How deep without a snorkel?

shaner82 · Post by **shaner82** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:54 am

Was playing in some mud yesterday and came across what looked like a puddle. I eased into it just in case it was deeper than it looked and sure enough it was. I just kept sinking more and more. Once the water got to about an inch below my door frame, I backed out. The puddle was only about 15 feet across, but not sure if it would have got any deeper.

I know the owners manual says 30", but realistically, how far up the front bumper can the water go before I risk sucking water into the engine? I was going very slow. Just not entirely sure how far up the intake is and if there's anything other than the intake I need to worry about. In order to continue down the trail I needed to get through this puddle, but I want to make sure water level almost up to my door isn't going to risk destroying my engine.

bajaben48 · Post by **bajaben48** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:28 am

30 is the max. I know from personal experience. You can go deeper but is not the engine that you hurt first its the trans. The breather tube will suck water into the trans and just mess everything up, I know, I did that. But hey when I got stuck the winch was money and pulled me right out

sent from a deep hole know only fabels

shaner82 · Post by **shaner82** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:29 am

bajaben48 wrote:30 is the max. I know from personal experience. You can go deeper but is not the engine that you hurt first its the trans. The breather tube will suck water into the trans and just mess everything up, I know, I did that. But hey when I got stuck the winch was money and pulled me right out

sent from a deep hole know only fabels

Good to know. So how do I extend the breathing tube for the trans? What about the diffs, do they have breathing tubes I should extend as well? Anything else besides diff and trans?

jeep_boy02 · Post by **jeep_boy02** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:27 am

Extending breather tubes is a very good idea/ necessity. If you keep a steady 2-3 mph you create a wake in the engine bay which effectively lowers the depth but deep water is never something to play around with.

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cruz · Post by **cruz** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:53 am

A wise move to back out, playin' around in water can get very expensive.
The air intake on a 3G is just below the head light, personally I would never go above the rockrail, and even then it would be because I absolutely had to. Dodge has never made any claims that these bodies are watertight.

FirerescuePW · Post by **FirerescuePW** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:23 am

I have had water about 6 inches up the doors with no signs of water in the intake. As stated above, it's important to drive properly through water. Fast will kill it.

My homage to fbenross: Why would you want to drive through water on purpose? Sure, your snorkel protects the intake, but what about all the electrical components below? What about vents, engine fan, etc?

These are all things to remember. How much are you willing to spend on repairs? It sounds like you did the right thing by backing up. The more right thing is to get out and check the depth BEFORE you drive in. Or let a buddy go first. Lol!

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shaner82 · Post by **shaner82** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:27 am

FirerescuePW wrote:I have had water about 6 inches up the doors with no signs of water in the intake. As stated above, it's important to drive properly through water. Fast will kill it.

My homage to fbenross: Why would you want to drive through water on purpose? Sure, your snorkel protects the intake, but what about all the electrical components below? What about vents, engine fan, etc?

These are all things to remember. How much are you willing to spend on repairs? It sounds like you did the right thing by backing up. The more right thing is to get out and check the depth BEFORE you drive in. Or let a buddy go first. Lol!

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Good advice, but it was all thick, wet mud, so I didn't want to walk in it. I eased into it so there was never any real risk of me plunging into a deep abyss. As soon as it got deeper than I thought, I stopped and backed out.

cruz · Post by **cruz** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:35 am

FirerescuePW wrote:My homage to fbenross: Why would you want to drive through water on purpose ?

SheepdogOutdoorsman · Post by **SheepdogOutdoorsman** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:15 pm

It's a good idea to carry waders with you if you plan to go off road and think you'll cross water. That way you can wade out to see how deep it is without bringing all that water and/or mud back into your truck. Just take 'em off!

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FirerescuePW · Post by **FirerescuePW** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:38 pm

cruz wrote:
FirerescuePW wrote:My homage to fbenross: Why would you want to drive through water on purpose ?

Homage : noun
1. respect or reverence paid or rendered:

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cruz · Post by **cruz** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:59 pm

FirerescuePW wrote:
cruz wrote:
FirerescuePW wrote:My homage to fbenross: Why would you want to drive through water on purpose ?

Homage : noun
1. respect or reverence paid or rendered:

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I know what homage means, it was your reference to the snorkel hater that was funny.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:23 pm

FirerescuePW · Post by **FirerescuePW** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:31 pm

I know. I'm giggling inside,too!

But he does have valid points.

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fbenross · Post by **fbenross** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:24 pm

I would like to have a mod that helps prevent water in the intake, but not a snorkel.

Trouble Maker · Post by **Trouble Maker** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:41 am

fbenross wrote:I would like to have a mod that helps prevent water in the intake, but not a snorkel.

I agree with you. My SASed 02 Dakota on 35s sucked air in above the front of the passengers side tire, I glued a pvc 90 into the airbox and ducted it to a hole I cut in the cowl area of the cab. A little redneck but with the hood closed you never knew it was there and never had any trouble splashing through the puddles. Plus it sounded cool when you mashed the throttle, but quieted down at cruise on the highway. Left a couple 1/4" holes for drainage in the airbox and it sits high enough to keep it out of the stuff I drive through and I don't have to worry about it gulping large amounts of water if I accidentally nose it in somewhere I shouldn't be.

shaner82 · Post by **shaner82** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:19 am

fbenross wrote:I would like to have a mod that helps prevent water in the intake, but not a snorkel.

Me as well. I find snorkels quite ugly and doubt I'll ever get one, but at the same time I'd like to go through water without having to worry about destroying my engine

azracer · Post by **azracer** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:04 am

shaner82 wrote:
fbenross wrote:I would like to have a mod that helps prevent water in the intake, but not a snorkel.
Me as well. I find snorkels quite ugly and doubt I'll ever get one, but at the same time I'd like to go through water without having to worry about destroying my engine

While untested by me (I hate mud)... the AirAid Sythamax dry filter kit with it's open top along with the drain holes in the bottom of the box prevent a suction effect from drawing in water from the OEM cold air inlet in the fender behind the headlamp assembly. You would literally need to submerge nearly all of the filter itself to force water intrusion into the intake.

I also notice on my Aeroforce gauge that the ambient outside and air intake temps remain within about 5 degrees of one another even when doing in town driving. The cooler air I suspect is from the gap between the hood and the fender because of the seal to the hood where exposed to engine heat.

https://www.airaid.com/ProductDetail.as ... ID=301-237

jeep_boy02 · Post by **jeep_boy02** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:16 am

That little elbow below the "airaid" branding is connected to the exact same spot as to OEM. Most CAI (I have the MOPAR one) will in some way access this as it is where the air inlet is, and as stated previously it's not a good design since it's only protection is from a flimsy fender liner with an "access cover" that more often than not breaks right below that.

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lastmanalliance · Post by **lastmanalliance** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:06 am

cruz wrote:A wise move to back out, playin' around in water can get very expensive.
The air intake on a 3G is just below the head light, personally I would never go above the rockrail, and even then it would be because I absolutely had to. Dodge has never made any claims that these bodies are watertight.

The 3G bodies are definitely not water tight.. I have some sloshing noise somewhere in my fire wall from hitting a water hole way to hard.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:11 am

it's not about look, a snorkel is very useful. I crossed a few times where the water got up to my windshield on the Toyota. So planing to do so with the PW. The snorkel is a must plus the trans vent.
Don't have the axles also vents? I guess they also should be installed to the top via a hose. (that's what I did on my Toyota)
No car is water proof, all will start to let water inside the passenger cabin. Just try to get a good wave and go with the flow (not too fast, not too slow) and it will help a lot to keep the water at a lower level.
The viscous fan is surely also a help that it doesn't get destroyed when crossing deep water...

dogcar3 · Post by **dogcar3** » Sat Apr 30, 2016 1:17 pm

Dont forget the T case vent and the gas tank evap system vent.

2011TXPowerWagon · Post by **2011TXPowerWagon** » Sun Oct 23, 2016 1:53 pm

How high are the winches? Can they be submerged in water or mud?

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Sun Oct 23, 2016 10:11 pm

2011TXPowerWagon wrote:How high are the winches? Can they be submerged in water or mud?

I've had mine in water a few times.

coder · Post by **coder** » Sun Oct 23, 2016 11:25 pm

As a general rule I'd say, if you keep your forward momentum for short distances, a water depth of the top of the tires is a reasonable max, if you get much beyond that water starts getting into places it shouldn't be and causing problems.

vanished · Post by **vanished** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 6:43 am

RustyPW wrote:
2011TXPowerWagon wrote:How high are the winches? Can they be submerged in water or mud?
I've had mine in water a few times.

But I do know from experience they won't work underwater!

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