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water wheeling questions

79bonanza

79bonanza

1/2 ton status
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Georgetown, Kentucky
ok guys ive been watching alot of wheelin videos of guys going threw deep water. i know for wheelin in the water you should route all your breathers up high enough where they wont get water in them and try to keep good seals and clean fluid in the axles im just wondering if theres anything else im missing.

im going to run a sm465 and np205 so i dont think water will effect them to bad if i put new seals in them and keep the fluid changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHFuWm7msz4
this is a old video but it has to be my favorite haha
 
If you go through deep water, it WILL get into everything that goes under. The seals were designed to keep stuff in, not out.
But, as long as you keep it moving regularly, it should not hurt anything until you can change the fluid.
Although water is not good in a transmission or axle, it does its worst damage when the unit is stopped for a while.
All the steel above the oil will begin to rust. Pitting gears and bearings. As long as they stay moving, it keeps a fresh coating of oil on them

Down in the river swamp where I have my hunting cabin, the river flows across the main road when it hits 18 feet at the local gage.
I can get in and out with my truck up to 21.5 feet. This is about as high as we try it.
But, some of the good ol boys go in and out a coupe of feet above that.
They tie a big piece of plywood from the bumper down at an angle.
When they go through the water, they go at a speed that lets the sheet of plywood deflect the water away from the truck.
Do that fast enough, and you can drive thorough a lot deeper water than you would think.

Just don't stop.
 
ok first that video is awsome haha, the only thing i would be worried about is the clutch slipping when it gets wet being in the water, any advice on that part or anything. would a automatic be better
 
79bonanza said:
ok first that video is awsome haha, the only thing i would be worried about is the clutch slipping when it gets wet being in the water, any advice on that part or anything. would a automatic be better
Click to expand...

The automatic can get water in it (as mentioned, seals can easily let water in) and it will be ruined rather than just having to wait out a wet clutch. There will be tons of people that can atone to having driven an auto through water but this is another instance where the manual holds up better.
 
Unless you like changing fluids and doing expensive repairs, STAY OUT of the water. You never know what can and will happen when you hit the deep stuff.
 
no water = bad stuff.

lots of redo on fluids and tons of problems later.

friend told me years ago..... its a mud truck not a water truck. :whistle:
 
Theres way more important stuff to worry about than water in the trans/diffs with water crossings. Like greasing your electrical connections to deflect water so the truck doesnt short and go dead in the middle of 5 feet of water.

That being said the comments about seals keeping oil in not water out is very true but generally you'll be fine if you keep moving.

One truck that I did to my truck that I've never seen anyone else do was water proof the top of the sm465 at the shifter. Stock it vents out the shifter and has a rinky dink boot on it. Most trucks dont even have the boot anymore from wear. What I did was get a rack and pinion replacement boot from autozone, cut it in half and slide it down the shifter. The TRE hole is perfect for the thing shifter its self and the other end is perfect for the case of the top plate. Throw some clamps on and its one more place for water to enter.
 
Don't forget your distributor, and intake system, make sure they are protected from water intake, and do not shut off the engine or water will back up through the exhaust. And make a radiator fan shutoff if you have electric, or have a very rigid steel blade fan. The thinner fans may suck themselves into the radiator...Been there.
 
76zimmer said:
Don't forget your distributor, and intake system, make sure they are protected from water intake, and do not shut off the engine or water will back up through the exhaust.
Click to expand...


Ya know what, lets raise a subject I've always thought to be BS but I've heard from many people.

RTV'ing the dizzy cap on. I've heard that while it will waterproof the cap and rotor that technically it needs to be open to the air to vent some sort of by product of the constant collapse and connection that can over long runs lead to a bad connection in the cap.
 
it all depends on how deep you plan on going,

always have your lady topless:thumb:

if you know that you will have to change you fuilds and pack ur bareing after its no big deal

i did it for 13 plus years, i like to change all my fliuds after a great river run motor oil even if i dont need to i never had any problems with my tranny getting water
 
Stay out of the deep water and you'll stay out of trouble.
Up to the rocker panels is as deep as I'll ever go.

river crossing.jpg
 
79bonanza said:
ok guys ive been watching alot of wheelin videos of guys going threw deep water. i know for wheelin in the water you should route all your breathers up high enough where they wont get water in them and try to keep good seals and clean fluid in the axles im just wondering if theres anything else im missing.

im going to run a sm465 and np205 so i dont think water will effect them to bad if i put new seals in them and keep the fluid changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHFuWm7msz4
this is a old video but it has to be my favorite haha
Click to expand...

That's not wheeling, that's boating. Get a boat.
 
well i do have electric fans on my truck or i did befor haha, i was thinking and i prolly wont go threw water that will get over the transmission hump in the cab, i dont think id be brave enought to go threw anything deeper. as far as electrical connections i dont think i would have any problems with what would be in the water. im thinking like the starter and where my underhood harness goes into the cab but i could silicone the crap out of it in a attempt to water proof it, is there any other electrical im forgetting about besides my distributor( ive never heard of the rtv on the dist cap, sounds like a good idea but would be a pain to get back off)
 
you generally want to leave the distributor cap alone. sealing it up will cause a build up and can affect the connections over time. One trick I saw was to slap a diaper over it :laugh:
 
It does raise hell with the starter too. Especially if it is a sandy water hole.
Yep been there too. I haven't had any noticeable water in my drivetrain though. Manual trans, and an old closed knuckle front. All was rebuilt recently though.
 
You can seal a distributor with RTV and put in a vent tube out the top.
 
Even if the water doesnt go over the trans hump, remember that while you are moving forward, water is sloshing up into the engine bay from the tires moving and the crossmembers pushing through the water. Make sure the intake is sealed up. Run a snorkel or something. Dont use the stock radiator support intake. Cuz when you plow into the water, guess where its gonna go. I'd still seal the dizzy, it takes but a slosh of water to foul one up and your stuck. But you need to look at your PCV, oil breathers, dipstick(s), and vacuum ports. Everything else can fixed once you're up on dry land. But you foul the engine and it could get expensive to haul it out and fix it.
 
i've driven headlight deep through a river. took off my fan to avoid damage and a guy with us thought i was crazy. he didn't think so after i had to pull is jeep out because the fan cut the belts and radiator when it slapped the water and bent.

i had check valves on all my vent tubes since i like mudding (fish tank bubbler valves from the pet store, about $1 each) so my fluids stayed water-free.

electrical connections; i have most things rerouted to relays inside my cab so they were relatively safe. the few connections i had concern with are sealed up with plasti-dip. great stuff. dizzy was (and still is) totally stock. no greases of silicone but i wrapped some electrical tape around it just for the crossing.
 
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