... and im pretty sure my engine is flooded but i wanted to tell my individual story and see what other people think because there are some things that happened that i didn't read about in other flooding threads.

i live in Kentucky and we just got some snow the other day, i go outside to leave, crank up the car and realize after about a minute of spinning tires that im not gonna be able to get out of the driveway so i shut the car off. i know now that that was a big no no ( i had no clue at the time about the flooding problems) so the next day i go outside and the car won't crank. after a few minutes i get my dad to give me a hand. after hooking up the battery charger and a shot of starter fluid we got it cranked but with TONS of smoke and a very rough idle. the idle calmed down a little after a few minutes and my dad told me to drive it up the road and see if anything felt weird. everything seemed ok and when i got back to the house i left it running a bit longer before i headed out.

now here is the part that i didn't read about in other flooded threads. when i left the house the second time 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear all seemed like normal. 4th gear seemed like there was a little loss of power but nothing to bad but when i went to 5th gear the loss of power at around 52 MPH was rediculous! i could put the pedal all the way to the floor and it was BARELY climbing in speed. then when i was coming to the end of the road i hit the clutch and it died. so i decided i was just gonna get it back to the house and park it until i could figure out what was wrong. i got the car back home around 2 in the afternoon and had a friend come pick me up. after returning home around 4 in the morning i wanted to see if it would crank, it started right up first time and still not knowing about the flooding issues our cars have i shut it off after about a minute ( flooding it again, no doubt) and now it won't crank again.

so should i have it towed to the dealership? the loss of power really worries me. Could it be the engine going bad? any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

How's your catalytic converter? Flooding may harm it, especially if it's a bit old and already partially choked.
How are your spark plugs? Again, flooding does no good to them.
Cold climates also kill batteries, how old is yours? Maybe it didn't have enough power to start the car

 

Little update... me and my dad tried to get it cranked again today for about 30 minutes to no avail. Pulled the oil dipstick and the oil was a creamy tan color. Had a tow truck come get it and the dealer is gonna look at it when they open. I'll update again when I find out more.

 

Head gasket?

You for realz?

Foamy brown dipsticks are normal, a 'search' might have saved you $$HUNDREDS$$.......






....Aaah, sorry, didn't notice you were from Kentucky.

 

It's under warranty...

 

the loss of power was from a clogged cat more than likely. the cat probably melted after the flooding.

 

Got the car back from the dealer and the engine was just flooded. They de-fouled the spark plugs and cleared the rotor housing and she is runnin like a champ again.

 

Next time, just tow start it if and when you flood it. But.......remember your pain level and you won't do it again, and rest assured...............it could've been way worse.

However..............if the dealer didn't do anything but the plugs, I think most of us are concerned that you lack of power might show up real soon again.

 

Glad it runs...

Question, what year? If more than a few years old, coils could be starting to go. I could flood mine (did a few times) up until I changed the coils. The car will run on weak ones, but will flood. I can start and stop w/o warmup or problems now.

Snow is that white stuff, right?