| Author | Message | ||
     Pete Fisher (Pathas) New Member Username: Pathas Post Number: 5 Registered: 01-2004 |
I bought my disco because I live next to a river that floods all the time. a few weeks ago it flooded. before it did I put a stake in the low part of the driveway and marked it up 2 feet. i knew that once the water got down to that level i could drive through it. Well, it was so cold that the water froze, an the ice was about an inch thick. i saw the line on the stake and decided to drive through it to my house. As i drove through i was breaking up gigantic chunks of ice with the bar in front of the truck. when i got about half way there, the water was OVER THE HOOD. my wife said she couldn't see the headlights (they were under water) I never slowed down and kept going and made it thru (a total distance of about 150 feet)!!! man what a ride that was. I knocked a head light loose, but that was the only damage. It wouldn't start for a couple days after that. but it did- i guess after it dried out. Just thought i'd share that great experience with you all. What do you all think the deepest water that you can go through is? Could I make it 150' through, say, 3 feet of water? | ||
| Ryan Graham (Ryangraham) New Member Username: Ryangraham Post Number: 20 Registered: 01-2004 |
Sounds like you were in over 3 feet if you couldn't see the headlights. Just keep going deeper until your engine hydrolocks then let us know what the depth was. | ||
| Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) Moderator Username: Kyle Post Number: 645 Registered: 11-2002 |
Ryan , engines end up locking only under a heavy foot in water. With light throttle the engine will stall long before it locks.. "Blow me" | ||
| Pete Fisher (Pathas) New Member Username: Pathas Post Number: 6 Registered: 01-2004 |
Let me more specifically describe my question: my driveway is about 600' long. there are two low areas in it. When the low areas (which range from 100' to 150' long each, are under water: at what depth can I make the attempt to drive through them without risk of damage? What damage could occur? | ||
| Dave Smith (Javelinadave) Member Username: Javelinadave Post Number: 71 Registered: 07-2002 |
Land Rover states that 20 inches is the maximum depth for wading. I have done deeper and so have my friends. Take a look at the photo's on my web site www.javelinaracing.com . Click on the Rover Friends link and then click on the adventures link. Have fun.....Dave | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1410 Registered: 02-2002 |
Pete, The only damage right now is likely to be a bit of water in the rear differential. Check it soon. Drive around a bit and then check to see if its milky. If you're gonna do this on a regular basis, do the following: 1. Extend breathers (2 diffs, transmission, t-case). 2. Get a snorkel. 3. Undo every single electrical connection you can find in the engine and transmission areas, and put noalux in and around them. Including the spark plug cables. 4. Put silicone sealant around where the breathers enter the axles, if they seem loose. If you do all this, you should be able to drive regularly several hundred feet at 3 feet of water or just over. Headlight level is probably gonna be ok, but over the hood....maybe not (get a boat!) Dean | ||
| Pete Fisher (Pathas) New Member Username: Pathas Post Number: 8 Registered: 01-2004 |
to javelinadave: wow. those pics are great. I noticed the RR had its hood up. Was there some damage done there? Did the the disco make it through better than the RR? How wide and deep was that stream? To Dean:what is a "snorkel" and what does it do? Also what is extending the breathers all about? Would that be hard to do? As far as the electrical connections, I may have this happen on average twice a year. should I go that far? | ||
| Bill Mallin (Billmallin) Member Username: Billmallin Post Number: 119 Registered: 09-2003 |
Snorkel: http://www.discoweb.org/safarisnorkel/index.htm More snorkel: http://www.safari4x4.com.au/docs/product.htm | ||
| Andrew Maier (Newman) Senior Member Username: Newman Post Number: 553 Registered: 04-2003 |
Waterfproofing the electrical connections is one of those preventative steps you'll only regret not doing... It takes only a little time relative to other things, and as they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Andy | ||
| Jaime Crusellas (Jaime) Member Username: Jaime Post Number: 233 Registered: 05-2003 |
Pete, Until you get your snorkel, check your air cleaner after each water episode. If its wet, dry it out. Drive slow... at a speed that will create a small bow wave, but not so fast that you're splashing water all over the place. All that splashing water will get forced into your electrical connections and ECU, so keep that to a minimum. If your should get water in your ECU, don't panic. I had that happen to me, and after opening it up and drying it out in the sun, it worked just fine. If you should get stuck in water that is over the bottom door sills, depending on how long you are stuck, how good your door gaskets, and how deep, you will get water in your interior. The likely damage if this takes place is your CD player (if its mounted under the seat) and the transmission ECU on a DII, which is also mounted under the seat will get wet. I have a D1 and do quite a bit of water crossings. I've removed my cd player and use an mp3 player with a transmitter to play through the radio, so when I flood, my only downside is a swampy fragrance in the truck until the rug dries out. But with the cigars I smoke in the truck, its not much of an issue. I try to keep water crossings where the level is over the hood to a minimum...like momentary dips ... I keep in mind where my ECU and air intake are (top of headlight level) and keep long water crossings no higher that that. I love the thrill of water crossings! | ||
| Victor (Vabiro) Member Username: Vabiro Post Number: 193 Registered: 10-2003 |
Pete, If you want to go whole hog on the extension of your breathers you might be interested in the kit from Mantec: http://www.mantec.co.uk/index.cfm?param=Products/detail.cfm&id=942 The purpose of extending the breathers on the diffs, transfer case and transmission is to ensure that these devices don't suck water into themselves. My understanding is that although LR has raised these breathers on the Disco, it can be inadequate for the depths you're talking about. Victor | ||
| Jaime Crusellas (Jaime) Member Username: Jaime Post Number: 234 Registered: 05-2003 |
The rear diff is problematic for water ingress on a Disco because the breather ends below the rear floor. That can easily suck in water. The front diff, trans, and transfer case breathers end in the engine compartment by the ignition. They are the stiff black plastic tubes bent into a hook. | ||
| Alan E. Foster (Vt_alan) New Member Username: Vt_alan Post Number: 25 Registered: 11-2003 |
Another thing to remember here is that the speed of the river being crossed makes fun turn into danger very quickly. You can set up your truck to safely and consistently drive up to the height of your snorkel in theory, just takes the right amount of preparedness. However, a current moving only a few miles per hour can pick up and carry a Disco before you realize what happened -- remember the pic from this summer of the Disco driver that got side-swiped by a 3 ft wave during the hurricane? Same principle, but now you get carried off instead of rolled. If you can drive at an angle to the current, you're much better off, but I'd say it's a safe practice to never drive into any water in which you'd struggle to keep your footing due to the current. Finally, if you do engage in frequent water crossings, consider an electric fan that can be turned off during the crossing -- cuts down on water splashing around in the engine bay, and also keeps the fan from wanting to become a propeller that goes through the radiator. -Alan | ||
| Victor (Vabiro) Member Username: Vabiro Post Number: 195 Registered: 10-2003 |
Hi, I came across this video at the Safari Snorkle site: High Definition (11.2meg) http://www.safari4x4.com.au/docs/snorkel/snorkel320x240x10.avi and Low Definition (4.5) http://www.safari4x4.com.au/docs/snorkel/snorkel160x120x10.avi Victor | ||
| Pete Fisher (Pathas) New Member Username: Pathas Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2004 |
I definitely gotta get me a snorkel. thanks for the links, Victor. They are very cool. But,is it really worth it though? Anybody else got some good wading stories?. Jaime, I like the idea of masking the wet carpet aroma with the smell of a good cigar. lol. the points about the electrical connections are well taken as well as the current issues. thanks. I'll be back later to check and ask a couple more questions. | ||
| Jason Wagner (Wagnerjc) Member Username: Wagnerjc Post Number: 72 Registered: 03-2002 |
What do you use to seal the doors or do you just expect to get water in. | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1415 Registered: 02-2002 |
Jason your 2001 D2 will still probably seal ok. Only if you get stuck for aounnd 5-10 minutes+ will you start to flood. (I also have an '01.) | ||
| Jaime Crusellas (Jaime) Member Username: Jaime Post Number: 237 Registered: 05-2003 |
97 d1 in my case, so I expect water to come in if I get stuck for more thatn about a minute. What did help to slow down the inflow, was to temporarily tape the drainholes on the bottom of the doors. This keeps the water from coming in through the holes, and then seeping through the door liner (my vaporliner is torn). But you have to remember to take the tape off when done, otherwise rainwater has no place to drain. I should also replace my doorgaskets. | ||
| Bruce Potier (Brucep) Member Username: Brucep Post Number: 123 Registered: 06-2003 |
Another thing that NEEDS to be done if you do get water inside the cabin, remove the rubber padding beneath your carpet. Carpet dries fast, the padding absorbs water and keeps it for a considerable time since the top of the padding is solid rubber and retained water in the padding evaporates slowwwwwwwwly. If you don't take out your padding each time, you are facing some rust issues throughout the floor of your truck. OR, you can strip the guts of the inside and treat your truck's floor with POR15, Rhinoliner, etc... this will go a long-long way in worrying about rust formation each time you get some water inside. Good luck. Bruce | ||
| Jason Wagner (Wagnerjc) Member Username: Wagnerjc Post Number: 74 Registered: 03-2002 |
I have to say that I'm shocked that a stock DII is sealed up well enough around the doors that now water gets in. I see these wading videos and photos and just assume that either people have made mods to seal up the doors or they're taking on water. Thanks. | ||
| Tony Cordell (Tony_c) New Member Username: Tony_c Post Number: 6 Registered: 01-2004 |
We did this http://www.white90.com/images/Wales.jpeg http://www.white90.com/images/tw.jpg on route to rescue this: http://www.white90.com/images/gw.jpg | ||
| Stephen Hawkins (Madmole) New Member Username: Madmole Post Number: 40 Registered: 07-2003 |
D2 has 2 holes in the seals at the bottom of each door to ensure it fills up and sinks. A safety device apparently to stop it drifting downstream | ||
| Jay Reeves (Jay) Member Username: Jay Post Number: 44 Registered: 10-2003 |
So, Tony, tell us...did his doors leak? ;) | ||
| Tony Cordell (Tony_c) New Member Username: Tony_c Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2004 |
jay his doors did not leak, hence he floated side ways then turned over! mine I allowed to fill with water front/rear before attempting to drive. the water topped at 5" up the windscreen and was hair raising to say the least. More pics on my web site and www.landroverenthusiast.com international forum look for threads with Wales in the title or Green 90. approx 20-30 images in total. maybe pages 1-2-3-4-5 | ||
| J. Carlos Zaragoza (Carlosz) New Member Username: Carlosz Post Number: 3 Registered: 01-2004 |
Dear members, please visit "car domain.com" look for Brandy's range rover "frankie", my girlfriend posted pictures of our last off road treck in 03, you will find a 98 HSE sitting in muddy water about 2 feet deep, its engine becme wet an died while going thru the mud. eventually it ran, it still shows elctrical glitches. | ||
| Victor (Vabiro) Member Username: Vabiro Post Number: 197 Registered: 10-2003 |
Carlos, I had a similar experience in my '98 Discovery imortalised here: http://www.landroveradventure.com/mod.php?mod=gallery&op=media&media_id=1481 Only the driver's side was emersed, but sufficiently to suck water into the air intake and for the MAF to cut the engine. We took the air hose apart on both sides of the MAF and water trickled out. We removed the spark plugs and cranked a couple of times too, and water sprayed from the rear two cylinders. We let it dry out for an hour or so, and then immersed it again on the same side. A misinterpretation of what I was being signaled to do resulted in me turning the engine off this time. http://www.landroveradventure.com/mod.php?mod=gallery&op=media&media_id=1473 After some winching and a drive out everything was fine, save an extrordinary amount of mud, which was why I whent there in the first place. As a precaution I changed the oil, diffs lube and transfer case fluid. There were no signs in any fluid of water. I have driven it for more than 30k km since then with no problems, electrical anyway. I have also done several water crossings where the bow wave came over the hood without any ill effects. Victor | ||
| Dave Smith (Javelinadave) Member Username: Javelinadave Post Number: 74 Registered: 07-2002 |
Pete, The RR with his hood up had some type of aftermarket cold air intake. It is an open cone shaped air filter that sucked water into the engine. My guess is that the fan threw water all over the engine compartment. Thank God for friends. He was towed back about 40 miles to civilization (22 miles off road with 2 more river crossings). | ||
| J. Carlos Zaragoza (Carlosz) New Member Username: Carlosz Post Number: 4 Registered: 01-2004 |
Great pictures Victor, I assume that you enjoyed the experience, and the "scare" of a dead engine in the middle of a marsh field. My buddies are planning a second tour sometime soon, seems that the mechanic who worked on the HSE is a land rover owner, and knows a few other guys who are itching to off road. I will keep everyone posted and updated with pictures. Carlosz | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 843 Registered: 05-2003 |
Jason, I cleaned the bottom door seals with alcohol and applied black duck tape to the entire length of it. I found the black tape at Walmart and the nice thing about it is that it blends right in - you can't even see it. It works b/c it slows the rate of water sneaking thru the gaps of the seal when you do get stuck in water above the base of the doors. I leave the black duck tape on all the time. You can apply tape (without cloth) to the holes that are in the bottom of the doors. I carry clear packing tape (3m or scotch brand?) that has that little metal sawlike strip on it for cutting the tape. I've never used it b/c I'm already in water by the time I think of it. You do have to take it off the bottom of the doors asap so you don't get rust. I put dialectric grease on all the battery connections and wires under my hood. When I get home and spray the engine down, I reapply it if necessary. I also carry a small can of wire dryer - but, thankfully I haven't had to use it. As mentioned, the biggest concern in the cabin is the box of electronics under the drivers seat. The biggest concern outside the cabin is floating sideways if you loose traction. Either one of those = a horrible no good very bad day. Sometimes the bravest thing to do is to back up, turn around, and go out the way you came in Good Luck, Jamie | ||
| Jason Wagner (Wagnerjc) Member Username: Wagnerjc Post Number: 76 Registered: 03-2002 |
thanks. Great stories and pics of mishaps that I can't afford to have. | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 863 Registered: 05-2003 |
I don't know if this helps, but I keep Pelican Dessicants between ALL of the rubber mats and the carpet. Humidity is high in our area and these seem to work great at absorbing all moisture everywhere else. | ||
| Donald (Dsmcf) Member Username: Dsmcf Post Number: 107 Registered: 11-2003 |
Ahem. So, this past weekend I said to myself, "Self. Thou have just had thy radiator repaired, thy alternator and air spring are now both on the blink, and now we have mounting of parts (a new CO2 tank)." Naturally enough, I concluded the appropriate thing to do would address none of the above, and instead would involve getting around to the task of removal of carpet and foam and suchlike... ...on account of how I might, sooner or later, end up in a situation where I would get it wet, and where not having it there would alleviate this worry, and instead give me a different worry of what brand of truck bed liner to use (no, no, don't answer that, we have enough threads on that already...) However, I must confess to having been taken aback to find that my rear right floor carpet and both of my front floor carpets were significantly wet, despite never having been flooded yet. The front driver's floor carpet I can kinda understand -- it has been wet and I have a rubber mat with a hole in it. The rear right carpet never ever ever sees a passenger, but underneath was nice and rusty. I guess the moral of this story is that even if you don't know why, you may still find that you are wet underneath. |
