A few pictures from Tahuya

A buddy and I went to Tahuya today to break in his new Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. He is new to wheelin' and we thought we would take it easy the first time out. As you can see from the following picture he has really done a good job with it.


Here is a picture of my XJ at Tahuya


If you want a good laugh, here are a few pictures of me taking my XJ a little too far. Note that between the first and second picture the wave of water rode over my hood and splashed half way up the windshield. CRAP!!! FLOOR IT!!!


...and the steamy aftermath...

Not to be outdone, my buddy made quick work of the 'puddle'. Nice bow wave!


These are the only decent pictures we took. We were too busy having fun. The trails were in great shape, aside from being fouled by a broken '78 Chevy with a tie rod bent in a U shape, and a late model Ford F250 on street tires stuck trying to free the Chevy. We winched the Ford out and pulled the Chevy off of the trail. We got pretty turned around on the south part of the loop and missed a lot of it...I think...still not sure where the heck we were. I hope to run into some of you guys on the trail sometime. I don't post on this site very often (read it a lot!) but thought you might like to see some pictures. We are planning on going to Evans Creek next, possibly as soon as this Sunday. See ya!

P.S.-Yes, my XJ has extended breather tubes!

____________________________
1991 Jeep Cherokee XJ
199,000+ miles :scared:
4.0L HO w/ K&N FIPK
AX-15 5 Speed
NP 231
3" Skyjacker Lift
YJ front brake lines
JKS quicker disconnects
31" BFG Mud Terrain KM

..... Been there, done that... :wave:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=919136

That puddle looks like it's gotten deeper. It's defenitely a great place to learn your rig without the fear of brutal damage.... Unless you drive into the tank trap...

Thanks for posting up your trip and we too hope to see you on the trails!

Good to see some pic's. The unlimited looks really nice.
Evans is a great place and you will really enjoy it. Be careful, it is much easier to do body damage at Evan's than at Tahuya !!

Breathers are 1 of the last things I would be concerned about in that much water Distributor, Altinator, Starter, air intake, and then breathers.

If I was you, I would change the oil NOW, as well as make sure the altinator, distributor and air box are all cleaned out and protected.

Water looks cool!! And can do LOTS of damage!!

Welcome,
Michael

Very true 2Extreme!

It wasn't my intention to go as deep as I did.:shiver: I don't enjoy the effects of water in the intake! We had gone through the water closer to the edge and was just being STUPID going through the center (my kids thought it was cool, of course). With that said, the bow wave is what came over the hood and onto the windshield. The water depth was about as tall as the tires (?)...deeper than I like to go but not in the hydro-lock danger zone with a steady pace! The Jeep ran fine after my encounter. I had some water in the exhaust due to the many little holes from corrosion. It sounded a lot louder due to the water but cleared up pretty quick. I'm not sure what I could do about the starter or alternator getting wet besides just not going in water that deep. I am not familiar with a method of waterproofing these components. The distributor is in good shape after checking it out. I don't have an airbox with the K&N FIPK installed. I am curious why you suggested changing the oil immediately? I'm not sure how it would enter the engine with the depth of water we are talking about. I don't do a lot of water fording on purpose, so any insight would be helpful. Needless to say, I didn't go through that deep water again!

My buddy and I are entertaining the idea of Evan's Creek on the 18th. I am pretty conservative, because this is my daily driver, so we will probably stick to the easier trails. I don't mind upgrading broken parts though! That's how this thing has ended up with the goodies on it anyway! Nearly 200,000 miles provides ample opportunity to replace broken stuff with better stuff...waiting for the motor to give up so I can stroke it and put a '99+ intake on it.

I guess I am rambling again...later all.

Scott
____________________________
1991 Jeep Cherokee XJ
199,000+ miles :scared:
4.0L HO w/ K&N FIPK
AX-15 5 Speed
NP 231
3" Skyjacker Lift
YJ front brake lines
JKS quicker disconnects
31" BFG Mud Terrain KM
A host of junk yard parts...

I wasn't trying to be an A$$, but I probably came across that way. I am sorry, it is obvious from your response that you know much more about the dangers of water than I suspected from the pic's

If you don't have a stock air box and the truck ran fine on the way in and on the way out, then the oil change isn't a mandatory thing (I would check the dipstick for any foam, water, or other issues just in case). I didn't realize you had a aftermarket filter.

The altinator I would blow down with air at a minimum. The other thing you can do it spray it with a product like WD-40 to disipate any water that might have gotten in it. Really you just want to protect it as much as possible from corrosion and rust from the water. Water kills Altinators on Jeeps particularly because they are so low!!

The starter is the same issue with it being so low, not much you can do without removing it and doing the same (probably not worth the effort).

I usually put dialectric grease on all of the connectors in the engine compartment for the same reason.

Sorry if it sounded like I jumped your case, I just see LOTS of people driving fast in water and they usually regret it afterwards. The best thing is water is to go slow and keep the water as low as possible on the Jeep.

I have seen XJ's get hydrolocked in MUCH less water than that (in that same location, and several others )

Glad you guys had a good time, Evan's is a blast!!

Michael

No sweat, I was just trying to explain with more detail so you wouldn't think I was a complete retard! Good suggestions with the WD-40. That would at least disperse any water that may still be lurking in the alternator. I have dielectric grease on the electrical contacts that I have worked on but that leaves many more that I haven't touched. I think I could probably stand to redo the silicone on my distributor cap tomorrow. The breather is intact but the silicone is looking a little rough, and separating in spots after checking it out today. I will roll it in with my installation of the front factory skid plate and factory gas tank skid that I found at the junkyard last week. $9.99 for each of them!! I am going back tomorrow to look for a factory transfer case skid that may have been on the junkyard XJ also...I forgot to check. :dunce: The build slowly continues...

Scott
____________________________
1991 Jeep Cherokee XJ
199,000+ miles :scared:
4.0L HO w/ K&N FIPK
AX-15 5 Speed
NP 231
3" Skyjacker Lift
YJ front brake lines
JKS quicker disconnects
31" BFG Mud Terrain KM
A host of junkyard parts...