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Mandatory DEEP water crossing. Seal intake?

Akavy

Full Member
Joined
May 13, 2016
Messages
33
I have an issue.  Creek is flooded and i need to get through it both ways.  Last weekend i made it with water over the hood and ass end end swept downstream.  Guy behind me in 08 one ton chevy pulled creek water in intake and fully cooked motor.  Will try to attach video of both.  Question: is there anything i can do to alleviate water intake risk in dire situation? Stuff towel in intake?pull fan fuse so it?s not blasting? This is must make alaska type sh**.
Have 2? leveling with 285/70-17 and duratrac so she does pretty well. 
 
Deep
 

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Video wont work.  iPhone screenshots.  Here?s the 08 dying it?s final death.
 

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I would have to guess you have more issues then just the intake to consider, when you look at all the electronics on modern vehicles they should be waterproofed as well. Then you could have an issue with all the weather seals and drains on the AV allowing water to intrude, also vents on things like the transmission and other parts of the drive-train. Not to mention water and dirt getting into crevices and setting up rust areas especially under cladding. Repeated water crossing could lead to not an immediate death of your AV but It won't increase it's life unless you do lots of maintenance frequently.
As a side note I would also worry about you and your family's safety with repeated water crossings, it may cost you or a loved one's life some day so please rethink this "need" to cross. (Maybe build a bridge or cable controlled barge to ferry vehicles across instead?)
 
To prevent intake ingestion you need a snorkel.

However making water crossings in flooded areas is a dangerous prospect and should not ever be done.

You have other issues to be concerned with. The electronics on your truck are not waterproof and can be damaged. Especially if the water you are traveling through is salt water. In order to be water proof all of the electronics that can be exposed to water need to be sealed so water can not get into them and the connectors need to be sealed so they can't get water into them which would cause corrosion.

The other issue is that you don't want water to get into the interior or you can cause some serious damage there too. Think of vehicles that get stuck in a flood. there is a reason they become totaled. You may have already done irreversible damage to the electronics in your truck.
 
Ok.  Thanks for the suggestions you obviously cleared with your lawyer.  That?s a whole lot of ?be scared of this other thing happening!? And nothing having to do with the problem at hand that needs solving. 
I didn?t say im driving in floods or trying to protect my interior.  It?s a truck! As in utility machine. 
For five years I have and will continue to cross this creek in the Avalanche. 
So, do you think an additional piece of foam or water restricting material in the airbox would help keep water out and still allow it to breath enough?  Since water ingestion is the real danger here. 
 
If you must do it I'd invest in a snorkel.  That's probably the safest route. 
 
NO foam or whatever will not prevent water...as fresh air comes in from under box via fender....

You put foam in; is like adding another air filter.. engine still has to breath

I would remove air filter box and make some piping and make a snorkel...up high on passenger side.

Check sith ALASKA AV I am sure he rigged soemthing up before in all his travels in Alaska.

but once you go in water deeper then front bumper and are not crawling then you risk hydro-locking motor. which kinda sucks in the loing run.

I think someone no here made a snorkel - in this section probably.... think they purchased one from another truck and made it work...

then another guy used 4" PVC....
 
Akavy said:
Ok.  Thanks for the suggestions you obviously cleared with your lawyer.  That?s a whole lot of ?be scared of this other thing happening!? And nothing having to do with the problem at hand that needs solving. 
I didn?t say im driving in floods or trying to protect my interior.  It?s a truck! As in utility machine. 
For five years I have and will continue to cross this creek in the Avalanche. 
So, do you think an additional piece of foam or water restricting material in the airbox would help keep water out and still allow it to breath enough?  Since water ingestion is the real danger here.

Has nothing to do with laws or trying to scare you. These are known issues with ALL GM trucks like this. They are NOT waterproof, they are "weather proof". They are NOT made to be crossing deep rivers and doing so without considerations about making it safe to do so will eventually cost you.

Not to mention you need to inspect the creek to insure it can be crossed safely. If there are any major deep drops in the creek that can suck you in or flow that is in excess of what is safe you WILL lose your truck. There are PLENTY of videos where not just avalanches, but any truck getting swept away in high flows or sinking into a deep hole. When crossing unknown patches of water, smart crossers always walk the path first to insure there are no deep holes or other surprises lurking. Since you have done this many times I suspect this won't be something you worry about.

Again, The things I stated are items which you need to consider or you will have issues with your truck. Some may become Gremlins that you have to try tracing down and may never find.

Connectors in our trucks are considered weather proof. NOT water proof. If you submerge those components you will do damage to them. It may come in corroded connectors that happen over time because you have moisture trapped in the connectors. If you want to continue to submerge your truck you must find a dielectric grease and put this inside your connectors to prevent corrosion. Using dialectic grease SHOULD prevent moisture from getting into your plugs and prevent corrosion.  You also need to check out any electronic devices that are exterior on your truck and insure they are sealed up properly. Some have simple rubber gaskets that may or may not last over time. Additional adding of silicon or other types of sealant is strongly suggested.  Just want to insure anything you use is not conductive to electricity.

Again, insure door seals and all interior seals are up to snuff. You will find many threads about people having a leaky sunroof causing serious havoc with their electronics. Having an actual flood into your truck is a whole different story.

Other considerations are the vents in areas such as your transmission and differentials. Those vents are there to allow expansion and contraction of the air and lubricants due to temperatures. You also run a slight risk of getting water into your transmission and differentials if you ever stay in the water for any length of time if the ends of these vents are exposed. They may get warm enough to drive the water back out but these are considerations that must be made.

In vehicles made to go across bodies of water these and other considerations are made to make it as seamless as possible.

You have tempted fate to this point. But make sure at a minimum to put that snorkel on your truck...

I have seen trucks made to go through bodies of water. The electronic connectors are all filled with a grease to prevent water intrusion, the modules themselves are sealed in rubber boots to prevent water getting into them. Short of doing all that with your truck, you really need to consider the grease in the connectors.

But it is YOUR truck, you do whatever you want with it. Just don't be surprised when you start getting all sorts of issues with the electronics in a couple more years or if the truck doesn't die right in the middle of a crossing. There are also threads on here where people had to replace all the fluids in their trucks after getting components under water because of water intrusion. So personally, be my guest tear up your truck.

I am building my truck up to go off road and water proofing the exterior components is #1 consideration on that list outside of lifting and upgrading driveline. It will have at least one, maybe two superchargers and each of those superchargers will have snorkels on them as well as everything I mentioned here done with my truck. Such as dielectric grease in all of the connectors. And potentially plastidip of the modules to seal them up.

As to your air box, nothing you can do to make your current air box work. You MUST go with a snorkel to prevent water ingestion into your engine. A snorkel should be sealed from the throttle body to the top of the intake. If you put the filter anywhere other than at the inlet of the snorkel you need to check it for debris that can collect in the tube. (Something not normally worried about when pulling air from the fender.) And most snorkels go to or above the roof line.
 
To add, the pics taken look to the fact that you plowed in and did not drive thru, I have driven thru water even to the hood of my jeep when I lived in Arizona with no snorkel by driving, not plowing in. (Just what I see.)
 
Thanks all for the responses.  I do agree many problems can arise doing this but it is a relatively safe and necessary crossing.  I will look into grease in connections and vents in trans and diff.  The crossings are quick and followed by a normal existence dry out period. 
I agree that there was some ?plow? going on in this particular crossing, but hey, it was soft and swift this spring.  I got antsy.  But I?ll be in it again again tomorrow and the level is down some, so that?s good.
 
Have fun.

Be safe.

(y)
 
Be safe and protect your rig and it will serve you well. Also consider some sort of boot or seal around your fuse panel. This panel has no seal or water protection on it. If you totally submerge the fuse panel your truck will likely die on the spot and has potential for serious damage to components due to electrical spikes. Mice have been known to climb under the box through the "holes" in the bottom of the box and munch on wires. I assure you water will get in there too.

 
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