--- Gary Bower <gwbower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> What took place whit the exaust when you submereged to top of the
> tires? Enough pressure to keep water out or did the water cause
> the engine to stall?
No worries, as long as the engine is running. It makes some cool
gurgling noises, especially if you have to back up. The water alone
won't make the engine stall.
If you have any doubts, go out to the lake and watch boats being
launched and loaded back on to their trailers. Quite often there's
no way to do it without putting the whole rear end of the truck in
the water. Especially if the ramp angle is relatively shallow.
The intake is the thing to watch. Don't get any water in that end,
or you could be buying a new engine.
If you do happen to stall and the exhaust is submerged, figure out a
way to pull the truck back to dry ground and let the water drain out
before trying to re-start. If you get water into the engine, change
the oil, make sure there's no water left in the intake manifold, and
pull the plugs then crank the engine over to push the water out of
the cylinders. (I think that's a complete list, it's never happened
to me and I have no plans to find out what that's like.)
> any after effects of going to this ''great depth'!!!???
The engine compartment got really dirty. The mechanics at the
dealership think I'm totally bonkers. What they think doesn't bother
me a bit, the truck's out of warranty anyway no matter how I use it.
I'm the one taking the risk, I don't know why they care.
The catalytic converter is usually pretty hot. If it gets water on
it, it tends to boil it. The steam will make the passenger side
floorboards really hot, and you'll hear it as well. Plus it usually
stinks like crazy. I've never found this to be anything serious,
just be aware that your truck is not on fire (took me a few seconds
to figure that out:-).
It's a good idea once you get home to make sure you didn't get any
water in any of the fluids, especially the differentials. Keep all
the grease fittings properly lubed. I've heard that synthetic grease
(e.g. Amsoil) works really well for keeping water out of things.
This is from a guy who deals Amsoil, take it for what it's worth (he
uses it on his monster Samurai and it works for him).
It also doesn't hurt to pull the wheels and rinse the weird swamp
things out of the brakes. As well as give the underside a good
washing off.
> I am
> interested because I use my truck for work(I am in the aquatic weed
> control
> bussiness) and often would be helpful to go that far into the water
> but so far I have been chicken.
With the '97 the factory air intake setup is pretty good. There is a
small hole in the bottom of the air box to let any water drain out.
You'd have to fill up that whole box before you got any air in to the
engine, so don't use it as a submarine :-).
Also check your axle breathers. Norah's '98 has them in a pretty
good spot from the factory, much better than where they were on my
'95.
If you've got a 4x4, you should be able to take it pretty much up to
the top of the tires as long as you take it easy. Try to keep moving
if you get that deep, as the radiator will create a wake and pull an
air bubble along behind it. This keeps your fan from grabbing water
and propelling itself into the rad.
Oh, one other thing, if the water is above the bottom of the doors,
DON'T OPEN THE DOORS. That's the first thing they told me in the 4x4
club. I get the impression it's been done many times.
Good luck!
=====
Linux: Because a 486 is a terrible thing to waste.
---------------------------------------------------------
Jason Bleazard http://www.bleazard.net Toronto, Ontario
his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 239 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white
hers: '98 Dakota Sport 4x4, 318 V8, Auto, Club Cab, black
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:54:44 EDT