[nicolas-eric]

hi,

tomorrow i´ll go out wheeling and it will be the first time that i´ll have to cross a river.
the deepest point is about 2 feet. will that be ok for my stock tj with 2" BB and 2" BL and 32s?

what are the best things that i would have do on my tj to make it able to drive through deeper water?

thanks in advance.

nicolas-eric

 

[jherrin215]

if it's only 2 foot you surely should be fine. I would make sure and change all the fluids after you got done and you should have no trouble.

 

[amerijeep]

Right. Change ALL your fluids. Can you go around the water?

 

[nicolas-eric]

i only want to drive through a 2 feet deep river once.
and after that i´ll have to change some fluids? which fluids?

that´s too expensive for me if i have to change some fluids everytime i cross a river. then i will look for another route and a bridge.

i though that for a jeep crossing a river wouldn´t be such a problem. in the manual they say that crossing a 25" deep river isn´t a problem for a stock TJ. they don´t say anything about changed fluids.

what things can i do if i want to cross such a river without the necessity to change some fluids after that?
spending some money for that seems to be more useful than spending mony for fluids every time i crossed a river.

BTW a friend goes through 30" deep water with his stock land rover defender. without changing any fluid after that. and he does that for many years without a problem.

 

[jherrin215]

Yuo will only have to change fluids that could possibly be contaminated with water. If your differentials are underwater, you need to change the fluid. If not they should be fine. Same for transmission. If you ever have to change the oil because of water you are getting in some deep stuff. You probably wouldn't have to change anything but possibly the differential fluids for just 2 foot of water.

 

[jbone303]

Just take it slow and you'll be fine. My job flooded out once and i had to drive through about 2 ft of water for a good 100 yards about 5-6 times a day for 3 days and have had no problems other than getting all the grass and reeds out of every nook underneith

 

[binaryking]

hi,

tomorrow i´ll go out wheeling and it will be the first time that i´ll have to cross a river.
the deepest point is about 2 feet. will that be ok for my stock tj with 2" BB and 2" BL and 32s?

what are the best things that i would have do on my tj to make it able to drive through deeper water?

thanks in advance.

nicolas-eric

Two feet is no problem for a TJ. If the exhaust is below the water line, just try to keep your foot on the pedal so that it doesn't suck up any water. But don't go speeding through or anything. You shouldn't have to change any fluids for only 2 feet.

 

[affende]

it will be fine. you dont need to change your fluid every time your jeep gets wet ... that is just retarded and wasteful.

what you do need to do, though, is extend your vent tubes on your axles, tranny, and tcase(?). extend the front axle and tranny up to the cowl under the hood. extend the rear up to the top of the wheel well.

if you have an auto tranny (i hope you dont) then you will need to change the fluid after a good dunk (they leak like a bitch and have a short breather tube ... they are VERY sensitive to water in the fluid ... ask me how i know :roll: )

RTV and axle seals keep hot gear oil in the axle ... and they do a damn good job of keeping water out of it.

do be careful with your brakes, though ... they wont work as well wet as they do dry .... (after a good crossing, i ride the brakes while driving down the trail to dry them out more quickly ... especially the rear drums.)

cheers mate.

 

[nicolas-eric]

thanx a lot for your answers.

i found the tube from the rear axle behind the fuel intake. but where do i find the tubes from the tranny, TC and front axle?

and yes i have the 4-speed auto tranny. is there a special problem with it? through how deep water can i drive without getting some water into it?

sorry, my technical english isn´t very good (i´m from germany). what do you mean with RTV and axle seals?

today i got a mail from jeep germany. they say that going to 20" (50 cm) deep water will be ok. i have 4" bigger tires and 2" BB, so i think that 2" foot (60 cm) deep water must be ok without damaging anything.

today i took a look about some electrical things and connectors around the engine and found nothing there in that height.

the only thing that worries my is that some people told me that the auto tranny gets damaged very fast if there comes some water into it.
so please tell me how to modify the tranny to avoid any damage.

 

[affende]

thanx a lot for your answers.

i found the tube from the rear axle behind the fuel intake. but where do i find the tubes from the tranny, TC and front axle?

and yes i have the 4-speed auto tranny. is there a special problem with it? through how deep water can i drive without getting some water into it?

sorry, my technical english isn´t very good (i´m from germany). what do you mean with RTV and axle seals?

today i got a mail from jeep germany. they say that going to 20" (50 cm) deep water will be ok. i have 4" bigger tires and 2" BB, so i think that 2" foot (60 cm) deep water must be ok without damaging anything.

today i took a look about some electrical things and connectors around the engine and found nothing there in that height.

the only thing that worries my is that some people told me that the auto tranny gets damaged very fast if there comes some water into it.
so please tell me how to modify the tranny to avoid any damage.

i think everything will be fine for 60cm water ... but i think you should extend your transmission vent tube for safety.

it is true, water in the chrystler 999 transmission can do damage very quickly.

get under your jeep and look around the tranny for the vent tube to find it. i cant tell you exactly where it is. same goes for the front axle.

you will want to extend both of them well into the engine bay (the higher the better) which can be done with a barbed coupler and extra hose or by replacing the original hose with a longer one. both should be black rubber hoses.

what i meant by RTV and axle seals was referring to the comments made that if your diff goes under, you have to change the fluid. this is not true. The RTV silicone on the differential cover, and the axle seals on the outside of the axle housing do a damn good job of keeping hot differential fluid in the axle and keeping water out of the axle.

they only ways to get water into a differential are 1) leaky differential cover (if it leaks oil, it will let water in), 2) leaky axle seals (if it leaks oil, it will let water in), 3) and if you let the top of the vent tube get under water.

all three are easy to avoid. check for leaks and extend the vent tube.

the vent tube on the transmission is very short and is not vented a high as the axle vent tubes (in retrospect, i dont think there is a vent tube for the Tcase) ... which is why there is a problem with getting water into the tranny.

axles should be fine for 60cm water .... tranny should have the vent tube extended.

 

[affende]

sorry for the lengthy replies, just trying to cover all the bases

and your english is very good for a native of Germany. (i have soem friends from Düsseldorf, Germany)

 

[nicolas-eric]

ok, then i´ll search all the vent tubes...

i have the 42RLE 4-speed auto tranny and the NV231 TC.

ok, found the TC vent tube. it goes from the upper front of the TC only over the auto tranny. that´s not very high. i´ll have to extend it.

but i couldn´t find anythinmg about the vent tubes at the axles and the auto tranny.

can somebody please help me to find them? i´m very new in working on cars...

thanks in advance.

 

[affende]

ok, then i´ll search all the vent tubes...

i have the 42RLE 4-speed auto tranny and the NV231 TC.

ok, found the TC vent tube. it goes from the upper front of the TC only over the auto tranny. that´s not very high. i´ll have to extend it.

but i couldn´t find anythinmg about the vent tubes at the axles and the auto tranny.

can somebody please help me to find them? i´m very new in working on cars...

thanks in advance.

yes, extend it up into the top of the engine bay if possible (level with the air intake for the engine is a good level.)

tranny vent tube should be on the top of the tranny near the bellhousing IIRC

front axle vent will be on the rear of the housing near where the driveshaft bolts up to the axle.

 

[nicolas-eric]

now i found the front axle vent hose in the FSM. it ends on the upper side of the fan shrould in the front. so it´s as high as the rear axle vent hose.
i don´t know where the axles vent hoses are connected to the axle. but they end up high enough for the things i plan so i think that the axles sould be safe.

i also could find find a pic of the TC vent hose. it ends directly under the body over the auto tranny. i think it will be easy to extend it.

they also write about the "automatic transmission vent or fill tube" but there is no pic that shows where i can find it.

can you pls help me again to find the auto tranny vent hose?



btw.
i think all that is a bit funny.
a friend with his stock land rover defender can drive through 1 meter deep water without any problems. all connectors/cables/sensors and other electrical things are water protected on his car.
and my jeep has a TC tube that end in only 1.5 foot height. i think it couzldn´t be so difficult for jeep to spend 1-2 $ for longer tubes and a much better water protection. they sell it as an offroader so they have to build it as an offroader.
sorry, i´m only a bit disappointed that i can´t do things with a car from a company that invented the offroader that a friend can do with his boring british car.
in all other things (flexing, driving steep roads, ...) my jeep is better than his land rover.

 

[affende]

now i found the front axle vent hose in the FSM. it ends on the upper side of the fan shrould in the front. so it´s as high as the rear axle vent hose.
i don´t know where the axles vent hoses are connected to the axle. but they end up high enough for the things i plan so i think that the axles sould be safe.

i also could find find a pic of the TC vent hose. it ends directly under the body over the auto tranny. i think it will be easy to extend it.

they also write about the "automatic transmission vent or fill tube" but there is no pic that shows where i can find it.

can you pls help me again to find the auto tranny vent hose?



btw.
i think all that is a bit funny.
a friend with his stock land rover defender can drive through 1 meter deep water without any problems. all connectors/cables/sensors and other electrical things are water protected on his car.
and my jeep has a TC tube that end in only 1.5 foot height. i think it couzldn´t be so difficult for jeep to spend 1-2 $ for longer tubes and a much better water protection. they sell it as an offroader so they have to build it as an offroader.
sorry, i´m only a bit disappointed that i can´t do things with a car from a company that invented the offroader that a friend can do with his boring british car.
in all other things (flexing, driving steep roads, ...) my jeep is better than his land rover.

lol, yeah jeep cut some corners in the wrong places here and there, but for the most part, it is the most capable off the floor vehicle on the market.

the vent hose for the auto tranny in you vehicle may be the fill tube. i know mine is different but i dont have much experience with the 42RLE. from the sounds of your manual, though, the fill tube and vent hose are one in the same. (i would leave it at that and call it good)

but if for some reason your tranny doesnt want to shift gears after you cross the river, time to drop the pan and change the fluid

 

[nicolas-eric]

thanks a lot for your help.

my problem is that i´m still on warranty till may/2008 and if they find water in the tranny or the axles i´ll void the warranty.

so i want to be shure that i will not damage anything before i drive through a river or a small lake.

how would you extend the TC vent hose?


does somebody else know something about the vent hose and fill tube of the 42RLE auto tranny?


nicolas-eric

 

[affende]

thanks a lot for your help.

my problem is that i´m still on warranty till may/2008 and if they find water in the tranny or the axles i´ll void the warranty.

so i want to be shure that i will not damage anything before i drive through a river or a small lake.

how would you extend the TC vent hose?


does somebody else know something about the vent hose and fill tube of the 42RLE auto tranny?


nicolas-eric

i would remove the old hose, take it to the auto parts store / hardware store and get similar hose but long enough to route into the engine bay.

 

[nicolas-eric]

i would remove the old hose, take it to the auto parts store / hardware store and get similar hose but long enough to route into the engine bay.

that will be the best i think.

i´m a lazy guy and thought about extending the existing hose...

 

[affende]

that will be the best i think.

i´m a lazy guy and thought about extending the existing hose...

then you have to deal with barbed unions, band clamps, and the like ...

i think an all new hose will be easier and cheaper

 

[nicolas-eric]

now i only have to find out where the trannys hose are placed. i hoped thaat i wouldn´t have to lie under the car to search this hose. it´s very cold outside and it snows and i don´t have a garage.