Water Crossings

[Tjaart]

Had a good trip in the Bewaarkloof reserve today, and ended up in the Olifants river. Awesome. I have a problem, because we need to cross the river and it's deep. . Problem? Wet fuses and wires. Is there any way to seal the fuse boxes in the engine compartment properly? Because the two covers keeping them closed, are USELESS!!!!

Any ideas will be appreciated. I know I should drive in water. The snorkel works beautifully!! No water anywhere near the air filter. But at that depth, there is a bit of seepage into the car. Any ideas how I can seal that? As long as I am moving, there is no problem! Anyway, the Suzuki lost it's transfer case . So I had to go through and help him out. But then that damn control box for the Ironman Winch got wet and there the winch died. WTF . Now I couldn't reel it in, and I had to wrap it around the bull bar. Which got SCRATCHED . HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SEAL THAT DAMN THING WATER TIGHT. !!!

[Tjaart]

Here is Susan - Afrikaans - on her way to get rid of the transfer case.

Patrol did very well. But that F(%#(%#(G winch died on me, and I think blew up my battery!!!

[G-MAN]

Hi Tjaart. You should have just unscrewed the end of the cable on the winch drum(phillips/star head) and chucked it in the back of your Patrol, no scratches to your new bumper! The water proofing is a bit of a issue... Koop n' boot...

[Herrie]

Ek sien die bullbar sit nou reg.

[Vaatjie]

Water=damage=money!!!!
Nice photos.

[Tjaart]

No come on Guys.
I need solutions!! Come, pick those brains

[Captain]

Tjaart, Quicksilver makes a product called "Corrosion Guard" that I have used extensively during my Off-Shore power boat racing days which I rate highly. We would routinely submerge the motors completely as part of the racing and it has kept me going. It comes in the form of an aerosol spray that leaves a thin dry film (after a day or so) that protect all the electrics from water etc. Some of the other guys used water repellant products like Castrol DWF but that attacked the rubber and plastics which I did not like. TECTYL might also be an option but it stays tacky and attracts dust and dirt. The nice thing about the Corrosion Guard is that it can be removed if required with some power parrafin and a paint brush. Look, it is not going to keep the water out, but will save a short and any corrosion later. You will be able to get it at any reputable boat shop.

[Tjaart]

Tanks Chaptan!!

I'll look for that asap, because we're off to the river in the near future.

[Ross]

Hi Tjaard,

Not sure off hand what the design of the Iron Man Winch is....is the control built onto the winch, or is it a separate unit?

I have a Warn Winch which has the control box divorced from the winch body. When I bought my patrol, the control box was mounted next to the winch (i.e. low down) and as G-Man kindly pointed out, the control box is not water-proof. I have since re-located my control box by lengthening the cables, and it now sits at the top of the fire wall in the engine bay. This works very well, and I had no problems with the deep water in Moremi in April.

Wes and I have also used a product called "Fluid Film" on our Trolls, which sounds pretty similar to the "corrosion guard" product mentioned by Captain. This also works pretty well to add water repelancy to electrical components.

With a Petrol vehicle I would use a degree of caution with deep water, as some of the electrical components are very expensive to replace if damaged. I know a guy who got some water on the MAF during a deep crossing....the result was a more or less dead vehicle (wouldn`t rev over 2000rpm) and over R4k for a replacement part.....eina!!! No such worries with my old school diesel 4.2

Good Luck,

Ross

[Ross]

One other thought that may help you stay out of trouble......

I carry an 18m heavy duty recovery rope with me (rated at 12tons), and have found this to be very valuble as a winch extension cable. It often gives enough extra reach to allow me to keep the patrol on dry land (or at least in shallower water) during a winch recovery. This is particularly useful when doing a snatch block extraction, as the use of the snatch block effectivly halves the length of the winch cable.