Mr.AlexanderStorey

2016 Ford F150 XLT - Hurricane Harvey Insurance Buy Back
Ford F150
Eng Capcity: 5000
Engine: 5.0Lv8
XLT Super-crew 6.5 ft bed 4wd
Black Pocket Style Fender Flares
6" Rough Country Lift
Hypertech wheels
Toyo Country Tires 35x12.50R20LT
Black Leather Interior

I was effected by hurricane harvey and was one of the lucky people to live right next to the buffalo bayou. which means our area stayed underwater for 14 days. This included my very first F150 that I purchased with only 110 miles on it. After a lot of conversation with friends who are in the used car business it was strongly suggested to buy back my truck from the insurance company. The insurance company paid $2k less then what I paid for the truck and only charged me $4k to buy it back. My friends and I figure it will take $3K-$4K to bring my truck back to life as long as I did all the work myself.

My goal of this thread is to document my story, my process and update the community what it takes to fix my flooded truck.

My expertise:
I was a cisco network specialist (computer communication guy) from yrs 18 - 26, never touched tools. From years 26 - 34, I worked offshore and began learning life skills specifically repairing, replacing industrial electronic components. I don't have a mechanical background, nor have I ever attempted to tackle a project of this magnitude. I am a youtube/ internet scavenger and I am banking my ability to find answers as my saving grace in this endeavor. I have fixed issues around the house, repaired my AC several times and tinkered with replacing brakes and rotators.

My schedule:
I have a full time job so my plan is to work on the truck from 5pm - 8pm Mon - Thursday, 12pm - 8pm Friday and 10am - 5pm Saturdays.

Location:
a small used car dealership.

Any advise please do not hesitate to post and I will keep everyone update to date weekly.

Every extra minute is focused on bringing this car back as quick as possible because of the priority of needing the truck.

txbbqF150

Wow, very interesting in terms of buying back the truck and what not. I am not mechanical by any means, but will for sure follow along your rebuild. Best of luck!

andrewdod

well.... one... was the water ever above the dash? if it was... good luck... everything could be fried... If it wasn't you may be one of the lucky ones. Start by pulling the interior... drying disenfecting deoderizing the carpets and seats, any electrical connections or computers should get replaced. There is an airbag module usually underneath the seat or in the console... if this got wet it should be replaced and the SRS system reflashed. that is the brain of the SRS system and it is a safety item. it is not something to be toyed with.

K9cop

Very interesting

chimmike

even if everything electrical is fried, you have well more than $4k in parts there even if you part everything out on ebay!

First thing I'd do with the motor is check the cylinders for water, if none, i'd fog 'em with some b-something chemtool.

Mr.AlexanderStorey

1st Status Update:
Hung truck to dry for a full 24 hours
I then Started the work I began by tearing into the interior first in hopes to immediately start trying electronics first.
Pulled All Seats
Pulled Carpet
Pulled Front Dash
Pulled all Door Electronics
Pulled All electronics off Firewall
Started Disinfecting Carpet and Seat Cushions with Pine Sol

SteedaGT

iTrader: (2)

Very cool thread. Hope the best for you and can't wait to see progress.

Mr.AlexanderStorey

Photo Update

greasyknuckles

don't forget all the seat belt pretensioners have electronics in them. and when
reinstalling seats, the weight and position sensors have to be recalibrated for
the srs to operate correctly

Johnny_bravo00

Howly!!!!