How Deep is Too Deep?

[Bludger]

While driving home last Friday, I was confronted by an officer of the law standing in the middle of the road turning everyone back the way they had come. The reason for this was due to the road ahead being flooded. The officer was motioning to his thigh. This either meant the depth of the water was up to his thigh, or he was showing how well endowed he was.

So, we had to go a different way which meant driving through some fairly deep water. Finally, we got to within about 500 yards of our house but the road was again flooded. this time there was a handy depth marker in the shape of a Mercedes S-class stuck in the deepest part of the water. The water was about 2/3 of the way up the headlights, so I estimated the depth to be about 2 to 2 1/2 feet.

Now I was left in a quandry. Do I attempt to cross and risk looking like a plank when I get stuck, or do I go around another way.

In the end the decision was made by my wife saying "If you try to go through there with me and your daughter, and I'll cut your nuts off"!

I finally made it home with my manhood intact, but it got me thinking.

What depth can an unmodified, bog standard Surf with stock wheels and suspension go through?

Please supply answers on a piece of card that I can keep in my glove box ready to read out to my wife if I am in the same situation again.

Cheers
Dave

[Fordy]

I took the wife and kids out to play on Saturday, looking for flooded roads.

The depth marker on a local lane was 18", wnet through fine.

On the way back 20 minutes later it was higher, couldn't see the depth marker as it was at the other end but I went through anyway. It was 2' deep then. Went through fine, I just made sure I kept a steady bow wave

I'm not sure I'd want to risk any higher without lift/snorkel.

[Slugsie]

The air intake is positioned just behind the left headlight, so anything up-to that is just fine. If you create a nice bow-wave and keep moving you can go deeper, but I wouldn't recommend anything that was higher than the top of the headlight, and you must keep moving at a nice steady pace. You can gain a little extra by reversing the plastic elbow that connects the air-intake to the filter box so that it is sucking air in from the back of the engine bay.

Just remember however, if you get it wrong, at the very least you'll get very wet, and at the worst you'll be facing a big repair bill.

[The Hornet]

You could draw a plimsole line on the door for reference purposes.

[NeilT]

this is too deep......

[NeilT]

You could draw a plimsole line on the door for reference purposes.

Good for knowing where to paint the antifouling

I'd go with top of the wheels myself but bear in mind that if your front end falls into a sudden dip You'll be putting your air intake under water before you know it. Also anything over the door sil and you better have good door seals, it only takes a few minutes to come in through a gap and flood your floor. Have a look at the electrics behind the plastic in the foot wells, the ECU isn't very high up in the passenger footwell for a start. Going through a narrow stream is one thing but driving through it for 10 minutes might be another, not to mention if someone in front breaks down you might have to stop and watch the water come in, not a nice sight!

Be realistic is my new motto - it ain't a boat

[Woodzie]

And this..........................



Oh and Russians taking it too far..... http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...391&q=off+road

[NeilT]

what happened to that one? He's got a snorkel.... Well it is freaking lake so it's not very surprising

[Woodzie]

what happened to that one? He's got a snorkel.... Well it is freaking lake so it's not very surprising

It,s one of the weardale lot.........i think the electrics cut out

[NeilT]

under the bonnet or in the car? Once i got stuck i think it was less than a minute before the water was inside to the same level as outside. Mad scramble to grab everything and climb into the back. How we did laugh..... about 3 months later after i'd got it fixed again

[Woodzie]

Chris the range warden still goes on about it......

[Slugsie]

what happened to that one? He's got a snorkel.... Well it is freaking lake so it's not very surprising

What happened was that Chris hit an obstacle underwater which caused the truck to stop moving, which mean water came inside the cab, soaked the electrics, and the immobiliser had a fit. If it hadn't been for that there wouldn't have been a problem.

[NeilT]

The ECU is plenty low enough to get soaked anyway so the immobiliser probably wasn't his only problem, lots of electrics behind the center console too, but i know what you mean, i don't want something that could have a fit and immobilise my car when it wants. Some LR owners rewire it all and have the electrics up on the cab roof, but they're better suited to being full of water having non-existent door seals, no carpets, high up seats etc. And they're not expecting it to be the modern, sound insulated family people carrier the rest of the week. Can't have it all.

How did he get on cleaning it out? I had to replace a horn relay, cost about 6 quid. Used about 5 liters of carpet shampoo on the seats and carpets, a lot of cans of WD40, change of fluids, auto box flush needed a year later which i think was related to water ingress, the alternator bearing was shot but just noisy for the year after, I had to throw the carpet underlay, replaced with a non-absorbent plastic industrial insulation. Thats about it apart from the labour - i.e. me spending 3 winter months worth of short freezing weekend days out in the road working on it, dismantlement, cleaning out, lubing, refitting. I had to spend a lot on tools, but i still got em I had to learn how to use them, but i still know how I had to gain the confidence to get stuck in to it and work it out which i've still got. i'm crazy for fixing things now, i love it. It was sort of a blessing in disguise, you don't get the same confidence doing the odd bit of servicing as you get after you're completely stripped a car down to it's smallest parts, but there might be an easier way than sinking your car, or at least do it in the summer.

Go into deep water and you risk turning your pride and joy into an "unfinished project" that you wouldn't think twice about taking on normally. So go for it

[laser_jock99]

Too deep....

[onlynik]

Just deep enough