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Proper Waterproofing Methods

C

Chewy

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 4, 2000
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Location
Parker, Colorado, USA
I was just curious about what things I need to do, if any, before running through deep water. I found some trails here in Colorado that look very fun. The water isn't super deep, actually the water probably wouldn't cover my whole tire. I just want to be prepared before I end up having to let my truck dry for a week. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks


chewie.gif
'87 Beast
Colorado, USA
 
Might wanna get a snorkel? Here's a site on a homemade one. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/snorkel/>http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/snorkel/</A>

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seal the shifter area i went in some deep water and it started gushing in through both of my shifter boots. i am running a sm465 and np205 combo

s.smith 77blazer lookin 4 mud
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Take off the distributor cap and run a bead of RTV where it seals, and extend the vent lines for the tranny and axles up to a high dry place.

90K5

See my truck at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Albumindex?u=1329584&a=9886502>http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Albumindex?u=1329584&a=9886502</A>
 
I have had lots of experience running in deep water. Most of these lessons were learned the hard way( I even lost my pants one night, but thats another story). Here a few free pointers ( remember you get what you pay for
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).

1. plan on re-packing your front wheel bearings, if any water gets in, it will toast your wheel bearings in short order. ( there is nothing more fun than torching a frozen bearing off your spindle). Check the rest of your fluids for water after your done.

2. make sure your vent tubes for your axle, t-case, etc are located as high as possible.

3. make sure your air intake is not pulling from your grill. Water won't compress like air and can cause catastrophic failure if you ingest to much. Point your air intake toward the fire wall if possible.

4. don't drive to fast. speed will not get you through any faster, it just creates a spray of water that will get in places you don't want it.

5. If you playing in deep puddles, a little silicon around the dist. cap will help keep it dry.

6. Hook your recovery strap up to the rear of K5, and put the excess in the back of your truck before you get stuck. ( mud hole diving to hook up a recovery strap sucks)

7. Have a ball and get really dirty
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<font color=red> Elkboy</font color=red>
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Do you remeber how deep some of these crossings are? Are we going to have to fish for Jordan's Ford if he trys it?
Ah what the hell I've never caught a Ford before. :)
 
everything that I have read so far sounds good but you might also want to invest in an electric fan so you don't flex the blades of your fan foreward and cut a hole in your radiator. also get a tube of dielectric grease, pull apart all of your plugs, terminals, etc. and lube them all. dielectric grease in a conductive waterproof grease meant for waterproofing electrical joints and eliminating corrosion.
Dan
without a blazer any more

<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
 
all these suggestions are great so far, but if you are going real deep...

return spring on the oil/tranny dipsticks. the pressure will increase in the block from the surrounding water and pop the dipstick out, letting water in.

vent the power steering pump... a tight seal on the cap to prevent water from getting in will also prevent it from venting.

the distributor cap also has to vent...after you seal off the base extend a line as high as the rest of the vent lines and snorkel.
(you should have six vent lines by now.)

rip out your carpet...it will get wet and start to smell after awhile. besides adding hundreds of pounds of dead weight.

then youll need a bilge pump located in the lowest point in the floorboard.

good luck,
MTPockets.
ps. life jackets are optional equipment. :)
 
Yes, dielectric grease isn't conductive that's way you put it under the control module
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. I would also put some drain plugs in the floor so the water can get out quickly, but cant come in.

Murphy's Laws on Life :
"Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune time."
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Actually, you're both sorta right. Dielectric grease is an excellent thermal conductor. It's also a very poor electrical conductor.
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<font color=black>HarryH3 - '75 K5</font color=black>
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://ThunderTruck.ColoradoK5.com>http://ThunderTruck.ColoradoK5.com</A>
 
I'd rather hear the hum of the electric fan, than hear the stocker trying to be a prop and rip the radiator a new [censored] not to mention slinging water all over the place

Murphy's Laws on Life :
"Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune time."
smile14.gif
 
The water crossing to the other trails would be cool and all but not if I have to get an electric fan. For short crossing it should be fine no?
 
I bought some of MSD's Spark Guard, which is made to put inside the sparkplug and distributor cap boots. It looks like dielectric grease to me and works fine. By the way if your truck starts to run bad after a few minutes of running with the sealed distributor cap try removing the silicone and look for a vented cap, seal that, remove the vent cap and run a line to high ground. I've seen a few trucks run bad because of this, has to do with negatively charged ions building up in the cap or something.
 
you'd think that an electric fan would be a little much until you run in just a tad too deep and run a big hole through your radiator because your fan hit the water and flexed foreward. Dont laugh, it happened to two rigs in our local club a few years back, an almost stock saurai and a suburban with a 4"lift and 35" tires, Sami first and Sub next trying to pull the sami out of the hole. two tow bills to civilization 45 miles away arent very cheap and neither are radiators.
Dan
Without a Blazer anymore

<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
 
These are all great ideas, but I'm not going swimming on the bottom of the ocean. Alot of these things sound like I only need to worry if I am going to submerge my entire truck. The deepest I would want to go is maybe floorboard high. What specific worries for that deep?

chewie.gif
'87 Beast
Colorado, USA
 
Still run the bead of silicone around the cap, water has stalled my engine on the street because of that. Might want to run the vent lines up too.

90K5

See my truck at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Albumindex?u=1329584&a=9886502>http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Albumindex?u=1329584&a=9886502</A>
 
Vent lines, vent lines, vent lines, I cannot stress this enough vent everything that breathes to a high spot. I would run them up behind the carb and attach them to the firewall and label them so that you know what is what them get el cheapo $0.99 volkswagen type fuel filters and plug the end of every line with those so that dust and mud cannot get down the lines and plug them.
turn the breather tube on your carb so that it is inhaling from the back of the engine during these times so you don't take the chance of soaking your air filter.

<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
 
Just a thought, 'cause I never tried it, but how about slipping a cover over the radiator just before you dip into the water. A sized piece of 1/4 plywood slips right in front of mine (for winter - not water). If the water doesn't come rushing through the radiator the fan "should" keep relatively dry (enough not to imitate the prop on your bass boat).
 
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