2012 sunk in river, now won't start with grinding noise

2012 Tacoma sunk in river up to glove box! Replaced ecu, demobilizer reset, changed all fluids. Truck running and driving. Took for test drive, truck died and made an awful whining/grinding noise. Now won’t start and makes grinding noise near alternator/starter. Also dash lights and headlights stay on with key out and steering wheel isn’t locking now.

 

Do you have insurance?
Call them as this is not going to an easy or cheap fix.

 

Yes I do but they don’t cover any flood damage anyways.

 

I see you’ve posted this in 2 different threads. Anyway since in the other thread you said your insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. Auto insurance does cover flood damage if you had “comprehensive “ coverage but I assume you tried to save some $$$ and didn’t get that coverage on your policy.
With the extremely limited information you provided there is no way anyone can diagnose all the problems with your truck or suggest successful fixes. If the engine was running when it went in the river then you hydro locked it. That’s major. Likely minimum required an engine rebuild or a new engine. That is just the beginning of the repairs. Repairing all the damage on a 14 year old truck that’s been submerged and hydro locked may likely cost more than the truck is worth.

 

alternator/starter are no where near eachother. Does it grind when you turn the key to start or just to the "on" position?

 

Just when starting, a light grinding noise behind the alternator

 

It’s not hydro locked at all. Made sure of it before starting. Getting codes for crankshaft position sensor and a misfire

 

Or at the alternator. Hard to pin point

 

The wire connectors are not designed to be submersible. Check your grounds (simple enough). Good luck.

 

How long ago? If you didn't immediately strip the entire interior after this happened except for maybe the headliner, and force-dry it, you're in for a long-haul of constant gremlins. Try to dry it out. Not pileing on here guy! Things happen and I have made (big) mistakes too. One of my trucks in a past life started floating downstream one time on me in a "friendly/shallow" water crossing. ( I think that's when I started getting gray hair.) I got to solid ground, and was able to back up in 4L to the original crossing... otherwise it prob would still be up there upside-down in an unknown hole somewhere, or in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere and with the USFS still hunting me down.

I have never crossed a stream more than a truck-length wide since and I usually wade it first too. This event was in a 1989 4.3L V6 Vortec S10 Blazer Sport with shift-on-the-fly 4WD.

Try to dry it out even if you have to put a giant fan in it. Bonne-Chance!

 

How’d your truck end up in a river? Pics too please.

 

Well I got it out of the water and immediately stripped it down and unhooked every electrical connection I could get too. I was in a remote beach on the not cal coast an hour out a dirt road. Towed it out got it home and waited a month for an ecu to come in the mail.

 

It was a fairly shallow crossing that I’ve done before and I’m on 35’s. Just was softer I think because earlier in the year. The water got just to the bottom of the glove box. Sat in the water for 2 hours until I got it towed out

 

Tidal? Salt/brackish?

 

Brackish

 

Definitely looks it…things smoked imo. All that salt in the electrical…that sucks man big time sorry to hear

 

It ran and drove about 15 miles before dying on me

 

And I’ve pulled apart a lot of connections and cleaned and greased them. Haven’t seen any corrosion yet

 

Sounds like you did everything right after the fact. Good luck.