Snorkeling and Water-Proofing questions...

I'm planning on water-proofing and snorkeling my XJ(90 XJ Pioneer 4.0 5spd Command-Trac) so I can hit the deep stuff this summer.

I did a search on this and I found some great tips which ultimately gave me more questions...With the way the alternator is just inches off the road should I worry about it or is it good how it is? I've been in water up over the hubs a couple times so I know it's got wet atleast once.

How hard is it to re-route the intake to inside underneath the dashboard?
Would any of the electronics in the engine bay need to be moved inside or do I just need to seal them really good? And how would I go about sealing them? Also, would I need to seal all the electrical connectors in the engine bay where 2 wires join? If so would heat-shrink wrapping work?

I heard about taking a round metal grille from an older BBQ and mounting that to the one side of the radiator so that the fan on the engine won't act like a propeller and go into the radiator, does this actually work?

I plan on extending the vent lines for the axles, the trans and the X-Fer Case all to a central location so where they all end up can I just use the same hose at the end?

How would I go about sealing the distributor cap?

Anything else I should worry about that I didn't mention?

Sorry for the long post I just don't want to miss something and royally screw up my Jeep...Thanks in advance

As for the distributor, somebody mentioned that ford or somebody's distributor cap was the same except for no vent. I did a wrap around the distributor with duct tape to seal the cap. Use dielectric grease on the wire boots on the distributor and the plugs.

Some RTV on the starter relay can't hurt. A large bead of dielectric grease around the shaft on the TPS is a good idea as well. Pulling each connector apart and hitting them with dielectric gease is a good idea, water or not.

Mud is bad for alternators, but I've never had water cause any problems.

If deep water is going to be common, get rid of any mechanical radiator fan. I have seen quite a few that got sucked into the radiator due to deep water. You can shut off electrical fans.

Some way to cover the vents in a yellowtop battery is a good idea. I've seen lots fail due to water getting in the vents.

When you did that wrap arround the cap w/the tape did you do just along the bottom of the cap or along the bottom and the little knob at the top?

About how much should the dielectric grease cost? What's the shaft on the TPS? Also what's RTV(ain't that like caulk?)?

Would there be any way to turn off the mechanical fan for a short period of time? I'm guessing no on that one so how much would I be looking at to replace it with an electrical one?

Thanks

The tape was wrapped around the junction seam between the cap and the distributor.

RTV stands for room temperature vulcanizing. It is the silicone type goop that hardens into a spring form.

A tube of dielectric grease normally runs less than $5

No way to turn off the mechanical fan.

As I am farily new to Jeeping and water crossings I am interested in this topic as I build my jeep, but I can't comment on what specifically to protect on the XJ.

With experience in commercial communcations systems though I can comment on weatherproofing connectors (that should be just as bulletproof for the jeep).

Protecting electrical joints:
1. regular heat shrink won't cut it
2. silicon impregnated heat shrink is available, but if exposed to lots of flexing can begin to break down.
3. silicon/RTV sealant can cause and/or exacerbate corrosion on electrical connectors (especially when dissimilar metals are joined) due to the acetic acid in the curing process (the vinegar smell). For connectors, only use aquarium grade sealant.

The best way to protect from water ingress is a multi-layer wrap as follows: First wrap with electrical tape (as tight as possible to leave no air gaps), you can use the cheap stuff here. The second wrap is of butyl rubber (known as monkey shit in the comm world). This is a moldable, very sticy rubber tape (nasty stuff). You can substitue linerless splicing tape for this. The next wrap is a good layer of Scotch 33 or 88 electrical tape. Do not stretch the final few wraps and cut (not tear) the end to minimize the end from fraying off. Connectors properly weatherproofed can look like new after 20 years in the weather.

For connections where water could flow down onto the connector the wraps should start from the connector and go up (like you roof a house) to minimize any chance of wicking down the wraps.

The other advantage of this type of weatherproofing is it can be removed easily by taking a razor blade and cutting lengthwise, then peel off in one piece (try that with silicon). It isn't the cheapest method, but if you want bomb-proof connectors it is the way to go.

BTW, you can use this on you CB coax connectors also.

ah..yes...."the monkey shit"

Is there any way to move the washer gluid tank to another location? It's right in the way of where I'm planning on routing the hose for my 'snorkel'

When a cam driven fan hits the radiator, is it the whole thing or just the leading edges on the blades? So if I end up removing the fan would the electric one be enough to keep the engine cool? Probably not, right? I would be wiring it so it's constantly on.

Zoro said:

Is there any way to move the washer gluid tank to another location? It's right in the way of where I'm planning on routing the hose for my 'snorkel'

Click to expand...

Sure. Unbolt it, move it to its new location, rebolt it, reroute the hoses as necessary. Finding that location may be more fun than you first think, though

When a cam driven fan hits the radiator, is it the whole thing or just the leading edges on the blades?

Click to expand...

It can be either/or depending on how it happens.

So if I end up removing the fan would the electric one be enough to keep the engine cool? Probably not, right? I would be wiring it so it's constantly on.

Click to expand...

You'd really want two electric fans: one pushing air into the radiator, one pulling air through it.

Running them (or even just one) constantly probably isn't the best idea - they're thermostatically-controlled for a reason, and not really designed for a 100% duty cycle in most cases. Most water crossings will drop engine temperature substantially, so you may want to install a cut-out switch for them for use in that situation.

I use shrink wrap that has sealant inside of it...when you heat it, the sealant melts and the shrink wrap shrinks....It has done well to waterproof my wiring.

Well, i think i can help you out on two things here. First off, the fan clutch bearing went out on my old truck and i didnt want to replace that because i figured it gave me an excuse to go electric. A friend gave me an electric fan he pulled out of a car at the junkyard (you really dont need to go dumping tons of $$ into a name brand fan, just find one from a different car that fits your car fine) which was from like a civic or something, it wasnt too big. It took up about half my radiator, and i mounted it in the center of the radiator, about an inch off the radiator so it would suck in from a larger area. I zip tied it on there (yeah whatever, its easy, and no it wasnt zip tied to the cooling fins or whatever on the radiator) and then hooked up the wiring. I didnt want it always on, and i didnt want to have to remember to turn it on. So i went to advance auto parts and bought a little thermometer probe thing (cant remember the exact name) for like $25. The probe gets mounted up against the radiator, and when the radiator cools to a certain temp, it switches the fan off. So i ran two switches into the cab. One switched between manual on (all the time) and auto on (whenever it was hot, in my case just under 190 degrees and above), and the other was a manual cut off switch. Then i ran an LED to make sure i would know whenever the fan was on in case something happened (and the cool thing about that thermometer probe was that if it was borderline temp it wouldnt run it at full speed, so then the light would be dim too to let you know). The probe also lets you adjust what running temp you want. I never had overheating problems until one time when i had accidentally hit the cutoff switch, so if i were you i would get thoe switches that have a cover over them.


Allright, secondly, i know what you are talking about with your snorkel idea, i am planning on the same thing when i get a chance to. I have a '93 and those have just enough space to do it because there is nothing in front of the metal you need to cut. Also, the engine bay is very cramped and relocating stuff is near impossible, but you would be eliminating the factory airbox by putting this type of snorkel on which frees up a lot of room.


http://www.pavementsucks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=61209

then check this one out, the update:

http://www.pavementsucks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=64892


Hope i helped, and there are many ways to f up a car in water, just make sure you know the depth and know your heeps limits. Check/change the fluids after too. When a car has been driving for a while, everything is hot, sudden cooling can cause problems. One thing that i have heard happens is the axle seals, after getting hot and expanding during your trip, suddenly get cool and shrink, creating a vacuum and actually suck water into your axles.

MADXJ-I guess I'll be picking up an electric fan next time I'm at the junkyard seeing as how it worked so well for you. I'm thinking about that with the snorkel, but wouldn't it ice up?

If I were to eliminate the factory airbox what about all those other lines that go into it? What would need to be done to the hose that comes off of the exhaust manifold to heat the engine up in the cold?

See, those are some of the problems i was considering. That guy that did it lives in CA. The way i see it, with snow on the opening to the intake you will get a real nasty cold air intake which will suck when the engine is cold, but once it is hot would be a good thing, but of course that is easy to brush off. With ice i figured i would just have to break it off before i drive around. As for all the other things connected into your airbox i am not sure, i need to look into that more and see what i need and what i dont. I will ask the guy who did it. By the way, he said he had a 3 mpg increase city, and 5 mpg increase highway.

Also, you might want to consider running two fans instead of just one, find two small ones that fit your radiator well and mount them side by side. That way when you are on the trail going very slow for a long period of time you will be sure you are getting enough cooling power instead of what i did with one in the center. It worked fine, but if my truck were more of a trail rig i would have had two for the security.

You cannot just use any electric fan and expect it to work off road. Must be at least 2000 cfm plus your stock one. See my site about it.
I have run river crossings up to the windshield without any problem at all. The trick just is to run a blind or tarp over the grille so that water does not come up into the engine bay to start with. You can see also on my site the things I have done for all the river crossings I do. www.go.jeep-xj.info











The trailer was actully floating in the last shot!

GoJeep-Them are some sweet pics &thanks for the advice!

On the question about the breather extentions -- just a quick note, I read up on extending the axles, t-case and tranny breather just becuase I think it's a good idea for anyone (not just those to prep for water crossing)

I found one article on it at http://www.off-road.com/jeep/questions/2003_02/
when you hit the page do a "find" and "breather" it's a long ass page....

Anyway he says on there you can tie them all in and put a fuel filter to cap it all off.

I've not tried it yet, as my rig is still nekkid (needing protection and recovery as a priority).

Good luck and let us know how things go.

Yep that is on my site too and what I was referring too
Did it 10 years ago and dont forget your transfercase and auto too. The auto is the worse as ends at an open pipe behind the top of the bellhousing and the transfer is not much better being near the bottom of the firewall!

Gojeep said:

The trick just is to run a blind or tarp over the grille so that water does not come up into the engine bay to start with.

Click to expand...

Yep this is something many people overlook. From what it seems anyway.