Water crossing/Distributor worries?

[dansedgli]

Hi guys, I did a search and didnt come up with much. It seems no matter what I search for I get 100 billion threads to read.

Im picking up my new maverick tomorrow. Im new at 4 wheeling as well.

Whats the deal with going through deep puddles of water? The maverick has a snorkel on it but wouldnt the dizzy and stuff get full of water and make the car run like a bag of crap?

What needs to be done to successfully cross a deepish river or deep water filled rut?

A few weeks back a mate went through a rut too hard in his '98 pathfinder and bent a rod.

Thanks!
Dan

[wrksux]

you can seal up the dizzy with silcon and built in a breather tube, the other thing to check is diff breathers and transfer/gearbox breathers. thats the one thing i didnt check on that mav, also search for a thread on presurised drive train, you can run sub 5psi into your dizzy, gearbox, diffs to help keep water out during long or deep water crossings

[David_S]

For an excellent four part series on river crossings go to the Nelson NZ 4WD Club's site at http://4wdnz.net/index.php and look under 4x4 articles.

Part 1 covers vehicle preparation, Part 2 Choosing a crossing, Part 3 The Crossing itself and Part 4 Post-crossing tasks.

I know it is an excellent article as ...cough! cough!.... I wrote it myself for the Marlborough 4WD Club newsletter!!! The Nelson Club picked it up and posted it on their website. I don't think Peter has yet got around to posting Part 4 so if you like Parts 1, 2 & 3 and want to read Part 4 drop me an e-mail and I will send it to you.

It was specifically written for the fast flowing rocky rivers we have in the South Island of NZ but most of it, especially Part 1, is applicable to all river and water crossings.

I would be interested in feedback from anyone who reads it - criticisms, additions, corrections etc.

Cheers

David

PS My avatar shows my petrol engined Patrol on a deep crossing.

[rOd]

A good old fashion tarp used as a "blind" has always worked for me.

And also common sense. If you dont need to go through it, dont!

[krimnl]

seal up the cap on the mav , there are also 2 holes in the bottom of the dissy make sure you seal them aswell , i run a tube from the dissy to the air intake to keep any condensation out. and if you can go around go around , it works out sooooo much cheaper

[David_S]

A good old fashion tarp used as a "blind" has always worked for me.

And also common sense. If you dont need to go through it, dont!

I consider a "blind" essential for petrol engines. Recommended for diesels also as the modern plastic fans can propellor themselves into the radiator.

As for common sense it was Chesterton who said that "the trouble with common sense is that it is not very common."

David

[bogged]

A good old fashion tarp used as a "blind" has always worked for me.

And also common sense. If you dont need to go through it, dont!

Very good advice - both bits..

Lady driving a pathfinder in our club I had on my last Huts trip used a blind with great success.

take ya time and dont try and break the sound barrier on ya way thru

[meiamaro]

Yes if you can go around do so,i've learnt the hard way(blown motor).

But if you need to,My last 4by way a petrol.
i used a small car tube cut to lenght and slide it over the dizzywith the leads out of the top,cable tie or similar at each end to seal,make sure your plug leads are in good cond and a tight fit.
Move your coil upto top of fire wall,(i added a plastic splash cover).
Make sure,check yourself that all breathers(incl fuel tank cap) and snorkle are sealed.Make the effort to get it right and then therse no worrie's, just enjoy.

Cheers Ian.

[GQ Bear]

Hi guys, I did a search and didnt come up with much. It seems no matter what I search for I get 100 billion threads to read.

Im picking up my new maverick tomorrow. Im new at 4 wheeling as well.

Whats the deal with going through deep puddles of water? The maverick has a snorkel on it but wouldnt the dizzy and stuff get full of water and make the car run like a bag of crap?

What needs to be done to successfully cross a deepish river or deep water filled rut?

A few weeks back a mate went through a rut too hard in his '98 pathfinder and bent a rod.

Thanks!
Dan

Just start at the beginning like you should anything new. Have some fun on easier tracks where you won't do severe damage or kill yourself. Then progressively try harder terrains.

Theres more to this 4wheelin' caper than tying up your dizzy in a plastic bag to stop water. The best lessons are sometimes learnt the hard way. And you definately get to know your truck better as you experience its (and yours) limitations and gremlins.

if you've got mates who are experienced hopefully they'll teach you, not just push you and laugh when you f**k up! If not, do a driver training course.

As the Faith No More song Ricochet says; "It's always funny until someone gets hurt...and then it's just hilarious!"

[dansedgli]

Thanks guys, Ill seal up the dizzy on the weekend.

We dont really do big river crossings as such but we do go across some deep ruts full of water.

My mates are more the kind to push you further then laugh rather than sit back and take an easier path. Its not so bad for them as they all have cheaper cars which they dont mind doing damage too. The zook has already been rolled once after only 2 months of ownership. I wanted something cheap as well so I could give it a hard time and not worry so much but I also needed a towing capable rig so I had to go with the mav.

Ive got a nice little list of things to do before I head out now.

Thanks for the help guys.
Dan

[bogged]

My mates are more the kind to push you further, then laugh rather than sit back and take an easier path.

Then be man enough to say to them, Im not going to fuck my car for your entertainment, and take the bypass. It is quite easy when you try.

[dansedgli]

I have learned to deal with them now so not to worry. They tend to get a bit silly around my toys. I used to leave my 300rwkw AU falcon at home and drive my Mum's car to parties to stop them hassling me to take them around the block or let them drive.

In the end it would be me losing out. Im a bit more sedate when it come to using motor vehicles.

[Heathx4]

Hi guys, I did a search and didnt come up with much. It seems no matter what I search for I get 100 billion threads to read.

Click the "all terms" radio button.

Whats the deal with going through deep puddles of water?

How deep? You mention ruts - a rut wouldn't be deeper than about half a wheel tall right? That's not real deep water if you're going slow.

The maverick has a snorkel on it but wouldnt the dizzy and stuff get full of water and make the car run like a bag of crap?

Yep. A snorkle helps prevent hydraulic lock and the end of your engine. That'll piss you off much more than a wet dizzy. However, a wet dizzy still sucks bad.

What needs to be done to successfully cross a deepish river or deep water filled rut?

A blind, walking the route first, going slow enough to not splash too much, but fast enough to create a bow wave in front of the car and a bit more practice on easier stuff. As others have said, once you have a bit of experience you can probably make some informed decisions on whether you want to pressurize your dizzy, silicone it, add a rubber cover, move the coil, sheild anything or add breathers.

Oh yeah, and the point about your diff and g'box breathers is important too - water in your drive train wont be as immediately obvious as in the dizzy. It'll be pretty obvious when it seizes though. If you do a deep crossing without modifying the breathers, drop the diff and g'box oil and check for water. Gives you a chance to replace the oil and do some maintenance too.

[dansedgli]

Click the "all terms" radio button.

Ahhh that works much better. Thanks mate. Ill be busy at work tomorrow

How deep? You mention ruts - a rut wouldn't be deeper than about half a wheel tall right? That's not real deep water if you're going slow.

I should have been more specific. So far the most water we have been through have been ruts that are maybe 2-3 metres in length. On more than 1 occasion the sierra has gotten stuck in water that is just above the lower window line. Strangely enough the suzuki doesnt ever seem to run funny once its dragged out.

I was mainly concerned because of an old car I had. It was an EB falcon and I cracked a bolt on the thermostat housing and water leaked onto the dizzy and the car was nearly undriveable. I would hate for something similar to happen out in the bush.

[chimpboy]

I don't know if this has been covered already but don't trust anyone else's snorkel installation or even the stock air intake components. Go over everything yourself and tape up all the joins to make 200% sure the system is sealed from the snorkel ram to the carby.

The stock nissan plumbing is not air tight. Most snorkel installations aren't airtight (or watertight) either.

Jason

[V8Patrol]

you can seal up the dizzy with silcon

This is a big NO NO !

the dizzy is designed to "breath" thats why there are holes in the body of most dizzys, sealing it up with a drying sealant will enhance condensation issues further down the track....... and its a bytch to remove the cap once silicon is dry !

Use "vasoline petroleum jelly", ( availible at the supermarket in the beauty section usually ). Its a thin grease like product that wont dry hard and wont effect the engine oils if it enters the lubrication system accidently.

Also apply some to each end of the plug leads so a seal is obtained between both the sparkplub itself and the dizzy cap, this will stop water shorting out the spark. For added protection get some small zip ties and ziptie the rubber boots on the sparkplug leads to the actual lead...... water hitting the leads under pressure can enter the boot from the lead side and then short the spark out, the ziptie will enhance that seal so it doesnt happen.