Lincoln LS, serious water leaks, lots of mold.

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Stevemata

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So, it's been raining, and I have been sick so I wasn't using the car... and I didn't notice that my 2004 Ls was seriously leaking. The floor and the trunk were full of water when I opened the door yesterday morning. The battery was sitting in about five inches of water. The floor, seats, dash and ceiling are covered with mold. It's really bad. It's been drying out since yesterday.

I was able to get the car to jump start and I ran it for half an hour or so. The battery held a charge, I started it again later.

But now, the front headlights are flashing and It won't start, seems like it's not getting any gas.

The dash instrument cluster is all messed up and the door controls don't work.

I'm sure i'll sort it out and get the car running regular again.

-----

Here's the part I don't know to deal with. The mold, my trendy perforated leather seats have mold on the cushions under the leather, and there is mold on all the fabrics in the car. What in the world should I do about that? Is there anywhere I can find replacements for the carpet, seats ceiling without it costing more than the car is worth? A quick search on google didn't find any replacements... any suggestions?

Oh, and I read that the water in the car is probably caused by disconnected or clogged sun roof drain lines, is there anywhere else I should look in addition?

Thanks in advance guys.
 
mold is nothing to play with. can cause serious health problems. if it were me, i would tear out everthing and replace it. im sure if you have time to be patient, you can find some good deals on interior someone is parting out.
 
Before you poke your head in for a pic put on a facemask. Is it green or orange? Old apple or sandwich under the seat will usually start a nice culture.

Sunlight, ventilation and vinegar would be my suggestions if you don't plan to scrap it
 
Hello, Mr. Insurance Agent.... I have a problem.....
 
"...my trendy perforated leather seats have mold on the cushions under the leather"

I did not know that perforated leather was trendy. You have perforated leather because you should have cooled and heated seats. A nice luxury feature.

For as much water as you were getting in the car and trunk.....do you have intact weatherstripping? Was it removed or painted over from a paint job?
 
I hope you have full coverage.

We have dealt with mold in a household situation in the past. It was very difficult to get rid of.

I would take everything out. Replace any fabric. Treat the metal and plastic surfaces as well.

Honestly if you have full coverage I would scrap it. It's not worth the health risk. Or buy another vehicle to swap components from. A similar ls with a blown engine or tranny would be cheap plus you can part out the good stuff. Possibly turn a profit.

To be clear. I would swap the good engine from yours into the new one. Mold can hide in small areas you will never see.
 

Stevemata said:
Here's the part I don't know to deal with. The mold ... any suggestions?
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this ...

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then ...

LS4me said:
Hello, Mr. Insurance Agent.... I have a problem.....
Click to expand...


Accidents happen, just make it look good!
 
Update:

The drain hose on the passenger side in the truck was disconnected.

The car won't start with a jump now. I removed the battery, it makes a sloshing sound.

I don't want to scrap the car, the body and paint are flawless - assuming the insurance company bought it from me, I don't imagine I could find one as nice - minus the mold. What do you think they would give me? 2004 ls v8 110k miles?

It's mostly dried out now, used a towel to clean all the water out.

After drying it out, a lot of the mold seems to have lost it's color, especially on the ceiling.

The mold color is white and apple green. Things like the seat belts are extra fuzzy.

My front and back seats are perforated, however my back seats don't have heating or cooling.

None of the windows work and the sun roof doesn't work, any suggestions what to check out?
 
Stevemata said:
None of the windows work and the sun roof doesn't work, any suggestions what to check out?
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I would start with fuses. You might want to look into a desiccant that will absorb any moisture that may have infiltrated any electrical components.....
 
I would also start looking at fuses first...

But lots of water and computer modules don't mix, God knows what was damaged.

I agree with what was said above, even if there was no electrical damage, that cars probably F'ed.

Also batteries a filled with fluid, some "sloshing" is normal a lot is not... But it's sealed (other than the vent tube of course) so sitting in water shouldn't be a problem...
 
i'd put a dehumidifier in the car and leave it running for a day or two.
 
jdxprs said:
i'd put a dehumidifier in the car and leave it running for a day or two.
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that would only realy help you to dry out the air, but there is gonna be some serious problems with just that amount of water in the car. the floor alone is gonna hold so much water. the only way you gonna be able to savlge that car is to strip it all out and first make sure its 100% dry, then your gonna haev to make sure it really clean, cause if there is really that much mold that you can see, you have to know that there is 10x that much that you dont see.
 
LS4me said:
Hello, Mr. Insurance Agent.... I have a problem.....
Click to expand...

You: Yeah ummmmm....my car has about 3 inches of standing water inside, mold all over, and won't start. Can't you send an adjuster out or give me some help?
Agent: year, make, model, mileage?
You: blah blah blah
Agent: yeah it's totaled it's an LS. We'll give you $5,500 for it today.....
 
If your dead set on keeping it be prepared to strip it down to bare metal and replace everything else including the electronics from a donar.

Btw I just picked up a mint 2005 with 60k on the clock for 6 grand.

I bet you can find one just as nice if your willing to travel to buy it.
 
I agree with the rest of them, it's junk.

However, if you are of a project having mind, you can buy the carcass back, strip it down, demold it, then build a one off custom out of it. Since the entire electrical system needs to be pulled anyway, pull it all out. Pick up a Painless wiring harness, install a Vintage Air AC system, and put in a super hot engine. You wouldn't have ABS or traction control, but who cares?
 
as a bio guy... the mold can be killed. But will require a huge amount of time and effort... The problem will be whats left once you do. The discoloration and deterioration cannot be reversed (easily). If you can find salvage seats and carpets, the rest wont be THAT bad...

Your bigger problem is running the car with all that moisture... you'll never know how much damage was done until you start repairing failing items... Maybe nothing, maybe everything. just no way of knowing yet... If insurance is not an option. look for a donor car.
 
G-RELL said:
...Your bigger problem is running the car with all that moisture... you'll never know how much damage was done until you start repairing failing items... ....
Click to expand...

Well, it sounds like the electronics have already taken a hit. As you said, they may or may not recover once it is all dried out.
 
Sounds like a great opportunity to find a totalled one that took a front end hit and swap everything out but it's going to be a miserable experience doing the work.

Mold is a PITA and as a short term fix dehumidifier or even a couple 100w light bulbs should get it to start drying out. You'll need to leave the windows cracked for the moisture to escape.

I still don't see it ending well and becoming totally mold free.
 
Id be careful with the light bulbs. heat is your enemy at this point... removing moisture is the name of this game (and eliminating growth areas)... You just need to decide what you want to do and move fast. time will only make things worse...IMO

GL
 
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