2003 Ford E250 4.2 V6 320,000 miles
Drove through a rather large puddle on my way to work a few hours ago. I didn't realize it was all that deep until I hit the water like a ton of bricks. Anyways, the van isnt lifted and is stock. My question is to know what I should do regarding maintenance now. The van didnt turn off or stutter much as I made it through the water. Yes, I unfortunately hit my brakes when I hit the water but was able to drive through. As for how high the water actually was, I'm unsure. It was definitely deep enough to worry me.
So then, when I checked my dipstick for the oil, I didn't notice any water. What should I be looking for? Would it be all that noticeable? Would you advise me changing the oil filter and oil or just the oil filter?
Also, I saw scotty's video on this topic and he made mention about automatic transmissions being an issue since water can get inside. I have a few questions regarding this. When I check the dipstick, will I notice water or will it not be obvious? I haven't checked yet, but I will. I continued driving the van until I got home which was about a 20 minute drive. No slipping, hard shifts, abnormal transmission behavior. It seemed fine. My question here would be to do a drain and fill regardless? Would one dran and fill get all of the water out or would I have to do several drain and fills to get the water out?
Thank you in advance.
2003 Ford E250 4.2 V6 320,000 miles
Drove through a rather large puddle on my way to work a few hours ago. I didn't realize it was all that deep until I hit the water like a ton of bricks.
Was it deep enough to cover the van's undercarriage? If it wasn't up to, or beyond the undercarriage, it's probably fine. A partly submerged van is another story. Could you still open the doors without water flooding in? You would definitely not notice a complete submersion, that van is a brick and water is quite heavy (8.6 pounds per gallon). You would also hydroplane because of amount of water.
I did hydroplane. As for being able to open the doors without the water flooding in, I honestly dont know. I had such a surge of adrenaline the moment I realized what was about to happen. I had woken up for work only 10 minutes prior and was groggy. I drove it to the store after a few hours and had no issues though. Thanks for your response.
I was in pouring down rain a few years ago in my 1999 Ranger 4x4. Water had accumulated in a low spot and I hydroplaned on the right side. It was dark. It was a wall of water, lol. I thought I had contaminated the transmission, then I came to my senses again. That E-250 is a much bigger vehicle than my Ranger, I'm sure it's fine. It takes A LOT of water to get to that transmission.
it's probably fine. Those things are pretty high off the ground.
I would get underneath and pull out all the body plugs around the rockers and sills though, So the water can drain out and evaporate and it doesn't get all rusty inside.
It is quite high off the ground, definitely more so than stock E150s I've seen. I'll be sure to do that, thanks for your response.