Thread: Why is the Defender wading depth only 500mm?

I don't have experience of the td5 defender but in my 300tdi I had water coming green over the top of the bullbar & that was with a 2" lift, so the depth would have had to be between 1m & 1.2m. Of course I had a snorkel fitted

Because the air intake is in the side of the mudguard and the "bow wave" will risk water ingress into the intake.

Also when hot metal like diffs and gearboxes hit cold water you get rapid cooling then metals and fluids etc contract, creating a partial vacuum which risks drawing water/mud into the various submerged assemblies.

I suppose it always gives LR a huge margin so that if something goes wrong when you drive through something more than ankle deep they can claim it was your fault.

They are probably capable of safely negotiating much deeper water if you do things right, even without modifications.

Also there is a big hole on top of the clutch housing under the little aluminium cover that shields a sensor. Its easy to fill the clutch housing with dirty water when wading up to that level as I did when fording the Durack River in WA. When my clutch was replaced under warrenty the dealer wondered why it was all rusty.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

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Also when hot metal like diffs and gearboxes hit cold water you get rapid cooling then metals and fluids etc contract, creating a partial vacuum which risks drawing water/mud into the various submerged assemblies.

I think that they've all had extended breathers factory fitted to the diffs since the mid 80s.

These, if clear, would help cope with this problem.

However, they can and do get blocked

I read somewhere that a fibre optic thingy for the throttle is dangerously low ?
And the author carried a spare

The throttle potentiometer. Basically just above your right foot and not waterproof. But that's be at least 700 high.

Because it's a Defender,not a boat. Pat