Low hanging fruit. Water ingress discussion.

[CaseyS]

With the recent flooding in my area, I went exploring this weekend driving through some flooded sections of roads. I didn't drive through anything above my rock rails because I didn't need to, but this led me to thinking about what are the practical fording limits.

I'd like to build a thread that has a comprehensive list of all the places water could ingress into something a do damage, starting from the ground level up. Or better yet, referenced in elevation from a fixed point like the rocker panel because that is a good visual reference point when you look out the window when fording and takes out the variability in ride height in various rigs. (Please don't tell me you have to have the windows up to keep water out, but I know some of you are outright crazy)

I'll throw out a starting list here as food for thought. All of these are below the rocker panel line.

Rear diff breather, connection at diff.
Front diff breather, connection at case
Wheel speed sensor, o ring
Rear axle seal and diff cover seal (safe to assume if oil stays in, water stays out)

Moving further up, no reference heights yet

Transfer case and transmission vent (where is the top of the tube and is it secure)
Rear diff breather tube (same thing, it terminates under the rear floor pan, height)
Transfer case shift motor electrical connection
VSS speed sensor electrical connection in transfer case
Transmission quadrant connector
Transmission main electrical connector.
License plate light and connector
Trailer light connector

Next up would probably start to be door seals once you cross that height. I don't have a stock engine anymore but I don't think there are any electrical connections down low with the exception of the transmission.

I know a snorkel looks cool, but to be honest, there are a lot of other vulnerabilities before water at the level of airbox height becomes a concern. As we all know, a simple electrical short could cause havoc, and disable an otherwise healthy mechanical engine, and stranded in water over the door seals would eventually lead to a catastrophe.

With a good checklist, it probably wouldn't take long to do an inspection to make sure everything single item is secure. Also if anyone else has had issues with water ingress (I recall a diff or two somewhere on here), this may be a good place to discuss how and why it happened and preventative measures.

 

[CaseyS]

Reserved for inventory of checklist and reference heights.

 

[CaseyS]

Reserved just in case.

 

[High Five H2]

great idea for a thread, I put together a "to-do" list for waterproofing a while back.

Here's as far as I got:

• E-fan with off switch
  
• ARB breather for differentials, transmission, transfer case vents
  
• BCM - there was a discussion about the BCM in another thread and I don't think anyone came up with a really good solution. Waterproofing the doors so water never gets in may be the best solution.
  
• plug holes in body - there are approx 1" holes in the doors and various spots in the body that have rubber plugs. the plugs could be sealed with silicone or something.
  
  I'm interested in whatever else you come up with. This project coming up on my to-do list.

 

[Woodtick]

Great thread. I try to keep the water below the H3 door emblem. It has gone over that but for a short time. I have sucked water into the rear diff causing the seal to go.

I would bet there was 2Qts of water in there when I drained it. I now check for water in the diffs after deep water play.

 

[cgalpha08]

I haven't had any water damage to electrical connectors or anything that you mentioned. I will say that the door seals are not that great if you're standing still in water/mud. I got stuck at the end of a mud/water hole with the rear corner of the passenger rear door still being submerged and mud came into the cab. Haven't had any issues as long as I'm steadily moving.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[JPaul]

Seems the electrical connectors should all be weatherproof connectors, so they shouldn't be an issue. The trailer connector is a good point though, I'm not sure how sealed up that is, but I don't think it should cause too much trouble. I don't think I have ever heard of anyone having issues after fording water due to their trailer plug. The license plate light shouldn't be an issue either, other than it might burn out or something minor. Replace it with an LED and use liberal amounts of dielectric grease and it should be fine.

 

[Mb30sdl]

Computers waterproofing: I remember in 4wd magazine they put it inside foil pan and poured in silicone to completely waterproof it. On this point I like how Range Rover does their electrical system in one sealed box.

 

[06 H3]

BCM passenger kick panel. That will cause hell if hit by water.

That should be fine unless you are stuck in water and water makes it in the cab. Some gave thought about waterproofing it

 

[JPaul]

Computers waterproofing: I remember in 4wd magazine they put it inside foil pan and poured in silicone to completely waterproof it. On this point I like how Range Rover does their electrical system in one sealed box.

Do they include they connector when sealing it? While I haven't really heard of anyone needing to replace the BCM, I wonder how much work it'd be to dig it out if you need to replace it. Is our BCM not sealed at all, or is it just the connector getting wet that is the problem? Potting it in silicone is a really good idea though, then you're certain it's protected.

 

[4speedfunk]

It's a good thing the sunroof doesn't funnel rainwater across the headliner and directly down onto the BCM.
Wait...my bad...it totally does. Nice work design team.

 

[High Five H2]

It's a good thing the sunroof doesn't funnel rainwater across the headliner and directly down onto the BCM.
Wait...my bad...it totally does. Nice work design team.

try sealing up your roof with a ton of silicone... lol

 

[4speedfunk]

Or a piece of 22 gauge steel laser-cut from a CAD file...TIG-welded in place...and finished off with minor body work.

(Yes...I've seriously thought of doing this).

 

[rsc]

^^^ Thats a little extreme. lol

 

[JPaul]

Or you could just get an H3 that doesn't have the sunroof...

 

[4speedfunk]

Or you could just get an H3 that doesn't have the sunroof

Yup. They're actually hard to find. When you do...they are usually base models with no tow pkg, adv. pkg, or monsoon.

The next one will be a hardtop.

 

[JPaul]

Yeah, mine was a base model 08 but it did have the tow package at least.

 

[Best4x4]

The front axle seals would also be a spot for water to enter the front diff.

my father in law has a 2010 6.2L Ford Raptor, and he was just doing regular maintenance (he has a leaking transmission pan which has been repaired 3 times, but will leak again, his 4WD faults out, but eventually engages, and his also has a good amount of driveline slack that makes a lovely clunk at stop lights). However when he was removing his rear diff cover to drain the fluid (no drain plugs) it was dark, but when he inspected the front (have to suck fluid out thru the fill plug as it has no drain and you can't remove the front cover without actually dropping the axle...) he was shocked to find it looking like a starbucks mocha latte!!!!! Now let me also say my father in law has never taken this truck off road besides a drive on the beach, and it's done highway miles. I quickly looked it up and apparently other Raptor owners are reporting the same issues with the front diff just from washing it......

My father in law couldn't remove the front cover so he just sucked it out as best he could and added fresh diff fluid. I DO NOT see his Raptor getting anywhere near my H3 in the reliability department! 4WD engagement issues, leaking transmission pan, and a front diff with water out of a 54K truck.

I've had to cross deep water before, and I always had vehicles with fill/drain plugs so the maintenance afterwards was quick and easy. Some people go nuts with sealing stuff, but I go nuts with the maintenance afterwards vs the guys that think their sealed stuff doesn't leak so they don't check it, and only after a few trips do they realize the damage they've caused.

 

[Woodtick]

If you have a sun roof,you can't level your H3. The drains need proper pitch or they won't work right? This is why I never leveled my H3. I didn't want to screw up my sunroof and cause leaks. Drains need a proper pitch in order to work,any plumber with a butt crack will agree with me. :corn:

 

[4speedfunk]

Wow. That is a revelation. I never made this connection but, you totally are totally right.
Mine are clogged right now, and I need to snake them with my weed eater line. This method works good but, it's temporary. The real fix is to cut the "X" out of the firewall grommets, and that's my next mod.

 

[Pappibri]

I have the sunroof and have had mine leveled since I bought it 4 yrs ago. No problems as of yet

 

[Woodtick]

After 10 years I'm am going to drill out the fitting in the fire wall. The weed eater line trick isn't working anymore . My Amazon box came Friday.

.if that doesn't work,my next mod will be a pump in the glove box.:no:

 

[650Hawk]

If you have a sun roof,you can't level your H3. The drains need proper pitch or they won't work right? This is why I never leveled my H3. I didn't want to screw up my sunroof and cause leaks. Drains need a proper pitch in order to work,any plumber with a butt crack will agree with me. :corn:

Since there are drains at all 4 corners of the sunroof, I can't see it being an issue at all.

 

[Woodtick]

Lmao,the leveled truck sun roof drain is a a joke......

 

[scoreh3]

You can't level your truck if it has a sunroof ? Ok there's the #1 reason to never have a sunroof . #2 is the drain issues . #3 rattle . #4 lots of off-roading is hell on the motor and tracks. And that is why I drove the dealer crazy making him find a non-sunroof H3 in SoCal . And I only did it because I don't like sunroofs , now I'm really glad I did it .