Transmission trouble?

If the transmission is slipping, the engine would race when the clutch is released under hard acceleration. If that is the case, you need to have the clutch replaced.

Flood water should not cause the clutch to slip. It could be the clutch bearing that is causing the noise. It could also be that the clutch disk is not moving back fast enough due to rust foration on the clutch shaft splines when water got to it. that would require the transmission to be removed to clean and relubricate.

Check the transmission gear oil for presence of water which could cause stiff shifting.

well first gear when starting accelerating starts to make a loud lawn mower noise..the car then sputters a bit when sitting in neutral. It seems like shifting from 1st to 2cd gear is problematic with the noise. The other gears seem fine. This has happened before and the problem went away after a few days. But now its almost day 4. Also the malfunction indicator light blinks when the engine sputters. When I accelerate out of neutral to first the engine makes a loud mower noise then it finally seems like it slips into gear and the noise is gone. The clutch does not pop or the stick shift does not pop out of gear. This is to give you more detail on the issue. After hard acceleration the engine makes a loud noise like the RPMS are too high then it finally gets into gear. At times after driving it for about 4 or 5 minutes in those gears i will be sitting at a red light and the car feels like it will stall out or when i accelerate it goes really really slow like it is almost stuck then finally goes into gear. Feels like the E brake is on when it accelerates. If you have anymore suspicions let me know if there are some things i can do at home before taking it to the shop. I am not the best with cars so some easy stuff.

Thanks for your reply

From symptom description, I believe you have 2 problems, one with the engine and the other is a slipping clutch.

The MIL blinking indicates a problem with the engine control unit and you need to have a scan done to retrieve the trouble codes. Most parts outlets provides free scanning services. Get the code and let me know the EXACT trouble code.

You need to have the clutch checked and tested by some one who knows to verify that it is slipping, which I believe is the case based on what you had described.

It sounds like you may have an air filter housing full of water.rust on the trans splines as well as the pressure plate will cause some slippage.