Wading = Fun

Many years ago Pingewood near Reading flooded, it was freaky driving around on my normal roads but underwater, felt very strange. I was glad to have the landy at the time.

A friend of mine has a 1979 Lotus Esprit which has its air intake just behind the front door windows, so he was able to drive it through floods in Oxfordshire that were stranding others! It's a shame it wasn't white and he doesn't look like Roger Moore.. He got some funny looks all the same.

In article , Mark Solesbury writes

Which reminds me: I have to go up to Wotton-under-edge tomorrow and Friday for work. It's only a couple of miles from the worst flooding, so I was intending to go prepared.

ISTR that the wading plugs block holes that are otherwise oil drains. Assuming little oil is leaking, presumably they can stay in for a day or two without too much trouble?

I've also got axle breathers to consider. I already have the pipes fitted, but I'll be checking them over and I think the front one's been melted by something (exhaust probably) so I'll have to replace it.

I assume, as long as they go up to the top of the bulkhead and bend over at the top so that the end faces downwards, that's OK.

What do the team think?

Regards,

Simonm.

Not a problem so long as there is no major oil weepage. The wading plugs on my last 90 stayed fitted for 8 weeks of running round the UK and when they were removed nothing untoward escaped.

The axle breathers on my Series motor run high enough for serious wading and I never give them any thought. The last time I changed the diff oil there was no sign of water contamination despite a lot of playing in rivers over the preceding 6 months.

What EMB said. (No this isn't an EMB fan-club) ;)

I'm often in two minds about wading plugs. If it's only likely to be moderately deep, ie 2' maybe less, then I won't bother, I figure the water will get in, but will also have a way out .. ;)

Conversely, I've often left them in for weeks at a time and never had a problem yet, but anecdotal evidence is flawed at best. Indeed, they're in now despite not going off-road or in deep water for at least 3 weeks. I really don't expect them to cause me problems when i take them out either. (Tempts fate a tad, but hey, I'm adventurous) ;)

I put some in a few years ago and left them in for about a month, and at the end of the month when they were removed a stream of filthy crap came out. No idea how it all got in there, I don't recall doing much watery stuff. I've not put them back in since. I think it was the clutch housing one that had all the liquid in it, looked like silty water. Despite that the truck's still on the same clutch that was in it when I bought it, 80,000 miles ago..

I think you are all missing the point of wading plugs.

They are there to stop the Land Rover leaking oil into the river rather then the river leaking water into the Land Rover :-)

Hehe, you can get biodegradable lubricants, and I mean for cars, not KY Jelly! Stick biodegradable lube in your landy and go and preach to some lentil-beaters ;-)

I think putting chip fat in a R380 is just asking for trouble.

I was just trying to figure out what an R380 was, forgetting where I am for a moment, and was looking at pics of inkjet printers, Scania trucks, vintage sports cars, mobile phones, and AHA a defender gearbox! Duurrr......

Biodegradable lubes are used in water-based machinery like river clearing tractors and other such stuff, so quite possibly not really up to road-going vehicles, but they're not just chip fat, that's another thread! Not sure I'd like to fry my chips in biodegradable hydraulic fluid.. Mind you it'd taste better than the chips at that trucker's cafe I was at a few weeks ago.

where, need to get out and find some water, south lincs is far too dry ATM!!!!

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

Here. Whole field on the left is underwater.

Take 'em when not required, as a temperature differential can form, allowing condensation to build up in the area, whichcan be just as bad as no plug when is serious goo [1] and *apparently* the changes in temperature *may* cause premature failure of the oil seals in that area[2]

[1] Have changed a clutch for someone who always left the plug in, the bellhousing was so full of cr*p I had jetwash it out, and was probably the cause of the failure. [2] Told to me by a Technician at our local LR Specialist

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

I've just changed the clutch slave cylinder on my SIII and there is an obvious way for water to enter around it, it's only 'sealed' with a metal plate that vaguely covers the gap between cylinder and bell- housing. So unless there's a rubber seal missing I would have though fitting the plug is only going to trap the water that gets in around the cylinder!. Greg

wont be able to get there until saturday, prolly gone by then :-(

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

>

Its gone now :(

Went there this morning on the way to work. Completely back to normal.

Its amazing where all that water has gone to in one and a half days...

The water would have been half way up the windscreen on my golf.