Normally I don't trudge though standing water. But if I see a street that is lightly flooded, how deep would the water have to be to hydro lock the engine in a 2000 ML320 and 2003 ML350?
The reason I'm asking is my brother is in the path of that tropical storm and some streets may be flooded but passable.
Generally speaking. the height of the spark plugs or the crank position sensor on the engine is usually the lowest point where engine would stop when water floods that zone.
Diesel sengine will not be affected all the way up to the snorkel of the air filter.
Speaking of air filter... that is the another issue where the splash is enough to cause engine engine to sieze. So it is important to drive slow through flooded street.
It is important to wash the undercarriage soon after you pass the flooded street to remove any contaminants.
So how high realistically? I would have to say the center of the wheel/tire should be the highest for safety reason. Best case is not to do it as you don't really know how deep the water is.
I agree with Tiger. I think the mechanic capability is one issue while the reality is another. For safety reason, avoid flooded area as much as possible. You don't know how deep the water is and if the road base is still there. If I cannot tell where the road is, I don't consider it is passable.
At one time, I saw a few cars stuck in a muddy, partially flooded ground. All of them were 4WD. My reasoning is, their drivers assume
4WD is better than 2WD so they dare to try on places where 2WD drivers never think about. They over-estimated!Tiger wrote:
Yep... exactly the point that there are unknowns in that water. So you might be tihnking about the Hummer... how they go through all that stuff... It is simple... they are designed for it! And they go slow.
They got super high clearance... gears designed to go through anything... but they are really rough to drive on highway... that's why they can go through anything... they are not designed for road. Did you know their body frame is exactly like railroad rails? Super supre stiff and super super heavy.
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