deep water crossings

[roamer]

Was wondering what others thoughts are on covering the front on D4 in deep water crossings, there is so much stuff behind grill anyway that it seems abit pointless. :confused:
Cheers Ken

[Disco4SE]

I was wondering the same. I assume that you cannot cover the front quarter panel vents and likewise, you cannot allow water in these vents????

[trailcutter]

Was wondering what others thoughts are on covering the front on D4 in deep water crossings, there is so much stuff behind grill anyway that it seems abit pointless. :confused:
Cheers Ken


well i dont own the d4 ,,,but experience tells me ,,covering front/grill with tarp /canvas creates a barrier effective enough to produce the classic bow wave ,,which in turn lowers water level ,,vehicle confronts as it sails along thru the h2o ... in theory stopping most ingress in eng bay ,,, and pulling you along to a small degree,,,, etc etc a good practice regardless of snorkel fitted ,drive in hard enough ,,on a bad day and you can be unlucky to bend something ,,like fan into rad/cooler etc etc...... this theory all turn to crap when you manage to get stuck in the drink,,,,,,,

[Hymie]

I like the idea of keeping a bow wave and its resultant air cavity in the engine bay. The thought if dry bearings, electrics and such is appealing to me.
In a working week our fleet of Defenders can do up to 12 reasonably deep crossings each, by that I mean over the top of the wheels. We rarely replace tensioner idler bearings or have any other water related problems.

[gghaggis]

The D3/4 will produce a nice bow wave about a metre off the front for crossings up to the 700mm limit. At this point, the low point of the wave is conveniently directly below the air intake vent. The bonnet seals work very well and will trap air in the top half of the engine bay as long as your moving.

I used to fit a polycarb screen (that I made up for the purpose) to the front of the D3 when in comps, but that was more to keep mud off the intercooler than to stop electrics etc getting wet.

Cheers,

Gordon

[CaverD3]

RAI for the D4 also has a kit available to seal the ducting.
D3 has proven capable of very deep wading even with the old RAI.
Weakness in D3 is the transmission module behind the main battery, it was moved to the second battery box.

http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/The%20crossing.wmv :eek:

[Tote]

What is this sealing kit of which you speak? Got a part number?
Regards,
Tote

[CaverD3]

LRO13711 is the hose and PHD000714.

See:
DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Waterproof RAI? (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic50219.html)

[eddomak]

Thanks CaverD3.

So from the Disco3 site I can see that the elbow and hose are now waterproof, but can't seem to find a conclusion as to if the whole system is waterproof? Any thoughts?

[CaverD3]

You could always caulk the connection between the snorkel and the rubber boot.

I replaced the hose and used caulk to fill the holes in the bend:

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Removable Snorkel (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic14190.html)

[Dirty3]

Does Safari or TJm sell one to fit the D4?
I am interested in putting either typoe on my D3, but as I have read the OEM Landrover ones are not watertight....is this right? Does the Safari claim to be watertight?
Or are they as suggested a raised air intake only?

[ADMIRAL]

Does Safari or TJm sell one to fit the D4?
I am interested in putting either typoe on my D3, but as I have read the OEM Landrover ones are not watertight....is this right? Does the Safari claim to be watertight?
Or are they as suggested a raised air intake only?

No one and I mean no one seems to be able to get Safari to confirm if the D3 snorkel will fit straight onto a D4. It is hard to see what differences there would be, but possibly the in engine bay ducting is different.

As you have to drill a ring of holes in the air intake surround to install the Safari snorkel, it would pay to make damn sure it will fit before starting.

I'm not in that much of a hurry!! Bullbar first then the snorkel.

[Rosco]

I have no knowledge about D3 or D4, but with the Fender Safari jobby, they are waterproof ... up to a point. Insomuch as when you put your paw across the top, they just suck air in through the frog-flap before the aircleaner (bottom of the well in the piping that's there to collect water). I assume the D3-D4's have something similar ??

The point being that where they are unrestricted, they are unlikely to allow water ingress through these spots in the relatively short time frame of a water crossing... assuming the snorkel has been correctly fitted.

As has been stated above ... get stuck 1/2 way across and that's an entirely different matter.

[fatnold]

which gets me thinking about my forthcoming V8 with air in take on both sides. I haven't looked into it but is there a left and right hand RAI available???? and further, what about easy fit/ remove type that you put on for the 2 or 3 times a year you might do a trip with deep crossing and then take off and stick back in the shed?

[CSBrisie]

IIRC there is no passenger side RAI for the V8 - and the accessories brochure for D4 specifically says you cant have a RAI on the V8.

[trobbo]

Does Safari or TJm sell one to fit the D4?
I am interested in putting either typoe on my D3, but as I have read the OEM Landrover ones are not watertight....is this right? Does the Safari claim to be watertight?
Or are they as suggested a raised air intake only?

Safari used to use in their advertising a video of a white 80 series floating down river to show that their snorkels were water proof. The water was lapping very close to the top of the windscreen as it floated along.

I dont know what tjm say about theirs.

OEM is a raised airtake only and is not waterproof but would cetainly be significantly better than nothing and IMO would be fine for bonnet deep water as long as you kept moving.

[roamer]

Safari used to use in their advertising a video of a white 80 series floating down river to show that their snorkels were water proof. The water was lapping very close to the top of the windscreen as it floated along.

I dont know what tjm say about theirs.

OEM is a raised airtake only and is not waterproof but would cetainly be significantly better than nothing and IMO would be fine for bonnet deep water as long as you kept moving.

If you look at UK site the D4 RAI comes with an extra which is new rubber pipe, bend and 2 seals makeing them W/P but LR will not garrantee that.
The Large One on UK site is the man to ask (mine is in customs right now,though seeing dealer has overfilled the oil probably no hurry)
My original post was as to cover front grill or is there enough stuff already in the way to get a bow wave happening
Cheers Ken

[CaverD3]

though seeing dealer has overfilled the oil probably no hurry)
Did any damage result?

[roamer]

Did any damage result?

Still waiting for them to ring had it 2.5hrs now,but by the oil leak some thing not good, worried about blocked breathers and traps and likes which may not show up till later
Cheers Ken

[CaverD3]

Ask for a breakdown of what they have done.

My D3 was overfilled a long time ago and I have not had any issues since. But not by much, no oil leaking out, just noticed it was aboveon the dip stick. The dangers on not having one I suppose, no way to physically check.

[Nomad9]

Hi CaverD3,
That video is something else, damn good effort I say, seems incredible, did the tranny module survive in the vehicle doing the crossing? I only washed mine on the drive way and that managed to see off the tranny module. I suspect the module in my D3 had seen some action, the under bonnet wash must have been enough to push the unit over the edge......

[Greatsouthernland]

And if you keep going, this can happen...



The most spectacular river crossing by car. 4x4 off road - YouTube (http://youtu.be/LC5ld79joIA)