Advice for water crossings?

[andyr354]

Living where I do in the midwest you don't do water crossings. The soft dirt we have here you will sink waaaay down.

Anyway I am going to colorado and lots of the trails list water crossings on them. I have some questions on just general advice on doing it.
Also what about water getting in components? Do I need to flush the diffs before I make the 700 mile drive home, or just do it as soon as I get home.

This trip will be in my mostly stock 98 xj.

Andy

 

[Kejtar]

1. get a snorkel
2. use dielectric grease to seal out all electic components
3. before driving back change oil in everything submerged (Front rear diffs, tcase, tranny)

On the other hand... you can wait and take your chances that no water got in

 

[Jes]

Don't do this...

...

Jes

 

[andyr354]

This is a nice stock vehicle that I want to retain some resale value , I am not going in anything that looks over a foot or a little more deep.

 

[Speed_racer]

All I suggest is this, for temp fixes, Dielectric grease on all spark plug boots... Pull off distributor cap, put 2 beads of silicon on the inside, close up the DC vent and run a hose on a fitting from it.... Also make sure your vent lines from your tranny and diffs are ran high inside the firewall

 

[CRASH]

1 foot deep water crossings are not going to be a problem. Check for presence of water in the diffs before your drive home.

If it comes out of fill hole looking milky and white, change the diff fluid.

CRASH

 

[BrianJr]

One foot should not be a problem - have fun. Remember that wet brakes don't work so well. You might want to gently apply your brakes after the crossing to dry them out.

For slightly deeper water (up to your bumper) the trick is to go slow. You will notice that a wave forms in front of your Jeep as you move through the water. Let it stay right in front of the Jeep. If you catch up with it then water tends to find its way into the airbox and then you might be in trouble (hydro-lock)

I heard of people placing a tarp over the grill to help keep the wave of water from coming into the fans. I've not used it myself though.

Most of the vents on my 1999 XJ went up under the hood so those generally are not a problem. The one exception was the vent for the rear diff. It only went up into the body. This was fine until the time I got the distributor wet enough to stall out. While the XJ was sitting in the hole the frame (and interior) filled with water and flooded the rear diff. I recommend spending twenty bucks and buying some air hose to extend that vent up into the engine compartment.

If you stall out - don't try and start the engine. Have someone winch or tow you out. Then pull all of the spark plugs and turn the motor over a couple of times.
-Brian

This is a nice stock vehicle that I want to retain some resale value , I am not going in anything that looks over a foot or a little more deep.

 

[Mike in NJ]

Big key for surviving moderate water crossings (not submariner action like Jes!) is as BrianJr said, keep your bow wave manageable. A small wave (rather than none) is actually desirable, as the trailing edge will be shallower - just try not to catch up to it!

Another temp solution for avoiding water ingestion into the throttle body is to disconnect the main air intake hose at the air box, tape a piece of towel over the end and rotate it back and pointed up at the underside of the hood. You'll still get plenty of air for combustion and you'll greatly eliminate the chance of any stray water getting into the block.

Have fun sailing.

Mike in NJ atriot:

 

[BrianJr]

I had forgotten that tip Mike - thanks! I keep a clean sock in my recovery gear for that future crossing where I don't dare use the airbox and filter. I also keep a tarp for the same reason - I just have not needed them yet.

-Brian

Another temp solution for avoiding water ingestion into the throttle body is to disconnect the main air intake hose at the air box, tape a piece of towel over the end and rotate it back and pointed up at the underside of the hood. You'll still get plenty of air for combustion and you'll greatly eliminate the chance of any stray water getting into the block.

Have fun sailing.

Mike in NJ atriot: