Wateproofing advice

[NorCalDiscoII]

Did search on the board, but can't find anything comprehensive on the subject of waterproofing. Safari snorkel is next in line, but now I'm wondering if that's all I need (03' DII)??? So can someone clarify the following:

1) What inside the engine compartment needs to be sealed and how?
2) What inside the cabin needs to be "plugged" and how?
3) Is it realistic to expect no water in the cabin driving in 3'+ deep water?

I'm not planning to go swimming or anything, just an occasional creek or a mud-hole, but I hit some easy trails this weekend with a couple Tacomas and with all the rain up in NorCal we found plenty of 3'-4' deep water/mud holes. I stayed clear, not really sure what to expect from my truck? Anything you guys can share about driving in deep water and keeping it outside the truck would be appreciated!

 

[Andrew Homan]

I used dialectric grease on my electrical connectors under hood. Seemed to help a lot also prevents corrosion. Just buy a tube from napa. I used it on every connector I could get to.

Cheers Andy 95 d1

 

[DeanBrown3D]

0. Make sure you get the snorkel.

1. Look in the engine bay and around the transmission, and unplug every single electircal connector you can find, fill it with Nolux (home depot) and put it back. Include the spark plugs.

2. Put tape over the drain holes on the bottom of each of the 4 doors. There are either 2 or 3 (back or front) on each door. Remove after end of trip. Silicone shut the slit in the door seals. Check seal integrity. Check rubber boot where main harness comes in through behind kick panel, generally its ok unless you have threaded more wires through it yourself and opened the hole.

3. When entering water, be very strict in your plan to get removed in case you get stuck. Assume you will get stuck. Be prepared with already-secured straps on front and back and fast ways to grab them and attach to another vehicle (faster) or a winch if you're really really stuck. Be sure your buddies know exactly what to do, and are willing to jump into cold muddy water to get to your car, as you should not have to get out of your seat if this is done properly. The best sight to see when you are sitting in 4 feet of water, is someone running towards you with a strap and a big hook. Hooks are much faster than shackles when in a panic situation, as you will find out if your shackle is stuck closed. Everyone in the group should have front and back straps pre-attached at the start of the trip. Sorry, just tell them that a week before the trip, that they have time to do this.

4. If you know you cannot get through a hole, don't even try. Walk it first if you have to. If you know you cannot do it, winch yourself through it under control, or if there is a vehicle in front, strap on to him and have him pull you through at the same time.

5. If you can, install a bailing pump. You need a non-colapsing pipe hose, connecting a sure-flow or equivalent water pump that's self priming to 10 feet, a whole-house filter unit to keep crap out of the pump, and a copper pipe (1/2" i.d. x 4 feet) to poke into the lowest corner, where the water is coming in.

People in the group should all have waders if they plan to do this effectively, especially in the cooler months.

HTH,

Dean

 

[JeffreyDV]

I would listen to Dean, he knows plenty about being in deep water.

Jeff

 

[Jaime]

I would listen to Dean, he knows plenty about being in deep water.

Jeff

Yes, he certainly does!

Notice his calm demeanor 'cause he's got a buddy in the water with strap in hand.

 

[NorCalDiscoII]

Nice pic! So... sitting in the water like Dean above, is water just sipping through every hole inside the cabin or what?

 

[JSQ]

you got no bidness getting in deep water with all that stereo equipment.

 

[Jaime]

Nice pic! So... sitting in the water like Dean above, is water just sipping through every hole inside the cabin or what?

Yes. Most comes in through the door seals, and if you're deep enough, through some of the holes where wires go into the cabin.

Before I went into deep water the first time, I removed my CD player from its mounting location under the seat. Good thing I did, otherwise it would have been toast.

But if you prepare well, and have your recovery team set and ready to go, and can get unstuck in less than a couple of minutes, the worst you'll experience is a wet carpet and foam pad.

Be warned though, water can be quite addicting.....as is the morning after swampy damp smell your truck will have after its first flooding. Soon you'll find yourself installing bailing pumps, siliconing every opening in sight, ripping out the foam pad after you find it wet 3 months after the first dunk, maybe at some point you'll even dispense with the carpet and rhinoline the interior

But it will be worth it for the thrill of seeing that wave of water wash over the hood, and wondering if your gonna make it across

 

[syoung]

when you start welding prop blades to the driveshaft, then you have an addiction and need help.

 

[zeeto]

run breathers, diff, trans, too...

 

[DiscoDino]

Well...don't know if you know how familiar with water I am...(check gallery), but I have breathers (all) sent to the snorkel level, have no carpet and allow water to enter at will, have just bought a waterproofing kit from the UK and will be testing taht out...

 

[rmuller]

Do breathers come stock in any DIIs? I was working on something the other day and noticed that I have both front&rear breathers.. I know I didnt add them, and the people who owned the truck before me didn't offroad

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Ryan, best thing is what Nadim did. Otherwise, just extend the rear one up through a seat bolt hole (or make your own hole, or go up into the rear light housing), and pull the transmission breather end up and cut it off in the engine bay like all the others. You might want to leave a little extra length and stick the end down near the passenger fender area, away from the hot engine an exhaust.

The transmission breather goes up to the engine firewall and back down to where it came out of the transmission. Duh.

 

[Jaime]

Do breathers come stock in any DIIs? I was working on something the other day and noticed that I have both front&rear breathers.. I know I didnt add them, and the people who owned the truck before me didn't offroad

Yes, they are a stock item in most vehicles. They are there to equalize the air pressure between the air inside the Diff/axle/trans and the ambient air pressure. Otherwise, water would get sucked in through the seals, or lubricant would get pushed out through the seals depending on which way the pressure difference was going.

That why its important to ensure that the breathers are not clogged. They tend to clog at the fitting where they enter the axle tube. Just remove the banjo fitting, and clear the fitting and hose with compressed air and you should be fine.

 

[Jaime]

Well...don't know if you know how familiar with water I am...(check gallery), but I have breathers (all) sent to the snorkel level, have no carpet and allow water to enter at will, have just bought a waterproofing kit from the UK and will be testing taht out...

Nadim,

I'd be interested in the details on the waterproofing kit. You have a gasoline V8 right?

I also allow water to enter at will, (since I can't seem to keep it out), but I have to draw the line at the botton of the glovebox. Once it gets that high, then the radio amp, remote entry computer, ABS computer, heater motor, and just too damn many relays get soaked.

Also, how have you waterprooffed your ECU? I have a D1, and the ECU is long and hangs on the passenger side in the engine bay. I've already soaked it twice and had to remove it, open it and dry it in the sun before the truck would run again. So I have waterproffed it with Hylomar (including the bottom drain) and put dielectric grease in the connectors.

I feel uneasy about how I sealed the ECU case, because I'm not sure if condensation can form inside the ECU, and if there will be any negative effects.

 

[DiscoDino]

Jaime,

Yes, V8i 3.5

Ultimately its a combination of things that get the drivetrain waterproof.

The waterproofing kits are for 18 pounds (before shipping to Lebanon) and are available at www.tufftoys4x4.co.uk. I have yet to try them out effectively (Nov is gonna be wet for sure), but they seem to be a durable "condom" thing for the distributer and the coil.

Add to that the fact that I'm using Jacob Electronics coils, wires, and a LOT of silicone, that should do for the electrical part of the firing. The AFM has been drenched in silicone spray, and the outside of teh plug has been sealed with silicone as well. Everything (plugs, wires...etc...) have been liberally coated in silicone spray as well.

The distributor has a breather vent on the bottom of it, we stuck (silicone again) a plastic tube (heated it to bend accordingly) and sent that to the bulkhead fitting where all my breathers are united before going out to a single wider tube to the snorkel top.

The breathers that are extended are:
Fuel tank (there is a tip-over valve there from spidertrax.com)
rear diff
transfer
gearbox
front diff
distributor

All these unite to a custom made brass fitting that is sent to the snorkel.

The snorkel is fitted with a "pre-filter" (from www.unifilter.com in Australia) so the normal air filter box is ditched and there is single tube that is going from the snorkel to the AFM, thereby decreasing the amounts of sealing points needed (from 6 to 2 if you count them).

The ECU that used to be on the side of the passenger footwell has been moved to (concentrate now...) "under the roof, in front of the passender head, bolted to the interior cage" )) the wires have been extended (65cm if I recall) and all works fine.

The radio has also been moved to the top as well. The clothes are in 30L dry bags (2 in total) and are hung from a net on the rear section of the roof. The tools are in a drybag as well in the rear footwell and the spares that are not wter-friendly are in a Pelican 1650. The first aid kit is in a Pelican 1300. The ARB pump is bolted to the top of the cage as well (photo in gallery).

Anything else?

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Got any action photos?

 

[DiscoDino]

here we go...

 

[JeffreyDV]

Now that is deep!!!!

 

[Jaime]

Nadim,

Thanks, you've inspired me!