Thread: any tips for wet proofing a V8?

I wouldnt fit a vacuum hose but I would think about compressed air as vacuum will draw water in as well as air, if you have a compressor, you can turn it on while going through water and that will keep some of the water out of the dizzy but you will need to bleed off presure so you dont lift the dizzy cap.

Another solution, doesnt look all that nice but the battery spray you spray on battery terminals on all the major componants works well but like I said, looks crap.

Best solution is spray on electrical silicon on all connectors and around the dizzy and plugs and then just normal silicon spray before you submerge it.

I have used all 3 of these solutions, #1 on the mini sprint #2 on my old Subi and #3 on my Triton all of which never broke down because of water ingres in the electrical system, had plenty of other breakdowns though.

Best solution of all you have already mentioned and thats why I bought a Diesel but I see where your coming from.

G'day. Seven days might be a squeeze for this one, but here we go...

I've got a '91 V8 Disco and did the following prior to a 3 month trip in northern Australia which included a few water crossings - over the bonnet stuff - and the old girl didn't offer a hiccup.

1) made a splash proof box for the coil. I used (stole) a tupperware container from my beloved and drilled a few ventilation holes in the side and siliconed the coil lead through another hole in the side. I bolted the container to left front wheel arch and had to move that ball looking canister thing to make room... The container had a 'snap lock' lid so i could fiddle with the coil without having to pull everything out. Wife not entirely happy about this theft/aquisition.

2) bought an el-cheapo compressor ($19.95) and added an in-cab toggle switch and then plumbed an air line to a hole i drilled in the dizzy cap. When operating, the compressor pressurizes the distribitor and whilst forcing air out, prevents water from coming in and spoiling my day. It has obvious limitations for long term, hard core use but was cheap and did the job.

Also, I had a '42 Willys Jeep and in the manual for 'water proofing' they described and had photos of blokes covering all electrical units (particularly dizzy) with asbestos grease. Now while this resisted both heat and water, the health problems probably outweigh the benefits these days. It looked like they were coating everything with lard!! The rubber glove trick might do it too...but i think the vaso could melt quickly - give it a test run and see.


Best of luck and have a fun trip.

No problem with the aspestos, I think it is only if it gets into your lungs it is bad for you so the grease would have held it fine until it heated up and started floating around the engine bay.

Go the silly spray and silly grease, Wurth make a good one of both but they arent cheap but any will work, just not for as long.

As for the black ball thing, that would be a vacuum canister im assuming, no big dramas moving it but I wouldnt remove it if you want your heater to work properly.

IMHO an electronic ignition instead of points is the first thing to do.
New plug leads and boots at both ends with maybe dielectric grease to seal the joints.
Silastic the high tension lead into the coil with neutral cure silastic.
With only that done and a blind I have gone through water over 1 metre deep in my 77 Rangie. the engine kept going but the long range tank started to float the back.
In the 1998 Nissan Trials my car got to the last log in the dam, which is over a metre.The engine stopped but restarted on a number of cylinders and I was able to reverse out. The dizzy cap was wet inside but the Luminition still operated maybe under water.LOL. The water was up to the "Castle" of the bonnet on the LH side.
So its not as serious a problem as many think. I believe the story came about with points cars and cars with old sick ignitions. Keep everything clean and sealed and there should be no problems within sane reason.
I recently had a "glove" on my dizzy , but it turned to gooey gloop over about 5 years, so I cut/pulled etc it off, and I will not replace it.
Most injection cars I have seen stop have been from water ingestion. Thats why I fitted a snorkel.
Regards Philip A

You could fit thermo fans, with a switch, instead of the viscous fan. The switchable fans can be turned off when wading, avoiding water being sprayed over the electric bits. If you cant/dont want to fit thermo's, then remove the viscous fan when wading in deep water.

A good spray with WD 40 or anything similar over the dizzy cap and coil usually does the job.

Wrap the front of the car with a tarpaulin, to help keep the water level low in the engine bay when deep wading.

Of course you can fit more permanent solutions as listed above, but I find it's really not necessary, unless you are driving deep water all the time.

Just my 2 cents.

Another solution, doesnt look all that nice but the battery spray you spray on battery terminals on all the major componants works well but like I said, looks crap.

Yep, I can vouch for this treatment. CRC do one. Yellow waxy stuff.

Tried it out first by spraying the top of the coil in the Discovery. Let it dry, started the engine & let it idle whilst heavily hosing the coil terminals. Did not falter at all.

I believe this, or another brand is recommended for marine use as well.


http://www.crcind.com.au/catalogue.n...r?openDocument

when i read the article about the vacum hose and the dizzy i did think that creating a negative pressure in the dizzy would draw in water/condensation. a positive pressure in the cap would keep it out, unfortunately i don't have an on board compressor.

time is against me on this one, it's the school holidays here and i have a 6 and 4 year olds keeping me busy as well as the 110 and trip packing etc.

thanks for the comments and please keep them coming as i'll most likely pick and choose between all the answers.

Originally Posted by D110V8D

You could fit thermo fans, with a switch, instead of the viscous fan. The switchable fans can be turned off when wading, avoiding water being sprayed over the electric bits. If you cant/dont want to fit thermo's, then remove the viscous fan when wading in deep water.

^^
Another problem with fans in water is that they flex & make a right mess of your radiator core. Drop the fan belt before you cross deep water. The time it takes to do this allows you diff a little time to cool down as well so lessens the chance of them sucking in water past your axle seals. On this subject check all your breathers are working and are routed up high with hose. At this time you can also apply WD40 to electrics as needed before crossing.