Deep Watercrossings in 70s

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5 seconds?
just drive the damn thing then, here i thought you were talking serious water crossings.
 
seriously, guys get so carried away with their trucks. worse case, you need to change the fluids when you get home.

but

different strokes for different folks.

me, i drive what i have and plan on changing the fluids (still better than the false sense of security all the plumbing gives you)

relax and enjoy.
 
Ah I just want to prevent the water contamination.
If it happens no biggie. Change the fluids.
I just like doing preventative measures.
Should be a good summer, its going to be nice having a capable rig.
 
We don't check the water depth prior to a crossing, we send Louis out first and if he comes back we know the rest of us have a chance of making it. lol
Louis, I'm still waiting for my diff protectors to show up, then I'm ready for Crag Lake
 
lol, I prefer to not wing it with my truck and fluids, I run redline fluids and don't have waynes bankroll to change them out all the time:)

Ya I'm the guinea pig/water depth tester:) I have fun with it - but up to the windshield and can't help but pucker a bit.

Drive shafts go in for balancing tomorrow, skid plate goes on, rear hub bearing change, birf service and then ready to go - should be ready by friday. H20 intercooler isn't hooked up yet but that ok for now.
 
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...

But if the water completely covers the battery I would think that everything would short circuit in the car, am I correct? Does that mean that the fuel solenoide valve is a "normally-open" valve - otherwise the car wouldn't move??

Lucas
 
Nope. Water is not as good a conductor as a piece of wire after all. if we were talking high voltage it would be a little different. But 12V does not short much with water.

I have had an optima sit underwater for over two days. once we fished the rig out, the battery cranked the motor.

Water can affect the current flowing to electronics enough to affect how they work. and it will short out the high voltage of the ignition system on a gasser.

I *have* had voltage leakage prevent a rig from cranking when I hit the key. But everything was under the water. (A mini-truck with a 22RE... the top of the dash was about 6 inches under water and when I turned the key everything glowed and buzzed weakly, bit that was it.)

Normal submergence during a fording will not result in this, and a battery will not short out just from being submerged. Water proof any electronics and ignition systems that you have an you can submerge as deep as your snorkel will allow.


Mark...
 
Off topic: There was some Toyota promotional sales gimmick in the late 70's/early 80's where divers drove a BJ40 (with extended snorkel and exhaust pipes) totally underwater in a couple locations in Canada. They had fun driving it totally submerged for a while, then would drive it out. I think it was one of the divers that had it on his website years ago, but it seems to have been lost into etherland.

On Topic: Louis. Have you had a wheeling season with those accordion vent tubes yet, or did you change over to them this last fall.

I brought together my rear axle, to the t-case, tied in the front axle, and extended it all up into the highest spot in the engine bay and ended with an inline filter. Things were still good after ACT2006, with no need to change. Hub seals...all of it. Lots of water crossings. Maybe I got lucky though.

gb
 
Off topic: There was some Toyota promotional sales gimmick in the late 70's/early 80's where divers drove a BJ40 (with extended snorkel and exhaust pipes) totally underwater in a couple locations in Canada. They had fun driving it totally submerged for a while, then would drive it out. I think it was one of the divers that had it on his website years ago, but it seems to have been lost into etherland.

On Topic: Louis. Have you had a wheeling season with those accordion vent tubes yet, or did you change over to them this last fall.

I brought together my rear axle, to the t-case, tied in the front axle, and extended it all up into the highest spot in the engine bay and ended with an inline filter. Things were still good after ACT2006, with no need to change. Hub seals...all of it. Lots of water crossings. Maybe I got lucky though.

gb

I hope if I plumb stuff right I can avoid water contamination to the fluids. Amsoil is expensive s***!
As for my knuckles. Well regular greasing will take place!
 
ForBor, you are far enough north that this trick would probably work for you.

when you drain your water contaminated gear lube, save out and leave it outside in the winter. A good hard freeze (very hard, not just a little below freezing) will separate the oil and water... thaw it, drain the water from the bottom and the oil is ready to be reused.

Synthetic should separate even easier.

I have a Royal Purple sales rep who swears that their gear oil will not emulsify. He told me that about their motor oil and I proved him wrong. I have not tried it with the gear lube yet.


Mark...
 
ForBor, you are far enough north that this trick would probably work for you.

when you drain your water contaminated gear lube, save out and leave it outside in the winter. A good hard freeze (very hard, not just a little below freezing) will separate the oil and water... thaw it, drain the water from the bottom and the oil is ready to be reused.

Synthetic should separate even easier.

I have a Royal Purple sales rep who swears that their gear oil will not emulsify. He told me that about their motor oil and I proved him wrong. I have not tried it with the gear lube yet.


Mark...

Pretty mild here on the coast. Terrace would probably work, it gets freaking cold there:meh:
 
Mark,
interesting, it doesn't get cold enough here to try it but it does make sense.
Greg,
excellent, i was planning on a similar setup for this troopie.
Louis,
got a link to those rubber thingies?
 
ForBor, ya it's a good idea to seal everything up, open diffs with some water in the fluid is one thing, diffs with an ARB air locker do not like water - same goes with the E lockers - they don't like water at all.

Wayne, I got the things from national - they are actually a white rubber like material that shouldnt break down with oil and UV.
 
I'm still skeptical on those breathers because your making a closed system. Better to let stuff breathe in my eyes.
Condensation?

I'll be running my lines in a few hours here.
 
hummm, not sure if i agree with sealing it completely.
i will think this over a bit yet, thanks guys for posting the link.

cheers
 
I think the condensation would be pretty limited - there is water in the air anyway - especially out west:) I've run raised lines for years with no real problems, just trying these things out to see how they work.
 
I’ve done my share of water crossings, usually just brief river/creek crossings nothing of the distance shown in the above videos. But I’ve had water over the hood of our 80(a bit scary considering I didn’t have a snorkel) it crested the hood for only a few seconds. I’ve ‘drowned’ my FJ55 in a deep hole, (water running in the driver’s window and out the passengers, hood under water about a foot) failure to walk the river first, just being in a hurry, stopped us for a few hours, waiting to dry everything out. Wife was not pleased.

Depth, I can deal with…it’s the current that scares me. These rivers and creeks, you can walk across in the summer and fall, but it’s the spring run-off that brings them up, and the current can push the vehicle around.

My usual plan of action is to try and keep the current from broad-siding the vehicle. I try to enter at an angle, facing downstream preferably; this keeps the current on my side, instead of working against me and forcing water higher/deeper over the top of the hood. This isn’t always possible due to the conditions of the river bank etc. I’ve begged off a few times due to the current, and had to head back from whence I came…I’m usually solo and have learned a few lessons, albeit the hard way (see above)

I was wondering what some of you have to say on the subject of the strength of the river current, have you seen a vehicle pushed over? I’ve been lifted and floated downstream further than I wanted, but managed to get to shallower water and drive back up the bank to the “exit” but that’s not a good feeling. Is there a rule of thumb or gut check you have for an attempt on a crossing with a strong current?

Dan
 
i have watched a LC cross a spring creek flow and a CJ7 float down the same spot.

currents are something i respect completely, i am not concerned as much about depth.
 

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