Warburton Fun October 2014

Dedman

Dedman

Forum Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Messages
766
Location
Perth Western Australia
Car Year
1999
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
5MT
No one wanted to come with me on the trip today but I decided to go anyway on my own. Had a great time with some mud, hills and rivers.

First up was the hill that Venom, Nachaluva, Dulagarl and Rick found on a recent trip.

I attempted the same line as Venoms first attempt last time but didnt quite make it when I was crawling up.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uXZe2NDt9Y[/ame]


Had another attempt with a little more momentum and I made it. Not bad for almost balled road tyres (had to drop the to 20psi to get up). Interestingly the section at the top was the worst even though it was flat, just slippery as hell. Unfortunately my low range developed a significant whine on this climb as I haven't managed to sort out the controller for my oil feed yet... :shake:

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXobKRV8WB4[/ame]

After this climb I also discovered that my clutch STILL has air in the line somewhere. The hotter everything got the less I was able to release the clutch. I cant for the life of me get all the air out of the clutch no matter what I try.

Next I completed some of the SM fireline. This track was very easy as it has recently been graded. I love the new gearing on my gearbox, for most climbs that are not rough, first high range is perfect where I used to have to use 1st low and change between 1st and second all the time.

Next I checked out a little crossing on the yarra river that I have done before, this time however the level was way up as extra flows were being released for environmental reasons :lol: I walked it first, and it was bang on a meter deep and flowing quite quickly, walkable just but still really over the limit of what a vehicle this low and light is capable. Me being me, I wanted to give it a go anyway. After walking it several times I decided it was doable, flat bottom, about a meter deep for about 5 meters, moderate flow, trees down stream to stop me being washed down river to far. I setup recovery points on numerous locations and had the winch out ready to go.

After psyching my self up a bit I gave it a shot.
Was not quite as bad as I was expecting but still drifted downstream slightly.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FGyTVyA69E[/ame]


The return journey was more difficult as it was upstream slightly and the last section was the fastest flowing. Still made it though.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ICzMn3p-Q[/ame]

I was having so much fun I had another shot.
I forgot to lock my centre diff so when I got to the other side I could not climb out, took me a second to realise and the back end started drifting down stream in this time. After locking the diff I climbed out now problem.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8omYxD5FAs[/ame]

The return crossing was also more eventful as I had more confidence this time and took it a bit more slowly. Only just managed to get out the other side. So much fun and got the adrenaline running.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=e84SOMBLnp4[/ame]

After this I took it pretty easy for the rest of the day, checked out some old mines, got bogged in some mud twice and winched out without any dramas.

In conclusion, great day, gearbox and new engine are awesome. Suretrac LSD in the rear seems pretty good as well although if a wheel is in the air it does not much.
 
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Spectacular river crossings, you're ready for a cape York expedition ! And a nice climb too ! Did you get any water in the Foz ?
 
Great post, looks like you had some fun. This weekend was no good for me, be happy to do a day trip soon though.
 
I agree with Ate, DM :lildevil:.

But not this little black duck ...

Anything flowing that fast, and over about 10" deep - forget it!

Good to know that there is a considerable safety margin though :iconwink:.
 
jf1sf5 said:
Did you get any water in the Foz ?
Click to expand...

Yes I ended up with fair bit of water in there about 5cm across the bottom of both foot wells. I think that the door seals let most of it in.

ateday said:
Did you use a radiator blind?
Click to expand...

I have never found that I have to with the SF engine, the ignition seems to be 100% waterproof. I do get a check engine light whenever I get the engine wet though but haven't managed to work out where from yet.
 
Ratbag said:
Good to know that there is a considerable safety margin though :iconwink:.
Click to expand...

If the crossing was longer the limit would be lower than this I would say 60-75cm would be where floating would become an issue with any flow depending on how loaded you are/what lift you have. I would attempt a long crossing with this flow if it was less than 60cm and had a flat bottom. No flow I would have a crack at 1.2m if there was someone ready to pull me out and there was no weight in the back and this would make the car float to level.
 
I don`t have a problem with 60-70 cms of water. I use plenty of WD40 and a blind. The bow wave seems to do the rest.
I remember, many years ago, crossing Magela Creek in the wet season in my MY80 and having to drain the gearbox oil every time. Ignition was not a problem but gearbox dipstick was.
 
ateday said:
I remember, many years ago, crossing Magela Creek in the wet season in my MY80 and having to drain the gearbox oil every time. Ignition was not a problem but gearbox dipstick was.
Click to expand...
Dipstick openings aside, one of the big problems with river crossings is the breather vents on transmission/diffs. Hitting the cool water causes them to try and breathe in, and water in the trans/diff isn't what you want for any length of time. For the LC at least, Toyota make breather extension kits to allow the vents to be "relocated" upwards (indoors is usually chosen) so then this isn't an issue. Maybe the O/P should check his oils ...
 
zippo said:
Dipstick openings aside, one of the big problems with river crossings is the breather vents on transmission/diffs.
Click to expand...
All manual subaru gearboxes breathe through the dipstick. I have a breather over the dipstick and also have a rear diff breather. Dont have any issues with water in the trans/diff any more.

I have never got water in the motor sump, dipstick/filler cap seals seem pretty good, also higher up
 
ateday said:
I don`t have a problem with 60-70 cms of water. I use plenty of WD40 and a blind.
Click to expand...
All depends on the flow/ going up stream or not/bottom condition etc. I had real difficulty making progress moving upstream in a crossing that was only 60cm deep with only small flow. Partly due to slippery pebbles on the bottom but mostly due to the added resistance from the water flowing towards me.

ateday said:
I remember, many years ago, crossing Magela Creek in the wet season in my MY80 and having to drain the gearbox oil every time. Ignition was not a problem but gearbox dipstick was.
Click to expand...
Very interesting, I had huge problems with my 83 subaru ignition, cut out very easily at the slightest sign of water and always suffered from condensation in the dizzy cap for the following week or so all the leads were in good nick as well.
 
DM

Dedman said:
If the crossing was longer the limit would be lower than this I would say 60-75cm would be where floating would become an issue with any flow depending on how loaded you are/what lift you have. I would attempt a long crossing with this flow if it was less than 60cm and had a flat bottom. No flow I would have a crack at 1.2m if there was someone ready to pull me out and there was no weight in the back and this would make the car float to level.
Click to expand...

Going solo, with a trailer, without a snorkel or diff/gearbox breathers, I would not tackle anything deeper than about 6-12" ...

Not into any kind of risk-taking at my age. I KNOW that the Universe has no use for me now, and will kill me without a moment's hesitation ... Risk taking is for the young, before they realise that the Universe is an inherently dangerous place, and is risky enough without seeking out further risks.

I have been on "extra time" for the last 13 years. I don't want to push my luck ... :iconwink: :lol: :cool:.
 
Hi Dedman,
Agree it is not just the water depth.
I would not even think of attempting a shallower but fast flowing, even concrete bottomed culvert crossing without a lot of knowledge of the bottom and depth on the downstream side.
 
Further to my old MY80. Those were the days when I was interested in maintenance for its own sake and I think, with failing memory, that liberal doses of a silicon grease inside and outside the distributor cap and on the plug and coil leads assisted in water ingress prevention.
As the wet season progressed crossing became impossible. I left that up to larger 4WD`s, one of which, diesel, new Nissan ute, destroyed its engine with water ingress.
 
Crazy bugger! :lol::lildevil:

I think it might have been a bit too deep/fast for me with my stock gearbox lol

The crossing on Fultons Creek Tr would have been about a metre but no flow, I bobbed around a bit but kept momentum and made it out easy

Venom said:
Great post, looks like you had some fun. This weekend was no good for me, be happy to do a day trip soon though.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I had a torn CV boot, next time for sure!
 
NachaLuva said:
Crazy bugger! :lol::lildevil:

I think it might have been a bit too deep/fast for me with my stock gearbox lol
Click to expand...

Nah im sure your stock gearbox would have been fine. I almost made it through with the centre diff open so im sure the viscous would be sufficient. Will have to go back sometime and give it a shot :raspberry::poke::raspberry:
 
Dedman said:
After this climb I also discovered that my clutch STILL has air in the line somewhere. The hotter everything got the less I was able to release the clutch. I cant for the life of me get all the air out of the clutch no matter what I try.
Click to expand...

$10 says you have an air leak.

I had a teeny tiny pinhole in my Outback that I couldn't for the life of me diagnose for a long time.

Clutch would be fine, then in hot weather or traffic, it'd get worse and worse till no clutch (pedal to the floor).

I finally found a very small drop of fluid on the outside of the line during a careful inspection which gave the game away.

Replace the flexible line (and slave cylinder, while you're there).

I found an easy way to bleed it is to fill, then use a syringe and pump fluid in the bleed nipple
 
I had to replace the flexible clutch line too, it was only slightly damp at one end but that's all it took! Make sure you use new copper washers!
 
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