wading and churning

[SnakeLogic]

How long (roughly) can one ford deep water (over the wheels) with a regular (not electric aftermarket) fan?  I realize that while doing so, I'm churning water and spraying everything in my engine compartment, but I don't think that an electric fan is a reliable upgrade (and in any case, I'm not going to buy one).

As always, thanks for the advice.

[Budgie]

The mechanical fans are on a viscous coupling and will be slowed by the water resistance. But this shouldn't effect the engine that much and driven correctly, using a bow wave, the engine compartment should be relitively free of water until you start going deeper.

With a diesel, the water churned up by the fan will have little effect but with a petrol you will have to make sure the electrics are waterproofed otherwise the engine may cut out in the water.

The electric fan is actually a good convertion as you can have it on an automatic switch for normal driving and an on/off switch for wading so you can switch it off. Plus it will give you a little extra engine power as the engine isn't driving it and it only comes on when needed.

When wading you're not that worried about engine cooling as the water you're going through will do some of that for you.
As for time in the water, well thats up to you, where you are and how far you have to go. If the water is deep enough to provide the engine cooling around the radiator and bottom of the block then who long a piece of string?

A few things to watch out for though:
Make sure you know exactly how deep it is and where the underwater obstructions are.
If it's too deep and too fast flowing then your Disco will float, for a while, and can be swept down stream!!
If the water is muddy then wash out your radiator asap, with a hose rather than a pressure washer as you want some radiator left!
Make sure all your breather pipes are clear before you go into the water and with a TDi then an added breather on the timing cover is advisable.

[SnakeLogic]

The breather on the timing cover is something I must drill and tap myself?

[Budgie]

Yep.

I used a brake bleed nipple.  
Remove the cover plate for the injector pump timing, 3 screws.
Drill & tap the cover plate, making sure the hole is not going to get in the way of the gear inside.
Screw the bleed nipple into the hole and trim off the amount that stick through on the inside of the plate.
Then get a length of tube that's a tight fit onto the nipple, heat the tube in hot water and push it over the nipple.
Then run the tube to the rest of the breather tubes.  

Failing that, you can get a kit from Mantec which includes a replacement cover plate for the timing cover breather.

[floyd fan]

Erm.... this may sound dumb, but I thought the timing cover was cam belt cover and you used the hole at the bottom.

[ChrisW]

Yes Jon that is correct but you can also fit a breather to the blanking plate for the injector pump timing leaving the wading plug permanently fitted to the bottom of the timing belt cover.
Most aftermarket breather kits are based on the above.

[Budgie]

With the wading plug in the hole at the bottom of the timing cover then you stand a chance of sucking water past the timing cover gasket as the hot engine hits the cold water.
The hot air inside the cover will cool and, without a breather of some kind, will create a vacuum in the case. This will take advantage of any weakness in the timing cover gasket or crankshaft pulley seal and suck water into the timing cover.  

The same happens with the axles, gearbox and transfer box. That's why it's a good idea to check the breathers are clear during regular servicing.  

[Tyke]

Checking oil in rear diff last week and got proper hiss when I cracked the filler plug . . . . . . . yep !!!!   . . . . . . . turned out the banjo bolt was blocked full of crap and not letting the axle breath.

A recon diff went in about 5000 miles back, changed oil at 500 and 1500 and last week found the breather blocked during a routine check.



Just as well I suppose . . . . . before the pressure in the diff blew the seals.



Well at least it's been watertight . . . . .  :lol:






One Word to say . . . . . Maintainance  

[hobbit]

Checking oil in rear diff last week and got proper hiss when I cracked the filler plug . . . . . . . yep !!!!   . . . . . . . turned out the banjo bolt was blocked full of crap and not letting the axle breath.

A recon diff went in about 5000 miles back, changed oil at 500 and 1500 and last week found the breather blocked during a routine check.



Just as well I suppose . . . . . before the pressure in the diff blew the seals.



Well at least it's been watertight . . . . .  :lol:






One Word to say . . . . . Maintainance  

Preventative maintenance, is better than repair

It really does work, better to find the problems before they pop up in bits on the floor

If you are going on an off road play or green laining, a 30 minute check and lubrication on the main parts will save a lot of pain later

It sounds obvious but I include myself in this how many do check, not as often as you should?

[SnakeLogic]

I've gone through the owner's manual I have, but I can't find any mention of the breathers.  How many are there, where are they, and how would I know if they need cleaning?

I've been looking at breather extenders.  Do these make sense even without having a snorkel fitted?

[blacknight]

Checking oil in rear diff last week and got proper hiss when I cracked the filler plug . . . . . . . yep !!!!   . . . . . . . turned out the banjo bolt was blocked full of crap and not letting the axle breath.

A recon diff went in about 5000 miles back, changed oil at 500 and 1500 and last week found the breather blocked during a routine check.



Just as well I suppose . . . . . before the pressure in the diff blew the seals.



Well at least it's been watertight . . . . .  :lol:






One Word to say . . . . . Maintainance  

Hello Tyke - Had exactly the same happen to my Disco about 18 months ago.

Ended up replacing the oil in diffs with fresh oil. Whilst I was at it I popped down to Cages down Dewsbury, bought some 4mm pneumatic piping and put new extended breather pipes on.

[Little-Green-Machine]

if your not needing a snorkle for the depths that you wade in try buying extended breathers and running them up into the highest point in the engine bay. we did this on our 2a and it works a treat remember to point them downwards so a splash won't flood them.

[Lewis Bernard]

hi guys, i need some help with this one as well.

so far i have extended breathers on both axles, gearbox and transfer box, got a 300 tdi and been trying to work out how to fix a breather to the timing cover. As it is an air con model and the tensioner pulley arm acts as the cover, and the central part is a 1/2" socket hole for a torque wrench. any ideas?? (apart from do away with the air con!!) anyone out there managed to create something?

cheers for the help

lewis