Flooded with mud...what now?

Posts: 238

It was the worst camping trip ever. My buggy is trapped 10 miles in the bush on the side of a mountain, drenched in mud. Here's the short version:

Beautiful weather, colourful trails, decided to go camping. Packed up and hit the trails, found a beauty spot at the bottom of the mountain beside a river. Then about 4am, it started to rain. And I mean POUR. Got worried, packed up and started my way out, just in case I got trapped out there.

But it rained so much, the main trail was flooded out, had no choice but to attempt it, or I'm trapped in the bush a LONG way from home...with no one around for miles.

Uh... didn't make it. Buggy bogged out, got high centered in the middle of the mud puddle, engine died. Pushed it to safety, took a look at the intake, and it was COVERED in mud and water. Took it off, mud had made it's way past the filter right to the carb. Stripped the carb, mud everywhere. And it was still raining...

So i walked over 10 miles in the rain.. found the highway, found a guy with a phone and called for rescue. But the buggy is still in the bush...drenched. Now...

What are the chances I'll get it going again? If mud made it to the carb, any possibility it got past that too?? Confused

Aside from stripping the carb down for a good flush, anything else you'd recommend? (besides not going camping in the mountains, in the rain, without a snorkel)?

Sure was pretty though. Rolling Eyes

Posts: 407

Man, that's too bad. On the bright side, you have some of the most beautiful places to ride up there!

Posts: 4286

wow, that is pretty, get the buggy asap, drain all fluids, flush everything. clean the carb real good. pull the intake and have a look.

pressure wash it real good also.

and check the weather forecast Very Happy

sorry just had to throw that in

Posts: 1163

Tow it out of the woods before somebody else does! If you have dirt past the intake manifold you would have to pull the head to be sure. Or if you are feeling lucky, move the piston down in the bore, hold the intake valve open, (w/ the spark plug out) and flush with a hose. Run the water from the intake side of the head, into the cylinder and out the plug hole. Might work better if you opened the exhaust valve as well. (Take the muffler off) If you can rig something up so you can put the water in the plug hole and reverse flush through the valves that would be good. When you are done move the piston to tdc to dump most of the water. Change the oil. Spin the engine w/ the plug out till water stops spraying out. Change the oil. Reassemble and hope it starts!! Let it run till hot. change the oil. Just keep in mind that the right way to do it is to take the engine apart. By the way, that was smart getting away from the river, they can come up FAST under those conditions.

Posts: 1893

If you cannot get towed out of there, you will need to clean everything the best you can so you can drive it out with damage. Start with the exterior of the top of the engine then remove the spark plug, intake elbow, carburetor and intake. Examine the plug and shine a light down in the hole of the head to see if you can see any debris. If there is debris in the cylinder, you can pour some motor oil into the cylinder to lube it and spin the starter a couple of times with the elbow and plug out (most of the junk will squirt out of these openings instead of trying to pass through your valves. Cleanup the mess and reassemble the cleaned carburetor components and plug in your engine. Now check your oil - If it is milky in color, it was contaminated and needs to be drained and replaced.

You should now be able to safely start the buggy. Once you get it home, remove the head and flush it with gasoline or carburetor cleaner, drain and replace the transmission gear oil, repack the reverse unit with fresh grease, and change the oil once more for good measure.

For the field cleaning you will need liberal amounts of water to get the exterior of the engine clean, plenty of rags, waste container for dirty oils and fuel, small can of gasoline and carburetor cleaner for cleaning the carburetor, two quarts of oil, slotted and phillips screwdriver, metric wrenches and sockets, and a spark plug wrench.

Posts: 1215

sorry to here about your bad luck mike,yep get that buggy out of there before some one does it for you.
also those are some nice pictures,i like the mountains.
pud

Posts: 238

Thanks so much for the advice... you pointed out a lot of things I would have missed. I'm planning a trip out tomorrow night with a 660 Grizzly with mud tires and a tow rope, but the grade of the hill, combined with tons of sharp rock and thick mud puddles might mean a field job. The only other way out is a smoother grade for towing, but over an old train tressel and over loose rock. Risky at best. The rain doesn't seem to be letting up much. It was clear skies until 4am, then the heavy rain woke me up. Within about an hour, the water was rising, and the rocky trail was filling up the lowspots like a bathtub.

On the lucky side, it's a very small town of 4000, with no other towns for 2 hours on only 1 highway. So if it's stolen, it's by a local who knows the bush that deep, and my buggy is the only one in town. Pretty easy to spot. 24 hours should still be safe. That, and it's a really long process getting it out of there right now, so excessive effort might be on my side as well.

I'm printing off the advice to take with me. Right now I'm going to bed. Thanks folks.

Posts: 1737

can you actually sleep with your buggy out there i could not Very Happy

Posts: 566

I won't worry about it being stolen, Heck if any one comes acrossed it they wouldn't be prepared to get it out, I would be more worried about some critter EATTING it Shocked

, I think that if any one did bump into it they would try and start it, that would hurt just the same...... Nice Pix, Lessons learned.
Tim

Posts: 93

man, to think that i cried when my buggy got stuck in the creek in my backyard ( that day, only a few inches deep) Rolling Eyes

Dont stress to much. that only leads to more mistakes. just keep cool.
Good Luck.