Deep Watercrossings in 70s

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

F

ForealBoreal

Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Threads
235
Messages
6,616
Location
BC
Watercrossings are fun but create alot of work - no matter how well you seal stuff up water gets in to diffs, cases, knuckles and just about everywhere else. Run diff and locker breathers up high and into your cabin.

Whether high or low gear depends on what terrain you are in, don't drive too fast as you don't want too big a wake, and I'm making a bonnet cover for my crossings form now on - it keeps the weeds, dirt and fish out of the rad when doing crossings.

Here is some crossings we did a couple of years ago:

YouTube - Landcruiser water crossing DEEEEEEEEEEP! and stuck!
 
Breathers are going to get done tuesday.
Diffs, Transfer case and e-lockers up to the highest point under the hood with inline filters for the tops.

Louis do you still get water in your diffs even with extended breathers?
I know my wheel bearings and knuckles are going to see water.
Glad its only a short water crossing, nothing like yours.
 
If you have them breathers high you should be ok, but make sure you run small breather lines off the locker mechanism - everyone forgets that and water gets in there and buggers your locker mechanism. Water can still seep in though - maybe through the pinion seal or diff gasket.
 
Alternators will not charge when they are completely wet while submerged or right after. They dry out in a few moments and work normally.

If the water is real silty or muddy and you are completely immersing the alternator for long periods then it tends to collect the silt and mud and it can clog up the brushes if you are doing a lot of these type of crossings. If this happens, you can sometimes clean them and get it to work again with a liberal application of something like WD40 or carb cleaner. In extreme cases you might have to open the alternator up to clean it out.



Mark...
 
FB, I understand your hesitation when it comes to deep water crossings. It can be intimidateing.
The first time I went out with Louis, I ordered a snorkel the moment I got home.
During one crossing, because i didn't have a snorkel at the time Louis went in front of me and I followed closely on his rear bumper, because his wake kept the water below the top of my hood.
Although I moved my diff vents up, and my gear lube was new prior to the run, when I checked it the next day the lube had a greyish color in the diffs so it was replaced.
Part of off roading I guess, not really a big expense, and i haven't seen any resulting or associated damage a year later
What really bugged me was that my carpets got wet, and they are slow to dry, so last month I pulled out the front & rear carpets and replaced them moulded rubber mats I got from 4 wheel, should work a whole lot better.
 
Running breatherlines up high is a good idea.
If you want to be sure you keep water out of the axlehousing, you can pressurize them.

Avoid overpressurizing.

One way to achieve this is, is to use a (small) airpump.
How to connect to avoid overpressurizing?
Connect the breatherlines to one line. When you're going to do a watercrossing, connect this one line to a T-connector. The two other ends of the T-connector has to be connected to 1. a line that runs to the airpump. 2. A line open at the other end. This open end has to run to a position as low as possible on the rig. One thing you can do is run it back parallel to one of the breatherlines and extend it slightly below the axle-housing.
With the airpump running, the air can freely escape because of that open end, untill you get into the water. Then the open end is not so open anymore. Depending on waterpressure, the pressure in the vented spaces will build, but only very slighty higher than the waterpressure near the seals, depending on how much you extended the open end below the housing.
This way you can keep the water out without overpressurizing.
If you're driving a gasser, you can use this trick also to keep water out of the distributer housing by running a line into the cap. That's simply done by drilling a hole, slightly smaller in diameter than the line you are using. Now force the line through the hole and it will sufficently seal. Eventually use some sealant.
 
fawk me, some serious BS in this thread.
run your breathers as high as you can, into cabin, into air box etc. guys, these things have one way valves on them. water comes in and the cap seals, if in doubt then run a proper one way valve.

as the diff, t/case cools it WILL pull water past the seals in the axles add to that the pressure of the water against the outside of the seal (designed to keep the fluids IN the axle not out) and presto, water comes in.

then you have the manual tranny which doesn't have a vent line so water enters through the shifter tower, nothing you can do there.

don't touch the clutch? are you serious? come on, really serious? so if you go in and find your hood disappearing in a deep hole, you just keep driving cause you can't shift into reverse to back out? seriously? BS.

the only time you REALLY need to worry is if you get stopped in water deeper than your diffs.

okay, so you want to take your pretty HZJ77 into hood deep water, screw that, lets go half way up your windshield. what do you do? first, walk the water hole. how deep is it? if it is shoulder deep then WTF are you doing, find a way around or turn back ... unless of course you are in Alaska where you don't have a choice. hip deep? smooth bottom or rough, loose gravel? mud? sand? buried logs? make sure you know what is under the water BEFORE entering it, there is more to water crossing than what MIGHT make it into your housings.

water is no big issue. silt is nasty s*** and needs to be cleaned out immediately after returning home. it screws with brakes, bearings and seals. grass is a very close second, it gets wrapped around the driveshafts and tears out seals and even ujoints. nasty s*** there.

steady momentum is best over rough terrain in water.
smooth bottom? open it up, tons of fun.
don't be scared to reverse out of a hole or to change gears while in water.

the big no-no is to sit in the water with your foot on the clutch, water can get in between and then, well, your stuck but to just shift? no biggie at all.

hell, if you want to do some research there are guys that pressurize their diffs and starter and t/case to keep water out. i guess if you are in Florida where they have their swamp buggy races this is good advice.

most important, once you suspect you have water contamination, when you get home then pop the fill plug and see how much diff fluid comes out. that will tell you how much water you have in the diff. if you get a liter of oil coming out then you have a liter of water under the oil and it is time to change it out.

starters don't like water
alternators don't like water
bearings don't like water
seals couldn't care less
electrics don't like water

most of all, your engine will nto be happy if you suck water in, nor will your turbo.

drive smart and you won't have an issue. be stupid and pull out your wallet.
 
In Arkansas when we take our rigs in mud and water,afterwards they go immed.to the car wash for a underneath blast of clean water.Get the cr... off right away. Plan on changing all fluids. Leave the windows open for days afterwards,even put in a box of charcoal or kitty litter in the back to absorb odors and moisture. If it was real deep pull the door panels and let dry out. I agree walk the route before you drive it. 2 cents MIke
 
Yada yada, don't touch the clutch in the water if you can help it - but if you can't then do it of course. ut I recommend that if you are really in the water and silty crap to not be playing with the clutch - once it gets coated and wet you will lose your clutch - been there done that.But, I should have elaborated for and wayne has a good point, My tranny has a vent, I am pretty sure the old 4 speeds had a vent as well.

Water won't come in the shift tower if you have a good boot and it is sealed - well it shouldnt, but sometimes the two retainer pins for the shifter get loose - or the boot is crap. Another thing to check is the shifter boot on the transfer case - it is usually cracked or comes off the shifter and lets water right in.

The best way to avoid getting water in is to avoid water - but what fun is that?

I use those little accordian rubber things that just fasten to the vent nipples - forgot to mention those as I just changed them last fall.

Yes the little vent lines have one way valves - but don't use them (or follow waynes advice and have fun changing your fluids). With a one way valve it seals up but if your diff is warm it will suck water in through the seals as a vacuum is formed. So you can either run a line high or use those rubber things - will try to remember the name.

The alternators are ok with water and some silty crap - but if you keep doing it you will wear out the bearing - and it is electrical so something could go wrong. I just had mine in for rebuild and the alt shop laughed pretty hard when they took my starter and alt apart - could not believe they were still functioning.

Pop the fill plug and check the fluid color after water crossings at the end of the day - change is contaminated.

I use dialectric silicone on all my connections - every one, and doing it once only works for a season - do it every year. Safari snorkels are good - but only as good as your airbox, check waynes latest pics to see how good his factory snorkel worked - not so good. That little catch can on the air filter housing has a felt seal! Felt! I am putting a home brew airbox in mine with home brew snorkel to flow more air but if I were to do it again I would remove the felt seal and weld that little cup on - then put a plug on the bottom to drain the goo if it gets in.

Also, the welds on the airbox can be s*** - check them and lay a bead of silicone on the welds, get a new butterfly nut for the airbox, make sure the hoses are tight and the crankcase event hose is tight.

Also check your gas cap seal and make sure if you go in water that the top of your gas tank doesnt get water on it and just sit there - make the sender all rusty and s***ty.

Old seals leak, especially axle seals - and if you are in sand or silty areas you will get s*** in for sure with an old seal and that s***ty vent line.

Capital Guy, you ready for Crag LAke!!!!?????
 
nope, the H series doesn't have a vent.
i will go take a look today but i didn't see a vent on the R series either.

Louis, i did my post as a joke ... but i guess i should have put smilies all over it.

in seriousness, common sense should be in play when playing in water. water IS going to make it inside no matter what you do to prevent it, the amount will be determined by how long the vehicle is saturated.

the factory or safari or a number of other makes snorkels are great for allowing air in
but
there are other areas of concern as Louis pointed out.

one guy asked me if having a filter is important, even wet is better than none.
 
Ya the r151 has a vent - it is in the little shift tower - I drilled it out and put a nipple on it and then one of those rubber accordian things. I thought my old bj40 4 speed had a vent - iirc i had two rubber hoses coing off the tranny and transfer into the cabin - could hear gurgling and gear whine, with the smell of gear fluid all the time - maybe not a good idea to run the lines beside the driver.

Try those rubber things - they are great.
 
Oh and seal up your winches! the low profile winches have holes all over them and they are destroyed after a year of playing in water. The 8274 leaks bad as well unless you really seal them well. Check my winch tear down video, and I'll be putting up a rebuild with mod video when everything is back from the powder coater:

YouTube - Warn 8274 winch rebuild series #1, disassembly of winch
 
ForealBoreal said:
I get a kick out of watercrossings as I am thinking about them. I sealed my airbox and snorkel yesterday so its on the mind a bit.
I figured these would be of a good laugh.

I might as well ask to do a crossing? Hi, low what gear?

YouTube - Landcruiser 70 series deep water Nelson NZ 1

and

YouTube - toyota land cruiser or its water cruiser? ランクル70 submarine トヨタ ランドクルーザ

and

YouTube - 70 Series Cruiser Water Crossing
Click to expand...

Make sure everything is sealed. If someone has gone before U give the silt a bit to settle down back to the bottom.
Go as slow as possible . Stay behind the Wave.
Dont use the clutch if u have too cross when the silt is stirred up. U can use it if the water is clear. Put a small Tarp or your girl friends jacket in front of the radiator to slow the water from entering your engine bay.

And ALWAYS, ALWAYS wait for driveline components to cool a bit before the crossing. Dont be egged on by your friends to do stupid things , like go deeper or sleep with the fat girl . You will always get caught.;)
 
Last edited:
Its a pretty mild spot. Not really silty like that s*** you got into at ardbeg crushers. Cobble bottom. every year there is someone that picks a bad line on it and sinks their truck because they unload a wheel or go when the waters too high. I've just never done a water crossing like this on my own. I would say about 5 seconds in the water. Waters been hood deep on a stock beater 4 runner I have seen.

Prado I am planning on doing the tarp thing if I think its needed. Something that can live in the truck drawers. Doesn't hurt to have it in my eyes. My girlfriend would kill me if I did that to her arc'teryx jacket.

Louis I think your talking about those creeperbreathers. The little accordian like ones.
I bought an inline fuel filters for my diffs and transfer case. Chainsaw fuel filter for the e-lockers.
I will be each line into one another (diff-locks with difflocks, diffs with diffs ect).
The H55s breather vents into the shifter boot from what john told me. I will take a look.

Airbox connections have been RTV'd up. I did the little catch can as well. Felt seals are worry some but I am not looking at fording any serious water so I am not worried about. Louis have fun, I'll just admire your videos, you too wayne. My snorkel connection to the airbox wasn't sealed. It just had an O-ring on it!

Louis thanks for the vid I look forward into seeing the rebuild. I think I will go the 8274 route sometime down the road and ditch the xd9000i that I have.
 
I don't know why that guy with the boom truck didn't close his windows, prolly a rented truck I'm guessing!

As far as gearing, I used low range 2nd or 3rd for most of the deep crossings in Alaska. 2nd was actually better to climb up the bank, 3rd was a little too tall. So I would recommend low range 2nd gear.






ForealBoreal said:
I get a kick out of watercrossings as I am thinking about them. I sealed my airbox and snorkel yesterday so its on the mind a bit.
I figured these would be of a good laugh.

I might as well ask to do a crossing? Hi, low what gear?

YouTube - Landcruiser 70 series deep water Nelson NZ 1

and

YouTube - toyota land cruiser or its water cruiser? ランクル70 submarine トヨタ ランドクルーザ

and

YouTube - 70 Series Cruiser Water Crossing
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

DetectiveFat
70s Series Land Cruiser Cup Holder 3D printed.
Replies
5
Views
1K
DetectiveFat
DetectiveFat
B
Desert tan 70s series with 2 following
Replies
1
Views
641
Tennessee Jed
Tennessee Jed
B
2009 Troopy finally in Canada (Tire Question!)
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
Blackwatch1
B
D
Looking for Diesel mechanic in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Replies
11
Views
1K
duncanrm
duncanrm

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom