In view of the incidence of flooding across the nation recently, a lot of locally used automobiles that had been involved in flooding will be put in the market by some smart owners to save themselves from the problematic symptoms of flooded vehicles.
Check for mud, silt or watermarks under seats, behind the dash, inside the glove box, ashtray and other places that may have been overlooked during cleaning.
Look for rusty tools in the tool pouch as this can easily be overlooked during cleaning.
Look for corrosion in the spare wheel and boot wells, and also on unpainted metal components such as dash brackets and seat bases.
Water damaged log books or service records are a giveaway, but will most likely be removed or replaced before sale. If books are missing or their condition appears inconsistent with the rest of the car, question why.
Check the air filter element and inside the air cleaner housing and intake ducting for mud or silt that may indicate water has reached the engine.
Salt water exposure will show as a white, powdery corrosion on alloy components.
Look for green, powdery corrosion in electrical connectors. It may be necessary to carefully separate a connector to check for this.
Mud build-up inside the chassis rails on utes and 4WDs or on under body components, such as suspension parts, can indicate flooding or it could suggest use on unsealed roads. You’ll need to make a decision about which one it is.
Damp seats, carpets and floor coverings may be a sign of water damage or simply of cleaning and detailing. Either requires further investigation.
The smell produced by flooding can be difficult to remove from carpets and trims. So, be very careful of over-perfumed internal smell of about-to-be-sold vehicles.
Feedback
I drive a 2003 Toyota Camry, popularly called Big Daddy. I recently started to notice that, while going on a long journey, say, Lagos to Osun State, the oil indicator on the dashboard would come on. Upon checking the oil the next morning, it would still be well gauged. I drove from Lagos to Ilorin, Kwara State this weekend, after servicing the car two days before and it came on when I was close to Ogbomoso, Oyo State. I topped it a little and it went off, only to come on again when I reached Ilorin. However, the oil level was a little above full the next morning. Please, advise me on what to do. Ko boye (Sagamu)
The challenge with that particular engine is sludge building up inside it. My advice is to find a way to remove the sludge built up inside the engine. Please, be aware that the sludge could damage the engine.
Good day, sir. Thanks for the good work you’re doing. Please, is there any of your workshops in Akure? I need to bring my 2000 Honda CR-V over. I changed the engine and the gear broke down. I have changed the gear and now it’s not selecting properly. Some gear mechanics have worked on it but it’s still same.
Presently, we don’t have any workshop in Akure, but we are opening one in Ado Ekiti in a couple of days’ time.
Good day, I must say I always look forward to buying SUNDAY PUNCH because of your insight about vehicles, which is why I need your expert advice between two choices of vehicles I intend buying. I am in love with German vehicles so much and my previous cars were an ’04 VW Passat, and an ’04 BMW 530. I really want sincere suggestions between an 06/07 Lexus GS 300 and an 09 Audi A4 (Quattro). Though I have gone through most online information, I am certain you can enlighten me more on the best choice, since you have firsthand experience. I would be elated if I get prompt response. Thank you.
If I have to choose, I will start with the GS300 before the A4; the reason is that the GS300 is a Toyota product, which means that the parts are readily available in the market and also cheaper than the A4 parts. This does not mean that the A4 is not good; more so because you find more mechanics for the GS300 than the A4.
Good day, sir. Please, pardon me if I’m bothering you; I have been thinking and I am at my wits’ end and, hence my reason for searching out your email address. My issue is that I have a 2001 Lexus RX 300. The oil pump failed sometime last year and I had to change the engine. The installed engine was smoking, but only when it initially started after sitting for some hours. It was decided that the problem was the valve seals, which were changed. Still, the problem persisted. Now, I’ve had the same job redone and the smoking still persists. Please, what do you think is the problem?
Secondly, after the car was returned, when the second job was done, just over the weekend, I realised that the instrument panel light, which normally comes on and remains on in the car, started and was running. It still seems to be working normally but now fails to dim as it should when the car’s headlights are switched on. Please can you give any ideas as to what could or might have been tampered with? Again, please help.
Let’s start with the dashboard light: I believe the control is turned all the way; that is why it will not dim when the headlight is switched on. Try and turn the switch a little bit counterclockwise. That might solve the problem.
On the issue of the engine smoking, if the smoking is intermittent, I still believe it is the valve seal, but sometimes, the fault could be from the rings, because the engine has been sitting in a warehouse for some time. The rings would have gotten rusted because of the moisture formed in the engine. And when it is started, it will create wear on the cylinder walls and this may cause the engine to smoke. You can try MSP in the engine, sometimes, it will solve the problem if the damage is not too much.
My name Ben. I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna. I noticed the gear selects four sometimes and selects five. I noticed that sometimes, if it selects four, it would be sluggish in moving and the rpm would skyrocket to 3000 at 100 km/h. But if it selects five, it would move fast and at 100 km/h, the rpm would be 2000.
And another thing: I noticed that during acceleration, when I remove my leg from the throttle, it would stop making noise.
My best advice is to run a scan on the transmission; the result will guide on what to do. As for the acceleration, you will need a good technician to listen to the noise. Listening to the sound will guide him on what the noise is all about.
Please, I would like your candid opinion on right-hand drive. I have a 2001 Nissan Primera that I hope to ship in from Dublin. A friend assured me that it is okay since he too drives a converted Land Rover from the United Kingdom and actually bought one for his wife also. My snag, however, is that one of my mechanics said it’s okay since he does the conversion himself, but the other mechanic whom I use more frequently said it’s cumbersome and that it’s better to buy the normal left-hand drive but the right-hand drive is cheaper for me. Please, I need your advice.
—Okocha Patrick
The only problem I have with converted vehicles is the recurrent challenge of having suspension and steering faults if it not properly done. Also, you have to make sure the wiring harness is properly routed after the conversion.
Hello sir, my dad has a Volvo S80 that’s been grounded for almost two years now, because the gasket keeps burning and water keeps mixing with the engine oil. What should I do?
I believe the job was not done right; the cylinder head should have been checked for cracks or warpage. If anything has to be done again, the cylinder head and cylinder block will have to be checked for cracks and warpage by sending them to a machine shop. Also, make sure the cylinder head is torqued sequentially when it is been assembled.
I am a young man looking to get a ‘tokunbo’ (second-hand) car between N700,000 and N800,000. Please, can you advise me on a model that is fuel efficient and easy to maintain at the price range I mentioned? Thanks a lot.
I cannot really tell you any brand at the amount you want to spend, unless you really want something you can buy and fix up yourself. But for fuel economy, you will need something with engines of one to two litres.
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