Entered deep water, anything I should be concerned with?

[sebastian323]

I have a 1996 manual transmission 4x4 ford ranger 4.0L V6. Last night I attempted to ford a creek, but decided to turn back when the water began to reach the doors and cover the bumper. As I decided to turn back I stalled from letting the clutch go too suddenly. The truck sat in the water with front differential and lower half of engine submerged for about 15 minutes while I decided what to do. The engine struggled to start a bit and ran a little rough for about 3 seconds as I gunned it out of the creek in reverse. I let the engine idle for about 3 minutes after getting back on solid ground and It drove fine afterward. water reached about 3 inches below the air filter housing. I assume the engine drew just a little water in, hence the rough start and running rough for a few seconds. I take it a small ammount of water entering the hot engine vaporizes instantly and is now a compresible gas just like air/exhaust. should I change/inspect the oil , transmission fluid , and front diff gear oil ?

 

[DILLARD000]

Drain+replace fluids in Tranny, TransferCase, Diffs,...
any of those Vents\Breathers could have drawn in water & now have contaminated oil.
Push fresh grease into WheelBearings & any zerks you've got. Generally lube anything else that got dunked
Any harness connectors that got dunked, pull apart, check for corrosion, spray with electrical cleaner, seal with dielectric.
Best do that sooner than later. Despite fantasies otherwise,
stock vehicles are NOT designed to drive thru anything more than light rain & a quarter inch of water.

 

[Dirtman]

Yup, every fluid except the brake fluid and coolant are not sealed and should be changed. Also the air filter is probably wet and clogged. I'd pull the whole air intake assembly and throttle body for inspection and cleaning, especially the maf sensor. The air filter box is about 6 inches higher than the intake opening so water most definitely got sucked in. Expect random electrical issues to pop as well as the sensitive electronics start experiencing the effects of prolonged water intrusion such as the transmission range sensor, MAF sensor, possibly the PCM itself. If water got into the cab and you have a stock interior enjoy the smell in about a week as the mold starts growing...

 

[sebastian323]

Drain+replace fluids in Tranny, TransferCase, Diffs,...
any of those Vents\Breathers could have drawn in water & now have contaminated oil.
Push fresh grease into WheelBearings & any zerks you've got. Generally lube anything else that got dunked
Any harness connectors that got dunked, pull apart, check for corrosion, spray with electrical cleaner, seal with dielectric.
Best do that sooner than later. Despite fantasies otherwise,
stock vehicles are NOT designed to drive thru anything more than light rain & a quarter inch of water.

I will service the oils on my differentials , transmission etc, and check on the electrical connectors. I take it manual transmissions also have a breather. I take it water can make it into the engine oil via the PCV system ? Modified vehicles have their breathers extended via hoses i take it ? What do they do about the electrical connections ?

 

[Dirtman]

Oh yea if water was in the intake tube it also went through the PCV. I hope you don't mean you just have an old fashion open breather on the valve cover...

 

[DILLARD000]

Not sure what others do, but over the years,, as I'm under the truck, I'll take a 6 inch piece of old bicycle innertube, slip it over exposed connectors & secure each end with zip ties, to give those connectors some protection.

 

[Dirtman]

Not sure what others do, but over the years,, as I'm under the truck, I'll take a 6 inch piece of old bicycle innertube, slip it over exposed connectors & secure each end with zip ties, to give those connectors some protection.

Explain.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Its like a condom, but instead of keeping fluids in, it keeps fluids out.

 

[DILLARD000]

Yep, just a piece of scrap rubber tube. Can be slit lengthwise, but not as watertight.

 

[Dirtman]

Yep, just a piece of scrap rubber tube. Can be slit lengthwise, but not as watertight.

Yea thought that's what you meant unfortunately... that sounds like a terrible idea? If it's not water tight it holds water... Sounds like just a great way to keep the connections wet all the time?

If you can't waterproof something 100% don't try...

 

[DILLARD000]

Yea thought that's what you meant unfortunately... that sounds like a terrible idea? If it's not water tight it holds water... Sounds like just a great way to keep the connections wet all the time?

If you can't waterproof something 100% don't try...

Guess we can agree to disagree on that item. I'm not trying to waterproof the connection, as I don't drive thru water, only give it more protection from dirt, salt & resulting corrosion. It's essentially extending the harness wrap over the otherwise exposed connectors. Little can be done to prevent water intrusion if someone dunks a vehicle in 12+ inches.

 

[19Walt93]

If it sat under water you should repack the wheel bearings, remove the spindles and repack the spindle bearings, too, in addition to all the fluids already mentioned. Water proofing electrical connectors isn't a bad idea but it may not be enough. The terminals are crimped to the ends of the wires and water can wick it's way up the wire and cause corrosion down the road. That's why Ford cancels the warranty on flood vehicles.

 

[Blmpkn]

Do people with manuals who regularly take their vehicle through deep water seal between their motor and trans? Or are the mating surfaces usually tight enough to not allow water intrusion? I can't imagine a clutch likes being wet..

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Do people with manuals who regularly take their vehicle through deep water seal between their motor and trans? Or are the mating surfaces usually tight enough to not allow water intrusion? I can't imagine a clutch likes being wet..

I would think it would just evaporate from heat and friction, maybe slip a little until it does. I think oil would be worse than water.

 

[don4331]

If an engine draws water, the results are usually catastrophic and instant. In most cases, the air filter keeps actual water out - you might get very humid air (hence rough running), but no actual water. So, I wouldn't worry about the engine itself. Changing the filter is never a bad idea though.

We never actually worried about the clutch thru deep water - the old cj had snorkel above the windshield, and the exhaust extended to about the same level. Distributor and wires needed to be sealed with grease, but I can't remember doing anything else*. We ran the creek with water over 1/2 way up the windshield.

As noted, we changed oil in transmission (yes, there is a breather on top), axles, and repacked hubs.

*There might have been something with fan/alternator which allowed us to decouple them. And the battery needed to be sealed.