LifeRemotely

Hey Guys,

So I have a few questions... How much deeper or more water could my 4Runner have gone through?



Here is a link to the Full series of photos https://www.yotatech.com/members/lif...a+rica%21.html

What are your thoughts on Snorkels? Should we get one? What happens with too much water?

We are driving from Seattle to Argentina, and have done just over 12000 miles... About another 20 to go!

Thoughts?

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

seems like at this point into you journey the snorkel is almost an after thought
I would not have gone much deeper than that with out on.
What have you done to waterproof the rest of the truck? I am sure you know that there is more to it than just a snorkel..

LifeRemotely

Stock, Blue is stock I drove through the river and no water seeped into the car.

Any tips?

P.s this was in Costa Rica a week ago in the Start of the Rainy Season ... We kinda had no choice

donomite49

wow! take that yota around the world. keep on wheelin. as far as the water depth goes it looks like you got a few inches to go before water gets into the air box. a snorkel and some waterproofing would be good insurance. got AAA? lol

toyobob

Right now I would be more worried about axles, tranny, and t-case. They all have breathers that will let water seep in. I would check the level and condition of axles first, then if they have water, check tranny and t-case. There was a Nissan axle breather with ribs that would thread into some Toyo axles and allow a hose to be attached. then you could route the hose above the gas tank cap or somewhere higher. I did this to my 99 Tacoma, and never had water in my axles again.
The tranny and t-case took some more thought., I wound up pulling the cap off of the breather, and rubber cementing a hose to that piece. my lowest point of possible water entry was the gas cap, and I have had water to my windshield with no problems.
Good luck, and you might want to bring spare fuses incase water does get in the cab.

Red3.slow

The earlier statement wasn't referring to water seeping in to the vehicle. It was talking about sealing off electrical systems, sensors, bleeder valves on the differentials, ect. Water likes to get in and make a mess of a lot more things than just the intake.

ThatGuy1295

You probably could have crossed that just fine. The air is actually pulled in from the top of the fender in that year runner. Right about were the accent line is in the fender towards the door. Take a look at were the aftermarket snorts hook up to, they plumb right in to your factory stuff in the fender. Unless you have a deck plate mod of coarse. Theres actually kind of a factory snorkel inside the fender. The sections of plastic tubing are not sealed very well unfortunately. So I would stay in the water very long, but its fine for quick crossings. I went through mine and siliconed all of it together just to help.

Performance1

Seems like you're not far from where my 4Runner lives (You're in Costa Rica, I'm in Nicaragua). My '99 stock 3.0 TurboDiesel and has seen short river crossings where water actually got up to just level with the hood. For sure I was nervous because a buddy of mine hydro-locked his Mitsubishi pickup down here and that cost him close to $2K.

My guess is take heed to the prior replies and if you don't go the snorkel route, try and keep the water below the hood (with slow steady driving as well)

Cheers

4biker

On that year 4Runner you don't want the waterline above the wheelwell on the passenger side. If you have to cross a deep river, make sure your passenger side is on the downstream side. I went through about that deep a couple years ago and my filter was wet, but not a lot of standing water in the airbox. If you take water into the engine, it will fill the cylinders and "lock" the pistons since water doesn't compress like air does. At best, you remove the spark plugs and crank the water out; at worst you bend a piston rod and need a full rebuild. I ended up getting a snorkel, but you can make them on the cheap if you need to. Another advantage of the snorkel is that it keeps your air filter cleaner - or that's the claim. Personally, my air filters last a lot longer since I put my snorkel on. If it's mounted high like the ARB Safari Snorkel it pulls in less dusty air than down in the fender.

Regarding waterproofing the rest of the rig, it's definitely important, but catastrophic failure of the main engine components is what I primarily want to avoid. I've run pretty deep, and the engine stumbles afterward, but once it dries, it's good to go. I'll be more thorough in prepping before the next deep crossing. I know the sexy thing is to extend the rear diff breather, but I've never had a problem with seals leaking, or water in the diff fluid. I think every post I've ever read about leaky rear seals were written by people who extended their diff breathers.

That's a great expedition you're on, so hopefully you stay safe and well.

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

I've had water lapping against the windshield for very brief (a second or two) periods of time.

4biker

Yikes! Nice work!
That's a testament to the design of the intake on these rigs. Thank goodness water is so heavy so it won't suck in as readily ad I'd expect. I have no interest in hydrolocking in a river over 2 hours from civilization, so I for one like having a snorkel.

civcmatt

I set myself a new goal in my 4runners life to cross a river about like this....i just need to find a river that deep in the desert...but i have a lil bit to waterproof mien

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

Neither do I.
Because the intake is in the fender pointed backward, if you carry the right speed and a small bow wave in front of you, you can stay under for a few seconds before water starts to fill the airbox. This would happen almost right away with an open deckplate, so be careful there.