Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

[pmat1]

Me and my family were abut to spend a day on the lake, I drive a 1995 isuzu trooper, manual transmission. i backed into the lake, set the emergency brake as high as it would go, get out and get the boat off of the trailer and tied to the dock, when i hear a Click, and there goes my car and trailer into the lake. its a pretty steep ramp, the water was above the back door, and above the dash inside the car, engine submerged, my mom was calling AAA and i get in and try to start it for the hell of it, it started right up, and i was able to drive it out, opened my door and almost get swept out from the water. so moral of the story, put it in gear before you leave! and my Trooper still runs great to this day, even the 12 disk changer in the back, my stereo, and ECU all survived with no problem

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

Your very lucky. what we found in almost all cases of submerged cars here in New Orleans, is that if the water made it up into the dash, the car was junk.

The fact that you got it going so quickly might have been a good thing, but it could have been disasterous. Had some of the circuits shorted from the presence of water, you might have fried a bunch of things in the car.

You don't say how long ago this happened, but if it was recently, be prepared for electrical gremlins to show up as time goes on. The tendancy for this to happen, is why many states require a car that has been submerged, to have a salvage title if it is sold after that point. This may be an issue for you, as well.

I keep a wheel chock in between my front seats, when launching or retrieving. I not only put the tranny in park and set the parking brake, but I also chock the front, driver side tire as soon as I get out. That chock stays put until I am back at the door, ready to pull off the ramp.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune - that's has to be a really lousy thing to watch!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

First time I fished on my buddies boat I backed the trailer in while he motored the boat off. I went to set the parking brake and nothing, asked him What's-up with the E-brake?,,, Eh, just put it in park and unhook the boat.... *^$& that, unhook the boat yourself!


We were fixing the brakes on his truck when we got home.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

Believe it or not, pure water is an insulator. It conducts electricity by ionic activity with disolved salts and minerals.

Some of the lakes in MN are so pure that cell phones and other electronics are frequently retrieved with no damage. Just dry them out and keep using them. If an engine goes down, and doesn't ingest sand or silt, we just drain em out, gas em up, and put em back in service.

Any salt or brackish water you would find near New Orleans is an entirely different matter. If a car goes into that chit deeper than 12 inches, it's time to get rid of it, even if it still runs.

just my scientific 02
John

 

[pmat1]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

it happened about 2 years ago, and still have zero electrical problems. except for the rr-abs light, which has been faulty since we bought the car new. And it most likely helped that my lake is spring-fed and supposedly one of the cleanest lakes in PA. I will not have to wory about a salvage title, as i will be driving this thing till the wheels fall off.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

Since this thread turned geeky..

Did you know it is possible to run your computer INSIDE a tank of deionized water in order to cool it? Yes, people have done it. Sadly, it is nearly impossible to remove all salt and whnot from components, so once the water begins to dissolve the grime, it shorts it out. You can, however, run one in mineral oil forever. The really funny videos are when the fans are left on the heatsinks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrJyY4B1JoI

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGzYiaqwd1w&NR=1

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

and put it in a foward gear if pointed uphill, or reverse if pointed down hill, and add a location in in your profile, nice to know where folks are from.

 

[pmat1]

Re: Why to put your car in gear before you leave it

i am paranoid of it happening now so it goes in 4 low and first gear. it may be a 6:1 ratio to the wheels but that makes it a 1:6 ratio to the motor. so i think im good