Sealing Engine for Snorkel

disco1776

Well-known member
Nov 14, 2004
133
0
Richmond, Va
I just installed a safari snorkel on my 96 disco and obviously its not completely ready to be submerged. Besides dropping in a diesel what all should be done to seal off the engine in order to go hood deep in water...and keep driving?
 

Jaime

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2004
641
0
NJ
Don't forget to seal your ECU, and put dielectric grease IN every electrical connection you can find.
 

rovercanus

Well-known member
Apr 24, 2004
9,651
246
Apexdisco said:
How hard was the snorkel install? Any photos?
I did it on my 2000. It's really not hard to do. Cutting sheet metal on a shiny truck really makes people look at you though.
One of the owners of the company I work at had his aunt and uncle touring the shop with him when I had a 3" hole saw to the side of my fender.
 
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Panama Disco

Guest
Jaime said:
Don't forget to seal your ECU, and put dielectric grease IN every electrical connection you can find.

How do you seal the ECU? Any pics?

Peter
 

davidz

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2004
313
0
55
Florida
good question, what is the best way to seal the ecu? i have thought about mounting a tupperware container to the fender well and mounting the ecu in there and using copius amounts of rtv to seal the wires going in, still in planning stages though, anyone else?
 
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Moose

Guest
Tupperware, silicone sealant, and a couple grommets is a good idea. Use dielectric grease in there too to protect it almost 100%.


Andy
 
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Disco-Kings

Guest
Theres lots of sealing you can do.

Distributor. Take your cap off clean well and silicone the cap back on. Get a Distributor boot from a '78-91 Ford car V8s. Use the di-electric grease on all connections. Spray with silicone seal.

Extend all your breather lines. Diff, Trans... I'm sure there is more but its dinner time :D

PS Pics of some homemade ECU boxes would be cool.
 
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blur212

Guest
what are the major things that one would have to seal, silicone, etc to protect against water?
 

Jaime

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2004
641
0
NJ
Panama Disco said:
How do you seal the ECU? Any pics?

Peter

I soaked my ECU on 2 separate occasions, and both times I had to take the thing apart and let it dry in the sun before the truck would start again. On a D1, the ECU is mounted on the the right side of the engine bay, and the bottom of the box can get wet.

What I did to seal it was to take the ECU case apart and sealed all the seams with Hylomar. I also blobbed some Hylomar on the bottom drain. I'm playing for keeps here, and counting on the fact that since no water is going in, no need for a drain. I used Hylomar because its supposed to stay soft, so it should be possible to easily open the ECU case in the future.

I also put dielectric grease in the mating surfaces of the ECU connectors.

I've had the ECU sealed for about 6 months now, and got into several heavy water crossings that would have caused me concern with the unsealed unit, but were not a problem at all.

The only thing that gives me a little worry is the possibility of condensation forming inside the ECU and any negative effect that may have in a sealed environment.
 
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syoung

Guest
I have seen people seal circuit boards with clear fingernail polish. I don't know if that's a good idea, but it worked well on a camera system we used to hang off the side of a helicopter. I think when the system went into production, they coated them with something more exotic... What about that liquid vinyl stuff? Seems that if the boards were sealed, less problems. Some components in high vibration/moisture environments are sealed in epoxy. Anyone want to risk their ECU and try it? :D
 
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ducati

Guest
Some hifi manufacturers dip their circuits in epoxy--they say it helps prevent vibration from affecting the signal, but in reality it's probably as much to prevent prying eyes from deonstructing their circuits.

I suspect you could do the same--dip the entire thing in epoxy. Nothing's going to get in or out.
 

rmuller

Well-known member
Apr 28, 2004
4,452
1
Northern NJ
www.njlr.org
i wont bother starting a new thread, since this is kind of on topic.. but where do you guys buy dielectric grease and what brand? I was at Pepboys and didn't see anything.. thanks!
 

Jaime

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2004
641
0
NJ
As far as dipping boards in epoxy - I think the rover board is coated, but there are a couple of boards and they are wired together, so i think the connections is where the water causes problems.

Ryan

CRC makes a dielectric grease that comes in a pressurized can. I think permatex also markets one as 'tune-up' grease. And you can also get something at Home depot called Noalux that is way cheaper.
 
S

syoung

Guest
Maybe use that "electrical tape in a can" liquid vinyl on the connectors... I've used it before when sealing stuff and it works well as long as it's not flexed a lot.
I might try gooping the plugs in the engine compartment with dielectric, then coating the outside of them with vinyl to seal in the grease...
Just hope I have better luck than the Kursk. I'm still cleaning the muddy water crap out of my Freelander from that little roll thingie. :D
 
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ducati

Guest
I'm not saying dip the boards in epoxy--I mean dip the whole damn thing in epoxy. Make it a brick of Epoxy. Wilson Audio uses a similar process with their crossovers, as does MIT in their termination network boxes.