Flood Damage

[matapalo]

Woke up to 4 feet of water and mud in my backyard on New Year Eve day. Unfortuately the flood alarms didn't go off for some reason and by the time we got up it was to late (see pic below.)

First question: I have a friend that insists that it's ok to start and drive a car when it's tailpipes are submerged in water so long as nothing is draining into the intake. I've always heard that it's ok to have the pipes under water as long as you've got a lot of pressure being forced out of them, but as soon as you release the accelerator or go into compression you will suck water into the engine and all sort of unmentionable things will happen. What's the truth?

Next question: How to safely get my burb back on the road? Here's what I've gathered so far from a few sources:

- Drain oil, tranny, transfer case, front and rear differentials and refill with fresh fluids.

- Pull spark plugs and spray a little WD40 into the holes. Put a little carb cleaner down in the carb and turn the engine over a few times with the plugs out to flush any water out of the intake.

- Start it up.

Anything I've forgotten? Is there anything special I should do with the fuse box? When I released the gas cap there was a big pressure release so I don't think any water got into the tank. It's a fairly new engine and a brand new tranny so I want to be really thorough before fireing it up. Any advice will be greatly appriciated!!!!!