This weekend I drove through a washout in my 2000 Ford Explorer. It is a 4 cylinder v6 pushrod. Since going through the mid-tire water at about 40mph the engine is very loud. Especially right out of idle, overdrive seems to be more quiet. I don't know where the water got to, I am expecting the fuel injection system (carb). Will this burn off. It has been wet since then, but I did drive about 100 more miles. Can I fix this myself, will it dry itself, should I have it looked at? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This weekend I drove through a washout in my 2000 Ford Explorer. It is a 4 cylinder v6 pushrod. Since going through the mid-tire water at about 40mph the engine is very loud. Especially right out of idle, overdrive seems to be more quiet. I don't know where the water got to, I am expecting the fuel injection system (carb). Will this burn off. It has been wet since then, but I did drive about 100 more miles. Can I fix this myself, will it dry itself, should I have it looked at? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
it is possible that you bent a connecting rod,i had a ranger that had a bent rod and was noisy resulting from the owner driving through a large puddle at a higher rate of speed than appropriate.you should have it checked out by a reputable shop as this sounds like it is way beyond the scope of your experience.

Well, got it checked out. Apparently a pipe behind the coverter cooled too quick and cracked. $250