Water crossing mods

kiwifoz

kiwifoz

Forum Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Messages
287
Location
Dunedin, NZ
Car Year
1989
Car Model
L series
Transmission
5 speed dual-range PT4WD
Over the summer I plan to tackle the Macetown track in NZ. 30km return and some 60 crossings of the arrow river.
Mods I currently have
Rear differential breather
Bridgestone 697s
Lifted kings
No rsb
Intake rerouted to fender

Planned mods
Move ecu to glovebox (if harness long enough)
Ensure fans don't run...
Perhaps waterproof engine some more eg silicone spray?

Thoughts and ideas appreciated.
 
Do I remember correctly about there being a gearbox/front diff breather?
Or is that only in autos?

You could pull the rear bumper and tape over the flow through ventilation outlets (water inlets ... ) that Kevin mentioned. Remove the tape after the trip, or always travel with a window slightly open ...
 
Might be worth reading this thread https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=4845

I'll see if i can find the other write ups by dedman and nachaluva about waterproofing their cabins.

EDIT: Nacha's waterproofing https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5277 , https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5032

I don't have much waterproofing done to my car atm, but i spray alot of lanolin on engine connectors and wiring every 6 months or before a long trip to waterproof the contacts, Only downside is my engine bay smells like wet sheep after it's been submerged https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/o...-Lanolin-400g.aspx?pid=123739#Recommendations
 
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I do like how you routed the air hose for the new motor, not sure if I could do it myself as I'm sure the brake and clutch resorviours mount there.
 
@frogstar

Like what you did with your intake. Doesn't that give much more engine noise inside while driving?
 
Yes you could hear it a little louder.
I liked it, sounded awesome when you really got into the skinny pedal.
 
kiwifoz said:
Over the summer I plan to tackle the Macetown track in NZ. 30km return and some 60 crossings of the arrow river.
Click to expand...

How deep are these crossings?

kiwifoz said:
Rear differential breather
Click to expand...

If crossings are 50cm or more I would install a gearbox breather as well.


kiwifoz said:
Intake rerouted to fender
Click to expand...

As expressed above caution depending on crossing depth. Spinning tyres and sloshing water can create pressures resulting in water getting to locations you really would not believe are possible.

kiwifoz said:
Planned mods
Move ecu to glovebox (if harness long enough)
Click to expand...

Excellent mod in the event you get stuck in water above the floor or even if the crossings are just long.

kiwifoz said:
Ensure fans don't run...
Click to expand...
Good mod but you can just wait for them to switch off before crossing, often a good idea to let everything cool down first

kiwifoz said:
Perhaps waterproof engine some more eg silicone spray?
Click to expand...

My EJ20 with the original Subaru leads (in good condition) never has any issues with running or power whist crossing. I do often get a CEL afterwards (that goes away when things dry out) for abnormal intake or something which I think is a result of steam getting into a connector somewhere but I cant for the life of me work out where.

Another great idea is to carefully and thoroughly clean all the door seals (rubber seal, under the rubber and where it hits the car body). This will improve there performance 10 fold but they get dirty again very quickly.

frogstar7055 said:
How I routed intake after that.

Click to expand...

Am I right in saying that if you went in to water a bit fast with setup and ended up with water slopping over the bonnet that it would go through the vents at the bottom of the windscreen and sort of get funnelled into the air intake for the engine? Hard to tell how likely this would be from the picture but I would be a little worried about this.
 
Dedman said:
How deep are these crossings?



If crossings are 50cm or more I would install a gearbox breather as well.




As expressed above caution depending on crossing depth. Spinning tyres and sloshing water can create pressures resulting in water getting to locations you really would not believe are possible.



Excellent mod in the event you get stuck in water above the floor or even if the crossings are just long.


Good mod but you can just wait for them to switch off before crossing, often a good idea to let everything cool down first



My EJ20 with the original Subaru leads (in good condition) never has any issues with running or power whist crossing. I do often get a CEL afterwards (that goes away when things dry out) for abnormal intake or something which I think is a result of steam getting into a connector somewhere but I cant for the life of me work out where.

Another great idea is to carefully and thoroughly clean all the door seals (rubber seal, under the rubber and where it hits the car body). This will improve there performance 10 fold but they get dirty again very quickly.



Am I right in saying that if you went in to water a bit fast with setup and ended up with water slopping over the bonnet that it would go through the vents at the bottom of the windscreen and sort of get funnelled into the air intake for the engine? Hard to tell how likely this would be from the picture but I would be a little worried about this.
Click to expand...

All of this is very true. If you don't have extender breather lines, definately let the vehicle cool before crossings as if you hit the water with hot diffs/gearbox, they suck in a lot from the breathers(thermal expansion etc).
Yeah CEL's are kinda expected from a fancy modern vehicle. Last crossings I had a CEL for cylinder misfires and an over reading MAF sensor.
Most likely caused by water in the sparkplug leads and the airbox not being happy. Let everything dry and covered every electrical plug with WD40 when I got home and everything was good!
 
love the idea of the airbox mod
has anyone done this on rhd cars??

I use motorcycle chain WAX [spray on] to waterproof my electrics, works really good, just a pain to clean off lol

I think some kind of grill cover as mentioned before, Is a must, stops you having to wash loads of crud out the rad as well, or even worse damage to your rad from debri in the water.
had both of these happen to me on my jeep, the mud caused oveheating in a very short amount of time.
 
Ended up not doing Macetown, cycled the track first and the upriver crossings were too deep to attempt without a snorkel. I was also a bit worried about the car floating and getting washed downstream as they were over knee deep, one in particular was over 28 inches deep and the current is quick...
I do already have a rear differential breather extension.

That airbox mod does look a bit dangerous if water comes over the bonnet...
 
I have seen a mod but on a landrover, where you have a hole in the bonnet and put a pipe through it for water crossings, bit like a hummer snorkel, then take it off for normal road use. only downside is a hole in the bonnet or wherever.
 
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