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Driving through water

IdeaMan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Fresno, CA
What special precautions need to be taken in order to drive the Cherokee through water. Do I need to extend my breather tubes on each axle and the transmission? Also, what's best... fast, slow? What if the engine stalls while you're in the water? Does it need to be towed out? Just trying to figure this stuff out before I do any damage. There's a trail I want to run that has some water crossings and I want to be carefull. Any tips would be appreciated.
 
IdeaMan said:
Basically stock 97 4-door 4x4, 4.0I6, AW4. No lift, just safety type stuff... skids, tow points.

Your joking right. 3.5 feet of water in a stock cherokee, my bumper with a 3" lift only sits 26" off the ground and thats only slightly more than 2 feet. If you must , yes extend the breathers and if it stalls cut it immediatly!!! I would drain the axles if you are in it for an extended period. I don't condone this by the way.
 
Hey, that's why I'm asking. So let me pose this question: How much water depth can a stock height Cherokee handle? 1 foot, 2 feet?
 
IdeaMan said:
Hey, that's why I'm asking. So let me pose this question: How much water depth can a stock height Cherokee handle? 1 foot, 2 feet?

Well iI'm gonna clarify.....driving through water makes me nervous. If it was waterproffed and snorkled it would make me nervous. You just never know. I owuld say a stock cherokee can handle about a foot (carefully). Drive slowly if it starts to get deep, back out, its not worth the engine. To help I'd un hook the intake tube and aim it towards the firewall while crossing in case some water does get in the air box. Take your time and don't let anyone tell you you can do it if you think you can't. Its your jeep and your money.
 
Do not disconnect the filter box, the square hole is there for a reason, when water closes it off it is supposed to starve the engine for air and cause it to stall out before it inhales any h2o, it mostly works unless the engine is around 2,000rpm, at that point inertia is your enemy. Rule of thumb, keep the water below your bumper, drive at a consistant speed and get a bow wave going, keep it constant and the bow wave will keep water out of the radiator. However the most important thing to remember is let someone else of the same height go first, if he sinks then don't go... I don't like water either and on two occasions, same paragon rockrawl, I had it up to the bottom of my fender flares and was about sucking the seat cover up my butt, all my door seals worked well as the XJ was only 4 months old and it stayed dry inside, one was a 100 yard stream crossing and the other was a 1 mile long abandoned railroad tunnel that did a good impersonation of a killer monsoon car wash which totally caught the open topped shorties by complete suprise. The tunnel was pitch black but I could put my hand out the window and the water was about 1/2 way up the door. Water and mud are bad for jeeps...
 
back in the day, my buddy was talked into taking his 92' stock XJ in a massive hole, with lots of water, maybe 2.5 ft. deep. Yeah, it was bad, his engine stalled out 1/2 way(probably bc to air was coming into airbox), some how....to our amasement, water was not coming in. WE pulled him out, the engine started (to our supprise) and the whole exhaust system was full of water, water went shooting out everywhere, it was funny to watch. And thats it, no damage, he drove it for another 2 years, then sold it recently.
 
Well you guys have all scared the $hit out of me... guess I better be reeealllllly carefull and check exactly how deep this water is.
 
IdeaMan said:
Well you guys have all scared the $hit out of me... guess I better be reeealllllly carefull and check exactly how deep this water is.

Please! It's really scary to be half way across and drop in to where its suddnely coming over the hood.
 
"Do I need to extend my breather tubes on each axle and the transmission?"

There's a good question. How many people do that? I know lots of folks slap on a snorkle for the looks and or function. What about above and other stuff you can do?
 
jeepguy97 said:
Please! It's really scary to be half way across and drop in to where its suddnely coming over the hood.

Yup, all it takes is a washed out hole into which a tire will fall into dropping your front end suddendly and causing the air intake to go under water.
 
Thats one of the advantages of having kids, they don't mind getting wet and have no problems 'scouting the crossing', if you don't have your own just borrow someone elses, have not met a kid yet who does not like going off roading... Just don't make them walk into any white water unless their parents paid you in advance... :laugh3:
 
Also check local and state laws as to where you are wheeling. In MN we are not allowed to do water crossings, even on Private land.
 
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