big water splash + engine stalling = ?

[SP!N4L T4P]

me and my buddy drove his dakota into what we thought was a small puddle...

after the water fall cleared his engine stalled and wouldnt start for about 15 minutes, but after consistently trying it finally started up. at first it couldnt take a load, but it eventually got back to "normal".

i guess water got into his intake, and hes got one of those performance cone shaped filters.

is his engine going to be okay even though it started up later? some guy told me that once water stalled his engine, and even though he got it to start, it died about a month later, and he said it was cause of the water.

[poorboyota26]

if you change the oil check the spark plugs and dry out the air filter you should be ok.

[RedRunnertc]

OK, first, you REALLY need to know that if that happens and you have any option, you need to pull the spark plugs and make sure there's no water in the cylinders. Kinda hard to get home with a rod out the side of the block.

Otherwise x2 for what poorboyota26 said

[poorboyota26]

x2 troy

But he said it's already running again and the damage if any is already done.

OH yeah Careful of your mass air flow sensor they break and are $$

[mrdoug]

I did similar once. Drove my ford ranger into a creek that was deeper than I thought. Water up over the hood, etc.. once I got it pulled out, I pulled the (stock) air filter and saw that it was dry behind it, pulled the spark plugs, etc like the others are saying. turned out that my air filter was simply wet and wouldn't pull any air thru. I pulled the air filter and it started up, dried it out and was good to go for a few years till I crashed it.

Your friend might get lucky and learn the lesson I did.. ALWAYS check the depth before driving thru.

[Asha'man]

I went through a dip in the road that was full of rainwater last summer in my truck and the truck died. It was not much water, maybe 6-8" tops, and my friend's Escort and ex-gf's Forester didn't have a problem. I couldn't find anything wrong with it - filter was dry, coil, cap/rotor, ignitor, everything looked fine. Messed with it for about fifteen minutes (in the rain still, no less) and it fired up again. Totally random. I figure some water got into some crucial electrical connection somewhere and toasted something, but I have no idea what.

While we were on the side of the road, a Jeep guy with a modded rig stopped and lent a hand, and even ran back to his house for some WD40 for the cap (displace water, I guess?). Nice guy, and no brand hangups. :)

[RedRunnertc]

WD-40 stands for "Water Displacement formula # 40" - that's truly what it's for, not lubrication.

[TowerRigger]

My truck ran on a couple cylinders from mucho water intake. Drove it from the pond to the barn. Bout a quarter mile. Dried everything out and it runs fine. Have put 20,000 miles on it since then. Another engine in a K5 didn't fair as well. High RPM approach + water above my belly = Bent rods.

[SP!N4L T4P]

so then i guess the question is, if you dont have a snorkel, what are some good rules for crossing a body of water?
also, if u do have a snorkel, are you pretty much covered, or are there still some things to look out for?

[The Boy]

ALWAYS check the depth before driving thru.

X2
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa200/MonteCarlo-1972/GormanTrip286.jpg

and that was after i got out of the middle when the water came in through my door... thats where my truck got stuck...

[TowerRigger]

Don't speed into a puddle. Enter slowly. Cross it at an even rate with foot poised to add the go juice. Stop and take a look at what you are getting into. Poke the puddle with a long stick or something to find the bottom. Use plenty of dialectric grease in the ends of your spark plug wires. Make sure all of your electrical conections are well sealed. Air intake is critical, but electonics are a close second.

[mrdoug]

Don't speed into a puddle. Enter slowly. Cross it at an even rate with foot poised to add the go juice. Stop and take a look at what you are getting into. Poke the puddle with a long stick or something to find the bottom. Use plenty of dialectric grease in the ends of your spark plug wires. Make sure all of your electrical conections are well sealed. Air intake is critical, but electonics are a close second.

Not necessarily the order I'd list them in, but all that is good advice (not sure I agree with the go pedal comment). Since I sunk my truck, I make it a point to either watch somebody else go first so I know how deep it is (and watch their line, depth changes quickly and without notice), or use the stick to find the bottom (all the way across, that's important). Pulling off the shoes and walking across (I keep tevas in the truck just for this) isn't out of the question.

KNOW where your air intake is located. On my 02 it's behind my passenger head light, that's my depth limit.

Also,
http://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech/jackson_breather/breather.htm

[mrdoug]

Oh, lastly.. the firmness of the bottom is important. If it's soft silt, expect the weight of your truck to sink you down a little (or alot depending on the soil). If you get stuck in mud at the bottom of a creek, you're double screwed.. that's alot of weight against pulling you out. Rocks are your friend, but they move round so make sure they are stable first

[RedRunnertc]

Don't speed into a puddle. Enter slowly. Cross it at an even rate with foot poised to add the go juice. Stop and take a look at what you are getting into. Poke the puddle with a long stick or something to find the bottom. Use plenty of dialectric grease in the ends of your spark plug wires. Make sure all of your electrical conections are well sealed. Air intake is critical, but electonics are a close second.

x2 - as for the snokel, electronics will shut you down just as quick as air, but it's a lot less catastrophic.

[00regcab]

so then i guess the question is, if you dont have a snorkel, what are some good rules for crossing a body of water?
also, if u do have a snorkel, are you pretty much covered, or are there still some things to look out for?

you can put a snorkel on

doesnt change anything except the height of your intake.

since then instead of the lowest point being the filter/intake system, you move into the next set of crucial components (dizzy, plugs, wires, etc.)

so unless you waterproof all of that too, its a waste of time IMO.

[SP!N4L T4P]

maybe i should just have some floaties installed under the sliders and a paddle

[mrdoug]

Sounds about right, and don't forget one of these

http://www.westwood-hitchcovers.com//images/product_set_images/vendor_23/large/propeller-hitch-cover-7182.jpg