My heart actually goes out to many of you. Many years ago (2004) I worked for the railroad and was down in Cairo, Illinois. The place was just deserted then, really a ghost town with nothing there but a soybean plant. To get gas for the truck we had to fill up in Paducah, KY before we left since we stayed there at hotels. So we finally asked why the town was so desolate, and the woman said it was because of a flood just a few years before. Cairo, Ill is at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River and flooding had all but wiped the town out. I am not sure if it ever rebuilt since then, but it was a really sad town back in 2004. I hope it does it not reach that point again. Very, very sad...my prayers to all of you. (No pictures of Cairo, but here is one of us working on the Illinois Central Bridge over the Ohio spanning Paduchah, KY and Metropolis, IL).
Good advice on saving that splitter motor ^ ^ ^. Yeah no worrys on the splitter motor, being underwater doesn't hurt 'em, if they are serviced quickly and correctly...one of the first things is to remove the plug before you try to turn it over...or just don't turn it over at all, (probably won't happen with a recoil starter, but with electric start you can bend the rod if there is water on top the piston when you turn it over...water doesn't compress) until everything is drained and filled with diesel fuel...I'd even run some diesel down the spark plug hole...then pull it over slowly with the plug out. Then drain it and let it drip out overnight. After refilling with oil, watch for water contamination in the oil(s) for the first few hours of operation...if there is none by then, your are safe. Remove the recoil starter too, make sure there is no water hanging out in there. Drain and clean everything, WD-40 works pretty well to displace water and gives a light coat of oil to repel rust...electronic parts cleaner drys things out well too...brake cleaner also works good, but can eat the paint up too. Don't forget to check the hydraulic oil and filter too...likely water got in the vent. If you need new oil and have a Rural King store in the area, they have great prices on hydraulic oil!
Hey Ralphie Boy , sorry to see your stacks and shed flooded. As others said, that engine is way salvageable, it'll just take time, patience, and some $$ is all. It's good your house is on much higher elevation, like you I can empathize with your neighbors that will likely lose most everything. Nature has no remorse. As Canadian border VT said, if water ever reaches my front door, most of western NY is under water. I will NOT live on lowlands. Worst thing that can happen to us is that the easy path to town gets flooded out, but that's OK by me, I can hole up for about 2-3 weeks easy. Running out of beer would suck though. Best of wishes to you. Chaz
So far: I've pulled the plug and sprayed WD-40 into it then cranked it about a dozen times, then sprayed it again and cranked it another dozen times. Did that 4 or 5 times then sprayed it once more and replaced the plug only turning in a couple of turns. I've drained the oil and removed the soaked air cleaner. And thus ends my mechanical abilities. Tomorrow I'll tow it to a mechanic and let him handle the rest. The blasted thing only has 15 or 20 hours on it!
Yeah, 21 years ago it was higher than it is now by 4 feet in depth which would be about another 15 to 20 feet up the bank. If it's another 20 years before it gets that high or higher I'll be 85 and probably won't remember I have wood stacks!
A couple of pics for reference.. The high tension power line tower has got to be 100' easy, and is roughly in line with the front yard. The highways lie WELL below the base of that tower. If you look closely you can see a bit of the railroad tracks to the left of the tower in the corner of the pic. This is a shot of the valley below, you can see the same red barn and church as in the previous pic, and the valley extends northwards. ALL of what is seen is probably around 200' below my front porch. I do not expect to see water at my doorstep in my lifetime. Chaz
Sorry to here this news You might have water in the hydraulic oil too. Below is a link to the thread where I pumped out and changed my hydraulic oil This is what it looks like with water in it Clean fresh oil Changing Hydraulic Oil on splitter ,need some Info ??
Thanks for the information. I plan to have the the guy change it before he tries to start it. He also has an oil disposial company pick up used fluids so we don't have to deal with that.
Worse comes to worse, the predator engines from HF have good ratings and are inexpensive. The one on my splitter is a Honda clone, I can replace any part on it with parts from a Honda dealer. Good luck, glad you are safe
I got thinking about this statement last night, you're wheels were under water also, you may need to clean and repack the wheel bearings. If a boat trailer is in and out of the water alot, the grease needs to be replaced. Not sure if the seals on it leaked buy. If you have a trailer to put it on may be the way to go till you can check your wheel bearings.
Look on the bright side Ralphie, it's not a bad idea at all to change your engine & hydraulic oil after a "break in" period. You may have just added hundreds of hours of service life to your splitter that you probably would not have done otherwise. I hope you didn't get the tornado's that I thought I heard about today in KY.
