ok here's the story....i decided to drive through a pretty deep mudhole on base and made it through 2 times, then got stuck on my third try...called a buddy and tried to yank it out...but no avail...so we went back the next morning with longer tow straps and another truck...it started right up the next morning after sitting in the mudhole overnight....got the truck yanked and it was running fine aside from the water in the passenger compartment...i let the truck run and then drove it home...no problems aside from the really wet brakes....got it home and then let it idle for about 20 mins...then shut it off and proceeded to wash off all the mud from the chassis underneath with my pressure washer ()...tried to start it this morning and it turned over a few times, with each crank slowing down until nothing...all the lights work, fuel pressure is around 40-42 lbs and the battery is putting out good voltage...i know that i am not hydrolocked or else it would not have started in the first place or it would have shut off immediately...no water in the oil, tranny fluid, dry air filter, coolant is clean...any ideas? i am thinking that the cables running to the starter might have to be removed and cleaned to remove the muck from the connections but i will wait until it warms up later this week and i have time and daylight...

any thoughts/advice/info is greatly appreciated as always....

 

Never use a pressure washer to clean around any electrical connections.
From the sounds of it your battery cables are corroded and the sitting overnight submerged was the final straw.

 

And maybe the frame ground for the negative cable - down by bottom of radiator on battery side.

 

UPDATE: i checked all the connections on the cables from the battery to everything that it affects and they are all clean...what worked?? banging on the starter with my hammer (lightly of course, )...and VROOM!!! good to go!! the starter actually spools up better compared to before. thanks guys for the advice...
and i want to thank the 53 other people that looked this and did not offer even one word of advice...douche bags...

 

Those other 53 people may not even be forum members.
Your starter is on its way out.

 

The stater solenoid is going bad, and the hammer made it find a good spot, outside the corrosion, this won't last long. The corrosion causes a voltage drop, just like a bad terminal on the battery. Murphys's Law says the solenoid contact will find this bad spot again when you really don't need it to be dead. The starter comes out by using several extensions and an allen socket, work from in front of the axle. Blow out allen bolts first with brake cleaner or such, you want socket all the way to the bottom of them.

Also, while we currently enjoy 49,973 members; at this moment (2:05AM Eastern) there are but 13 members logged on, and another 497 visitors lurking. The most ever logged on was 3,308, on Christmas Eve, when everyone was sending their requests to Santa for a new Defender in complete knock down (CKD) crate; some assembly required.

We want people to participate, no one knows it all; and no one knows more than all of us.

 

I just read this again. I was reader number two. From everything you described above not one phrase would have lead me to prompt you to bang on the starter. Your detailed account painted the picture that you had electrical issues due to water intrustion from getiting stuck in a puddle. My advice for you is go somewhere else next time for help if that's how think these forums work. Not everybody will have any answer for, let alone want to give you advice for something that you could have found out yourself with a little research. Douchbag out.

 

Those of us who read your problem and offered no advise had no idea what advise to offer. I personally have no experience with getting stuck in a mudhole.

I certainly have advice for you now, but you probably wouldn't appreciate it.

 

LOL!

OK, before we throw this fella overboard, let's give him a chance to redeem himself by admitting the db comment was too harsh. Or it was a joke which none of us understood. These types of message boards don't relate comedy or sarcasm very well.

 

Okay, here's my words of advice: while everyone on this forum has something to contribute, not everyone is familiar with your particular problem. Personally, I'd rather read one or two bits of good advice than sift through 53 "douche bags" worth of nonsense from people who don't know what they're talking about. But I digress... We're not all just here for your benefit. If you have a problem with that, go back to middle school where your name calling will be better tolerated.