plugs) for quite some time to remove the water from the cylinders (if you haven't done this already).
You'll also need to check the oil in the crankcase. If you have water in the cylinders, there's every reason to believe it's in the crankcase as well.
On that note, check the air filter as well. If the air filter is water-soaked, it won't prevent the engine from cranking, but it will prevent enough air from going through that the engine won't start.
You should also check the battery. It may not be delivering enough power for the starter to crank the engine.
Once you get the engine started-- and you may find even more things to do to get the engine started-- you'll need to concern yourself about the transmission and power steering fluid as well. You should expect that these, too, could be contaminated with water.
As a final note, I should mention that flooded cars are rarely ever worth repairing. In most cases, the repairs cost more than the value of the car. In addition, there are almost always serious electrical problems that will arise either now or later because of the wiring and computers being soaked in water. If you are making a serious effort at repair, you should try to investigate these items as well prior to investing too much money in repair attempts. If you have insurance which may cover this damage, you should contact your insurance company at once.
