SORTIE

last night my area had torrential downpours for 30 minutes, causing flash flooding

I picked up my daughter and headed out to I95 when the heavens opened

at the bottom of the exit ramp, we saw a car emerge from 2' of water, get partially up the on ramp, and stall out

then we looked further to the right and saw a car stalled in 2-3' of water

now my truck has prolly 4" of lift, but nowhere near as high as some I've seen on this site

I drove into the water up to the stalled car and asked the owner (who was outside the car) if he had a tow hook I could use to move him to high ground. I could see the owner's wife in the passenger seat, panicking big-time. Prior to stalling he had put the car in park and didn't want me to skid him out of the lake by pushing from the rear.

Just then a Pathfinder forges by me, promptly stalling 20' away. The owner gets out and fishes tow straps out of the back, which we hook up to one of my aft rings and I pull him to dry ground

Then I pulled another SUV out, turned around and drove home (through another 2' of water in that direction)

the point of this post is: what damage can be caused to a 1st gen when you're in fresh water up to the door bottoms? can fan belts or electrical connections be compromised, or does water get into the rear drums?

I don't mind being a Good Samaritan but I don't want to be stupid about the truck...I did leave it idling for at least 20 min to dry components out

(later on I'll post a pic of the first stranded car, but there are none of us since my daughter didn't want to get out of the rig!)

rebal

I did ford water up to my head light once and got water in the cab and the engine was trying to suck it up the filter .any how I had water in both diffs that I changed the oil on .but I didnt catch the hubs .the grease got water in and by summer had wipped the bearings and 4x4 hubs so If I was you check all the fluids for contamination and remove the front hubs and bearings and clean and regrease them asap.

SORTIE

thx for the advice, this was fresh rain water, BTW

the air intake is up above the top of the radiator, I wasn't in water that high but I did think that a fan belt might be slipping

the diffs are sealed, aren't they??

Flake

Like already mentioned check the diffs and the front wheel bearings, change the diff lube and repack the wheel bearings as necessary. Also check the t-case and trans fluid for contamination. Grease all the steering and u-joints to force out any water too.

bannerd

You'll be okay, as long as you don't get water into the motor as there is potential you can hydro lock the engine. Assuming the dana's are kept up and sealed I wouldn't even worry about it. There is a vent host with a plastic nipple.. this is there when the gears heat up, air is pushed out. NP205 is the same way as well as the getrag, both are sealed really well. The one thing that gets people when water fording is the oil dip stick. Have to get a sealed stick

Also the wheel bearings should be okay as well... there is two seals that keep the water out.. if those are bad though..

King pin is the same way, pretty sealed and really no way for water to get into those. If the axles are in good shape and the seals are okay I wouldn't worry about it. Same with the transfer case.. as long as the seals for the spline and drive shaft are okay, I wouldn't worry about water at all. If you do get water in there, you'll tell because it turns to a milk substance.

crazy clem

after fording water I usually get out the grease gun as well and everywhere theres a fitting it gets da lube

Mark Nixon

Ya' gotta think about what happens when low areas fill up, especially if it's a hard downpour like that.
In some areas the silt that gets in through the door bottoms and the floors, has chemicals in it that will start rust.
Floors, doors and rockers, the lowest, most likely to trap moisture, are the worst trap points for dirt.

At the very least a good, rinsing clean of all of the body metal and components is advisable.

If the carpet is wet and brown looking after the top dries, yank it and clean it all.

Around here we have a darker clay mud that when it sits, traps moisture and does a pretty good job of rusting stuff out, even in a thin layer, while more sandy soil can be packed 6" thick and not do a thing to a body panel.

Also, there is also a low to moderate potential for mold and bacteria, which carpet is a good breeding ground for.

Mark.

MARF75

Even if your seals are good,the vents will let water in unless you have a check valve of some sort on them. And there is a vent on all the drivetrain components,Axles, trans and tcase.
I don't care how new/good the seals were,if it was me, I would be doing a good inspection of said components,bare minimum

NJTman

Agreed.

I would be doubley dog doo sure that my diffs weren't compromised.

The rear axle isn't likely, as long as the air vent tube didn't go below water, but the front diffs had to have taken water into the axle tubes. Whether orr not the diff took on water is an individual thing, and I would want to be positive mine didn't.

4 qts of gear lube ? $20

Used front axle ? $700 minimum. You decide..


BTW,

Shouldn't this thread be called "Dodging high water" ?????

MARF75

Not to mention, those seals are intended and designed to hold fluid in not keep it out. Especially since that volume of water will apply more pressure in,then the oil will apply out.

schamran

I get water in my diffs without fording water. I'd dump any fluid that may have been slightly submerged, the power steering too!

kiszka6911

I have an outerwears cover on my BHAF which a hydrophobic cover. It keeps big stuff from getting to the air filter and water just beads off of it. This would provide and extra 2" of clearance. from a extreme flood. I second checking the diffs for sure.

bannerd

Just got off the phone with Dana/Spicer and asked them about water fording. Here is the deal, the axles are water proof as well as the hubs. When the axle is submerge under water for a great period of time there is a very slight chance water will get in there.

With that said they recommend that you replace all of the fluids as they could be contaminated, if you plan on going through water a lot then they recommend investing in a marine/waterproof grease for the hubs/bearings. The grease will provide lubrication and wont breakdown. Inspect the gear oil to make sure it's not contaminated.

So I guess I was wrong to some extent, the smart choice is to refresh with new oils,grease.

jbawden

ha!

SORTIE

fortunately, it's been dry (and HOT) around the Metro NY area since that downpour and I normally keep all of my windows open during the day and night