Crossing River and Water Driving Technique
Water crossings can provide a lot of the most stimulating and challenging four-wheel-driving around. They also can prove to be the most expensive. A 4WD is not an amphibian vehicle, in fact they aren’t true waterproof. The real depth that you can cross river depends on your car vehicle. For illustration, a Subaru possibly swamped at the depth a raised Hilux does not even wet the doorsills.
You can compare other trucks / SUVs vehicle like Dodge Dakota vs Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier vs Ford F-150, GMC Sierra vs Chevrolet Silverado, etc. As a common rule, if its higher than top of your wheels its probably too deep. A water crossing should not be attempted by unskilled or ill-prepared four-wheel-drivers.
Prior to a water-crossing, it is a great idea to place your recovery equipment on top of other baggage. The last thing you must do is be searching under eskies, tents gear and traveling bag for your recovery gear when you’re stuck in the middle of a crossing.
Offroad Vehicle Preparation
The basic thing to do before any water crossing is to walking it. Whenever you can’t walk it you can’t cross it. If the water is flowing too quickly to safely walk the crossing, and then it can’t be driven across. Remember, jeep and truck vehicles actually float till water seeps into them. When you walk the crossing you’re in reality starting your vehicle planning. You are giving the axles, differentials and gearbox time to cool down when you determine precisely how deep the water is.
Differential Breathers Higher / Use Snorkel Vehicle
When a hot axle reaches cold water it cools quickly. This has impact of lowering the air pressure inside the axle and the diff housing, making air to be drawn in via the differential breathers. Extending your differential breathers above the chassis (standard on most Toyota Land-cruiser and Nissan Patrol) with the plastic tubing aid is a “must do” for regular water goers. However, it’s no warranty that water won’t enter your differential system. The sudden reduction in air pressure inside your differential could still cause water to be drawn in thru your axle seals if the diff breathers don’t match the pressure quick enough. This is why it is still essential to let the vehicle time to cool down, even when extended differential breathers (snorkels) are fitted.
Air Intake Position
Water and engines don’t mix all right, and when they do it almost always effects in bent pistons, valves and crank-shaft. Whenever you think this sounds expensive your right. The air intake positioning is vital to how well a vehicle could handle a crossing. For example certain Toyota Hilux models have their air intake directly behind the headlamp, which is important to allow cold air into the engine but unfortunately is equally as great in directing water to the engine. A simple fix for this is to remove the plastic tube from the air cleaner to the headlamp when getting across water.
NEVER try a water crossing (crossing river, crossing the lake) where the water depth is higher than air intake height, it can make your vehicle got problems. If you intend practicing regular water crossings, its a good idea to buy a snorkel gear from ARB Safari snorkel system, Airflow snorkel, TJM, Airtec snorkel, Bayou snorkels or Volant Periscoop snorkels at lowest price, as it raises the air intake to your roof-line. It does not mean you can use your four-wheel drive vehicle as a submarine.
Engine Bay Protection
Applying a tarp to protect your engine! Placing a tarp across the front of the vehicle minimizes water entering the engine bay by creating a bow wave, supplied forward momentum is maintained. The answer is less water for the radiator fan to spraying over the ignition system, less chance of water coming in the air intake and more improbable for the fan to propel its way through the radiator.
Diesel vehicles are commonly better for water crossings because you don’t have the ignition system to worry about. Water in the ignition system generally results in a stalled engine and not real engine damage, although this is of little comfort when you find yourself stuck in the mid crossing. Depending upon the water depth, it is advisable to climb up out of your window rather than open the door and flood your carpets. To minimize stalling from a wet ignition system, it’s a good idea to spray all ignition system with water-resistant in advance. Or you can use MSD 6AL ignition to avoid more damage.
Radiator Fan Type
When under the bonnet spray water repellent, assure to see what radiator fan type is fitted. Most 4WD vehicles these days consume the viscous coupling type, which means that when the engine is cool enough the fan does not spin. On the engine off, try and turn the fan. If it turns easy, you’ll probably get away without must take off the fan belt. Whenever it doesn’t turn easy or your fan is the fixed type, and then you should remove the fan belt, If you do not and water enters the engine bay, the fan could act as a propeller, bend forward and cut a nice round hole through your radiator. It is certainly one problem you don’t prefer to discover once you’ve completed the crossing. Even if it does not affect your radiator, you still don’t want water being sprayed around, particularly in a petrol vehicle.
Walking the Crossing
When walk-to your water crossing its best to walk in the knowing wheel tracks to find if there are any invisible rocks or potholes, likewise as for learning the depth. Potholes are frequently caused by previous vehicles spinning their vehicle wheels when they grind to a half after hitting a underwater rock. And so if you find a pothole, check for submerged rocks. It is a good idea to put markers at this points so you can avoid them. Its been known for a vehicle trying a relatively easy crossing to come unstuck when a single pothole has made the bonnet to momently dip below the water level, it cause water to enter the air intake and resulting in a damaged engine.
Water Crossing Driving Technique
With an impression of your route, or better still, with markers in place, and all your vehicle planning done, it is time to start the crossing. Before you cross the water, remember to release your seat belt and open your window.
Using low rate second gear at 1500rpm – 2000-rpm (for most vehicles) makes just the right bow wave. It is important to take the speed to perfection as too fast will send water everywhere while too slow might flood the engine bay. Hopefully you follow your markings and get to the another side with no troubles. But if you do strike troubles avoid using the clutch because this may allow water to get between the friction plate and the flywheel, resulting in limited drive.
Whenever the wheels begin slip, it is important not to over-rev the engine but back-off the accelerator pedal and hope the wheels find traction. Excessive wheel-spin won’t help. If the engine stalls, set the car vehicle in neutral without using the clutch and try to restart.
If luck is on your side the engine will light up. Now isn’t a right time to wish you had already disconnected the fan belt, because your engine bay will be flooded. It is usually best to use first gear low range and with a minimal of clutch usage, attempt and extricate yourself from this predicament.
Maintenance after Water-crossings
And so once you’ve successfully crossed to the another side and are on your way home, you don’t require to give the water crossing a 2nd thought, right? Wrong! Any crossing at axle depth or deeper involves a checking of the differential oil for water contamination. Having an extended differentials breather is not a 100 percent guarantee from waterproofness and any crossing above your axles without extended differential breathers ought mean a mandatory inspection.
Checking your diffs for water contamination is very easy. Because water is heavier than oil, it will accumulate at the lowest point in the differential, right where the drain spark plug is settled. After permitting time for your vehicle to cool, just loosen the drain bolt and run a little amount (20ml) of the differential oil into a glass. If you are unlucky enough to have water present, the diff oil had better be drained. It’s best to flush the differentials a few times to control all water traces are removed. Milky coloured oil also indicates water is present and should also be changed.
If you are like the majority of four-wheel drivers, you will not be able to change the differential oil till you get home, because you will not have spare oil and a sink pump to transfer it. If you suspect contaminated oil (a deep water crossing without extended differential breathers or maybe you’ve leaking differential seals) then you are able to try and take out the water by draining the differential until only oil comes out the drainage hole. Don’t drain overmuch and leave your differential short of lubrication. Collect these oil and water emulsion as you should never dispose of oil into the environment. Save it until you get back home and dispose of it properly.
Its not only differentials than con have water contamination, but also your gearbox, transfer case also engine oil. However, it’s normally only when a vehicle is stationary in deep water that this components are polluted.
Among different items to check are bar mounted electric Warn winches. These components might not be used for extended periods and when they are required you may find they’ve seized up. If the Warn winch has been drowned in water it’s suggested to strip it and grease it accordingly. A fast operation of it after a crossing may prove it still works, but you may check when it seizes that you washed all the grease out six months ago!
A water crossing / crossing river represents something that shouldn’t be taken too lightly because it has the potential to make expensive engine and drive-train damage. However, with the correct vehicle preparation and post crossing maintenance, you are able to enjoy some of the most hard offroading around.
Water-crossing Summary
4×4 Vehicle Preparation
- Walk the crossing to check its depth.
- Don’t cross fast flowing water.
- Place markers at invisible obstacles.
- Put a tarp across the front of the vehicle.
- Disconnect the fan belt whenever a viscous coupling fan isn’t fitted.
- Spraying water repellent on electrical distributor and ignition wires.
- Pack recovery equipment on top, ready for use.
Driving Technique Crossing The River
- Take off seat belt and wind down window.
- Apply low range second gear (in most situations).
- Driving at a steady speed to make a bow wave.
- Avoid using the clutch.
- Don’t over-rev engine if you lose traction.
- Whenever engine stalls, set in neutral without using clutch to restart. Take-off in first low.
Post Water-crossing maintenance
- Check differentials etcetera for water if depth above axles.
- Check Warn winches if fitted
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