engine sealing

It was on the old DUKW, and perhaps the amphibious jeep, but most of us just try to keep it from corroding after a swim.

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 03:10:53 GMT, "Jeff Strickland" wrote:

The clock is ticking because each dunk shortens its life. Old military trucks used to use closed frame generators to keep water out of inside. It would be possible to waterproof starter by sealing all of its seams with silicone and coating the terminal area as well. Furthermore you want to waterproof the bell housing because water can get in there and into starter. Another tip on bell housing if you like to run in water a lot. After you seal it, install a vent for it in cab area because air in the bellhousing is heated up and when you take a dip it cools it rapidily and cause a vacum as air contracts to helps suck water in. By sealing and venting it, it will not pick up water. There will be those that say no need to worry but you are playing with fires if you like to swim a lot. Also it is SOP that if you run in water a lot that you locate all of the vents for drive train parts in the cab so water is not injested in them as the cool with water contact. Back in the "old day" we would seal distibutors and coat the caps and wiring with hair spray which would seal plug wire connections. Silicone spray should work well for this too. Starter were sealed and the fan belt was removed in severe fording to limit damage to alternator and revent fan from spray water or being sucked into core in close clearance issues. (alternator flied plug was removed too) With older 4x4's with carbs and engine driven fuel pumps the electric draw on on system was very low and you could drive for a long time on just a battery especaily with conventional ignition. A modern 4x4 has a lot higher electrical demand and strains battery worse and you should consider adding a second battery to increase reserve time if your alternator fails after a swim in the wilds.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

The only 'sealed' 'jeep' I have ever seen was a military Austin submersible. It had tubes for the plug wires even. Working on it was a serious pain in the butt.

Other than that I took every plug and socket apart on mine and stuffed them with dielectric grease because I take her swimming lots. I can safely get across 42" of standing water which makes a bow wave up over the hood. Any deeper and I would need a snorkel on the air intake.

The big thing to watch for is the lights! You have to cool them off before crossing water or they have a tendency to crack...

The alternator might not like being under water for too long, but the starter doesn't care much. I regularly hose out my alternator after mud runs even.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Spoken like a tru shade tree mech. No surprize though coming from someone that says the best when to releive stress and bind on a Tcase that does not want to shift out of 4x4 drive is to "spin the tires in reverse" Given his logic you need to temper is suggestions for proper practices.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Listen you mental midget, you have already proven yourself an insanely stupid liar and was told all you would get back from me was abuse if you continue to stalk my posts.

We drive our Jeeps off road 'AND' on the highway around here unlike you who's J10 snowplow has only ever seen a parking lot and is so decrepit it can't spin it's tires in reverse apparently.

This means we have to clean our Jeeps, unwind 4 low often when terrain changes suddenly AND we know how to 'shift on the fly' into 4 high on the highway, unlike you who oils his under body and 'always' stops in a snowstorm on the highway to shift gears.

We hose off our engine bays and under body to get the mud out. We spray the mud out of our alternators and off our batteries, we hose down the 'inside' of our Jeeps, we get together and take apart our starters every couple years to clean the mud out of them, we have to remove our hubs and clean the mud out and repack them sometimes 3 time a season AND we know it's safe to drop it into 4 high at 55 mph when a snow squall hits on the way home from the pits, let alone to give it a little goose in reverse to unwind a drivetrain!

So once again I will say Screw off!

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Mike Romain wrote: snip

Then what holds your Jeep together? ;)

tw

[balls snipped]

Man what a troll.

----------------------------------- Snojob Follies: SBJ: Dumb brake question

SBJ: Snoball Defense System v1.01

Figure that running the alternator submerged will likely cause it to indicate a failure and stop charging until you get the film of water off the brushes. Never had any problem from it, but the first time the ALT light comes on 40 miles from nowhere gets your attention. I figure it's like wet brakes - they'll dry, but you may suffer temporary inconvenience.

That's what the fan blades on the rotor are for, to dry it off. ;^)

Earle