Water Tips

[Texas]

Hi all,
put myself into a puddle which turned out deeper than what i thought. What should you do whilst stuck in the puddle ie. leave motor runnin, turn it off. Any major things to check when you get it home? I have a 2.8d hilux
Thanks
Tony :D

[tom_286]

really depends how deep it is. if its above your air intake then turn the bloody thing off! but generaly you'd leave it running. but i do know someone how wreacked their motor by leaving in running in a bog hole. but most ppl leave it going, stops crap getting in the zorst.

[Orbit]

tough one. i can see pro's and cons of both. i'll follow this with a bit of intrest too.
but i'd be saying to check the depth of the puddle first lol

[tom_286]

tough one. i can see pro's and cons of both. i'll follow this with a bit of intrest too.
but i'd be saying to check the depth of the puddle first lol


yep but one day you'll still get stuck! no mater how shallow it is.

[Texas]

I have a snorkel so the air intake wasnt a problem. I did actually check the depth. It wasnt too bad it was the entry and my backend that stopped me :)

[Orbit]

yeah i know...you can get stuck almost anywhere lol esp when not expecting it.
but i had an image in my head of a 4B dropping into a hole down the the roof line lol

[4xrunner]

Interesting one, will be following this. I always thought as long as air intake is clear then leave it running so the crap doesnt go back up the exhaust. Maybe I am wrong ???

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

If you haven't sealed off EVERYTHING below the water level, then you are better off shutting it down. Some things will survive a drive thru water, but stop moving forwards and the water starts to seep in!

Things like the fuel tank breather, the dip stick, the little drain on the bell housing, the clutch fork hole on the bell housing, the vent on the top of the charcoal cannister (emission control stuff) the breather on the distributor, the radiator overflow bottle vent (dilute the coolant), the battery cap vents (dilute the acid), etc, etc, and the obvious; the diffs, transfer case, and gearbox! Yeah, I know you've lifted those last three breathers, but is it high enough for when you are stopped? What happens when those filters you used on the end of the breathers get wet?? I betcha they turn to mush that doesn't stop water getting in.

Then there's all the seals that work to keep oil and grease in, not designed to work under water and keep the water out for more than a few seconds!! And when the inside of the gearbox or diff is hot, the vent is below water but stopped up, the water is cold, the seals still WON'T stop cold water being sucked in past the seals as the air pressure inside drops rapidly as it cools, they simply aren't designed to work that way. There's even little breathers and pressure relief valves and gaskets etc that won't keep water out when they are sat under water level for any length of time!!

The fuel tank breather and cap is a classic! The number of times I've seen people swearing that they CAN'T have water in their fuel, even though they've just done at least a dozen bonnet deep water crossings before the car choked to a stop with a water logged fuel filter!!! Draining the water out of the filter and then the tank has revealed about a third of the tank filled with water, and it all came in thru the fuel tank breather and the filler cap!! Is yours sealed everytime you do a water crossing??

BTW, if you stop in the water, and your exhaust is under water, there is often a 'breather' or vent on the top/front of OE mufflers. Sitting them in water will let the water run into the front of the muffler, and the exhaust going out actually acts as a venturi, sucking it in at twice the rate it would seep in normally! It can eventually fill the muffler, create MASSIVE back pressure, and do untold and EXPENSIVE damage!! Have you got one of those tiny holes on the top of your OE muffler, or is your aftermarket replacement still in perfect knick??

Have Fun! Don't go into water over axle depth unless you are prepared to get pulled out, and there is someone standing by to do so!!

[4xrunner]

Wow so many things I had not thought of. Next time I will be turning the engine off as well as having someone on standby with snatch already attached etc.

[Texas]

Wow. That gives a few of us a bit to think about im sure. Thanks for the details. I wasnt in long. My mate was ready with the strap just incase (which im glad he was). It has stuffed my altenator again. Last time was just a big puddle on the road.Anyway there is a lot more than i ever considered.
Thanks Again
Feel free to keep adding if tere is anymore suggestions or comments ;D :

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Sorry, I should have added the alternator to the list! Once it gets full of water it shorts out, as well as getting a fine layer of water in-between the surfaces that spin past each other with very fine tolerances. IF the water was absolutely clean, it wouldn't be such a problem, but it is usually full of suspended mud or grit, making a wonderful grinding paste!! So once you get the car out, the alternator that stayed spinning whilst it was running has successfully ground the fine tolerances into a much greater gap, as well as filling every non-sealed bearing under the bonnet with grinding paste!!

That means the AC pully, water pump (it's usually got a breather for the bearing too) the power steering pump, the alternator bearing, the starter bearings and the starter itself if it's not sealed are all now suspect 'cos the bearings are filled with grinding paste!! BTW, if you put your foot on the clutch, it opens the gap between the flywheel and the driven plate, allowing IT to fill with grinding paste too, so when you go to drive off next, the flywheel and clutch driven plate don't work too well, and the score marks ground into the surfaces aren't too good for the long life of the clutch!!

Again, if you are moving, it's unlikely to do a great deal of damage, BUT as soon as you stop and sit for any time at all, water and mud etc is working its' way in, and doing a lot of damage!! Be prepared and spend as little time sitting in the water running as you can!! REMEMBER, all this is THE WORST CASE SCENARIO, and you may get away with lesser issues if you don't do it too often or sit there for too long!! Just be prepared and don't sit around in the water for long, running or not!!

[Gumby]

Yep...peter is spot on...when i crossed the coorong i killed my alternator and starter motor filled my box&transfer and diffs with water....that was about it i think ;)

[sudso]

Yep...peter is spot on...when i crossed the coorong i killed my alternator and starter motor filled my box&transfer and diffs with water....that was about it i think ;)

Main reason I avoid the murky depths now ;)
stuffed my clutch and luckily the alternator cleaned up to survive.
Deep mud soup is for yabbies and 2' or more of water is for fish ;)

[Gumby]

Yep...peter is spot on...when i crossed the coorong i killed my alternator and starter motor filled my box&transfer and diffs with water....that was about it i think ;)

Main reason I avoid the murky depths now ;)
stuffed my clutch and luckily the alternator cleaned up to survive.
Deep mud soup is for yabbies and 2' or more of water is for fish ;)




oh mate...wheres the adventure in that.

You would have to do all the above to go to Cape York ;D

[sudso]

Yep...peter is spot on...when i crossed the coorong i killed my alternator and starter motor filled my box&transfer and diffs with water....that was about it i think ;)

Main reason I avoid the murky depths now ;)
stuffed my clutch and luckily the alternator cleaned up to survive.
Deep mud soup is for yabbies and 2' or more of water is for fish ;)




oh mate...wheres the adventure in that.

You would have to do all the above to go to Cape York ;D

There is none but until I have a set up that can do it without the resulting damage and $ I'll keep it below the axles for now ;D

[mudpiggy]

All top advice and I will add that that no matter how tough ya think ya motor is it was never meant to run in water for a long period of time so if you get stuck i would turn it off as soon as you stop. When you get out check the oil level etc. Turn all elecs off when in the water too straight away.

[foxy]

or better yet, wherever possible avoid driving through water in the first place!

Sometime there is no choice, but I have seen thread after thread on here of guys drving through creeks / bogholes for fun and then complaining about how this failed and thats farked etc etc.

We have done our diff breathers etc as a precaution, we carry tarps for water blinds and recovery gear just in case.

Another tip is to remeber to loosen your fan belts or remove your viscous fan, other wise is can cause damage if its submerged - it will try to spin through your radiator!.

When I first got my 4B we used to go looking for water crossings......now a little bit wiser I only drive through water if that the only way thru.....

[tariadamar]

hey i would just like to add that when u get out the first thing to do snorkel or not is to cheek the airfilters just tomake sure, u might have a leak some where.

PS if u cannot change gears or select all of them easyly try looking in the gear box for to much oil/water/mud in their. don't forget the transfer case to.

[1tuf75]

ok worst case scenario you get stuck in a bog hole mud half way up the doors you had to turn off your motor to aviod the whole hydrolic trick, after you get pulled out what should you do? no doubt youre going to have an exust full of water that will create some mighty back presure and a soggy air filter can someone make up a genaral check list for things to check to make the car mobile again and the long list of things to do when we get home.
maybe for both petrol and deisel so all us beginners can have half an idea on what we should do!

[tariadamar]

i have been informed that if ya snorkel works and u know that never turn off the motor as the water will work its way back up the exaust and into the motor.