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Water Proofing Dizzy / plugs etc

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:46 am
by Draven
Hey guys,

Just wondering what everyone uses to water proof plugs etc, grease?

Thanks

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:00 am
by ozy1
had a shorty MQ that used to get badly affected by a splach of water, in the end i used a rubber glove with the finger tips cut off to seal the distributor, garden hose over the leads and sealed up with selaz and heat shrink

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 11:59 am
by -Mick-
Make sure you get a genuine ARB glove though cause the cheap ones don't seal properly :lol: :D

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 1:20 pm
by dumbdunce
get a diesel, then you never have to worry about plugs/leads/distributors.


or don't drive in water. :armsup:

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 1:25 pm
by grimbo
the rubber glove trick works well. Also make a splash guard out of a plastic bottle this works well too. Also marine grease around the dissy cap and plugs. You can also get leads that have better sealing than others depends on brand and type of vehicle tho.

Also don't drive fast thru water. if you take it slow enough to vreate a small bow wave this should keep water out of the engine bay even if it is a deep crossing. It is when you break momentum or go flying thru that water starts getting flung around the engine

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 4:05 pm
by Draven
Would normal bearing grease work ?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 4:10 pm
by spazbot
what if you have a v8, can you get a 9 fingered glove ?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 4:21 pm
by grimbo
spazbot wrote:what if you have a v8, can you get a 9 fingered glove ?


Tasmania :D

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 5:45 pm
by marin
what about those people running endless air, can't they run airlines (regulated) to such things as dizzy cap, bell housings etc, can't solve the dizzy plugs though

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 6:57 pm
by zooki
Dielectric grease that is used in electronics on heat sinks smeared liberally on plugs and cap before fitting leads back on works well. Permatex even market a tube of the stuff as especially for it, silicone the dizzy cap on as well, Grease can sometimes melt and go runny making the problem worse

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:16 pm
by Rainbow Warrior
I put my coil inside a Tuperware box, problem solved.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:28 pm
by Red Rover
i've never had that problem with coils, leads etc BUT WE ALWAYS KEEP OURS CLEAN :armsup: unlike some sparky that will remain nameless :finger:

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:36 pm
by Rainbow Warrior
Red Rover wrote:i've never had that problem with coils, leads etc BUT WE ALWAYS KEEP OURS CLEAN :armsup: unlike some sparky that will remain nameless :finger:


Too clean, It's a disgrace to put Claws on that showpony, then shy away from a good mudhole :finger:

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:18 pm
by Heathx4
I've had that problem on my MQ after a slow, deepish, muddy water crossing. Came out the other side with only 5 cylinders firing. I actually touched the rubber on one of the plugs on the dizzy (perhaps to check it was wet) and was given a nice old electric kick for my efforts.

It came fine after a few minutes of revving, when it all dried up, but I'm glad the crossing wasn't longer!

I've sprayed the whole lot with plenty of WD40 (which is a water repelling agent as well as the rest of its fine repertoire), but can't say I've really tested it. Anyone care to comment on whether this makes much of a difference?

If I was serious I'd go the rubber or plastic sheilding I reckon, since the dizzy really doesn't get hot.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:42 pm
by bazzle
This is what I did on my prev petrol Mav.

Keep all leads, terminals etc clean. Use silicon polish.
Use good quality 8mm leads, with tight plug boots and tight dizzy cap boots.
In the past I used Jacobs from the USA. Now in Aust.
On cap ensure "o" ring under cap is in good condition.
remove rubber plug on top of cap and run a hose to dirty side of aircleaner pipe.
On bottom of distrib is a drain hole. Tap and put a barb and hose. Run to a cheap petrol filter on firewall etc.

Dont use grease as it attracts dust which then absorbs water.

Bazzle :cool:

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:43 am
by 80UTE
On standard engines use the oem stuff of if you have a V8 the Bosch electronic ignitions system seens to be the most reliable together with a set of high quality leads like magnacor's these a usually custom made and use a stainless steel wire core and excellent boots.

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:52 am
by sascot
:D try DENSO TAPE, a cloth tape impregnated with a light grease. We use for water proofing and rust inhibition in the navy. moulds to any shape and lasts for yrs. ;)

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 9:13 am
by Guy
good plug leads (the ones with molded boots work a treat) and die-electrice grease has worked for me.

To much WD-40 will cause hesitation etc, and I have seen a dizzy cap get blown apart by the WD spray being ignited inside the cap (remeber there are sparks in there) also WD spray can cause tracing & crossfire (two plugs fireing at the same time). If you must give it a light spary to get rid of any water, then wipe the cap out with a rag.
Also make sure your plug leads are clean, a bit of WD spray on a rag and give em a wipe down will remove all the greasy stuff and will help with inductive crossfire (where the electrical charge in one lead "leaks" into the other lead, on some old cars if you open the bonnet at night with the headlights off and the motor running you will see this .. it look like one of those "lightening balls" ..

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:17 pm
by zooki
sascot wrote::D try DENSO TAPE, a cloth tape impregnated with a light grease. We use for water proofing and rust inhibition in the navy. moulds to any shape and lasts for yrs. ;)


Thanks for that, I was looking at some of that stuff at work today and wondered what the hell it was for :D

Silicon Grease

Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 1:52 pm
by jasonmcc
I used Dow Corning DC-4, which is a silicon grease we use at work on aircraft. Pulled the boots back on all leads and covered the grease everywhere then pushed all the boots back down. Same for the dissy cap smeared grease in all the lead holes and around the base of the cap.

I havent had a single miss from water now and have driven through some pretty deep water.

Cheers

Jason

Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:54 pm
by flat4