How To Prepare for Deep Water Crossings

[@johnfitzgerald5158]

Water incursion in the axles is not from short breather tubes. It is from the hot axles hitting comparitively colder water. The contraction closes the check valves tight, forcing water to be sucked in from the axle seals. The proper way to correct is to extend/raise the breather tubes and protect with scintered air filters, not check valves. The scintered filters protect the openings while allowing freeflowing airflow during expansion and contraction.

[@docfluty]

Would that valve you mentioned be better than the ARB Differential Breather Kit 170112?

[@johnfitzgerald5158]

@docfluty the ARB raised breather is similar. I believe it can only accept 2 connections. If you want 4 connections (front diff, rear diff, trannny and transfer case) you have to install 2 of the ARB. There are some brands that get you 4 or more connections to 1 bracket.

[@saintarmstrong8790]

I live in Colombia, snorkels are fairly common. They are largely for dust but definitely need it for deep water crossings. New jeeps are not common or popular here. It's old and new Toyota Land Cruisers, some Nissan Patrols, and a lot of OLD Jeep Willys. I myself have a 96' FZJ73 4.5L. Beastmode. Practically very little electrical components. Protect the distributor and you can go through just about anything. Check out some of the offroad videos out of Colombia. Jungles,rivers, mountains, flood plains. You should do a trip there sometime for the channel

[@DaveSki86]

Walked every crossing on day 1 and 2 of the OOAT, worth it even if cold.

[@AmericanMuscleTruck]

You really should have a TV show! I would be curious as to your adventures and areas along the way suitable for modified PreRunner type trucks to test their suspension.

[@patricktrumbly3128]

Great advice, as usual. I got a good laugh out of you under the Jeep and the dirt dropping down. Had the same thing happen in December. Dropped all of the skid plates and got a face full of Ozark red dirt from Rendezvous.

[@joetheadapterguy]

I'm gonna act like I know nothing about radiator fans and water and holy radiators and smoking motors and leaking oil out the mufflers... another great video! I learnt a lot.

[@garycarter8332]

I learned another tip while working on atvs. Waterproof electrical connectors are not always waterproof. Found that water can go into plugs from wire side. Best solution was can of silicone spray.

[@jp52hawk]

Make sure Floor plugs are in 😂

[@Frostytravels]

Excellent video, living in Florida we have a ton of water and yep it gets pretty deep. Thanks for sharing this.

[@vanquish_engineering]

@@Frostytravels yes. North FL and I'm addicted to these videos. Working in the same issue along with the snorkel for these reasons alone.

[@kentonseydellaolcp4785]

On older vehicles with engine driven radiator cooling fan, we needed to remove the fan belt for water crossings so the fan blades wouldn't propeller into the radiator or soak the ignition distributor and sparkplug wires.

[@Troy85207]

Thanks for the help. 😂 very true with water locking.

[@lewisclarkeoutdoors]

Great video, Matt! This is going to help a lot of people.

[@linework11]

Great advice and easy upgrade. Man you have lots of water there,not so much in Phoenix lol

[@off-roadingexplained8417]

Thanks Matt! I think you know this one better than anyone! For reference, new trail rated keeps support about 19 inches of water fording (that's a lot of your Trailhawk Jeeps: 19-20 inches - basically at the fog lights ). For most Wranglers and Gladiator Rubicons (this is one of the big advantages of the Wrangler and Gladiator platforms) , it's roughly the top of the tires. If you have a Rubicon with 35s, it's about 35 inches. 32s about 32 inches - you get it. If you read the specs it winds up being basically the tire size. This gladiator setup is probably good for almost 40 inches of water - maybe more in a pinch. Jeep does a THOUSAND things that other brands don't do. They're #1 by a mile. It's not even close. It's always more skid plates , better angles , bigger tires , lower gears , better water fording - even for the Trailhawk Jeeps - better by a mile compared to the competitors in their respective class. Even a compass or renegade Trailhawk is a mile better than the best rav4 .

[@michaelquinn6932]

😂😂😂❤❤❤❤ Took your advice. Save a ton of money... I will send this to all Jeep lovers out there.❤❤😮

[@nickriebe]

Thanks Matt. Doing this mod soon!

[@markperza384]

Thanks for the info!! This is a big help...

[@3GFinn]

3rd gen Tacoma airboxes are actually pretty high up but yes they have wide opening right there in the wheel well, and if you trim that wheel liner for 35s, you have wide open hole for water to go into. I agree snorkels are a must on modern Tacoma/4Runners if you're larger than 33s and do moderate wheeling. We had a buddy with 5th gen 4R who hydro locked because trimmed wheel liner for 35s and no snorkel, water was only maybe 1.5ft deep and he must've hit it with a little bit of speed. Luckily insurance was able to cover it!

[@AbsurdSpark]

All the issues I've had with my 2017 jeep JKUR over the few years with 50k mi on the odo. Blown motor complete engine swap, stuck e-locker, exhaust manifold gaskets, replaced cats. I've done few fairly deep water crossings up to around the floor boards maybe a little deeper in some spots but never up to stock airbox, also set the engine down on a rock which dented oil pan but no other noticeable damage, stock skids were not sufficient. Not sure what exactly caused these issues, if im unlucky, if im at fault or just bad quality control but I wasn't wheeling alone and no one else has had these issues, I take good care of my jeep maintenance wise comparatively to the people I was with, jeeps were similar builds too. Jeeps never left me stranded or died on the trail/road it was still driving with scored cylinders and oil getting blown into cats. Luckily my warranty has saved me about $10k. Going forward ill be adding these mods or just avoiding deep water altogether. Thanks for the video!

[@texfletch6209]

Great thoughts, thanks for sharing!!

[@Joey-ne1zi]

Do you have a video showing how you installed your 12V plug in the bed of the Gladiator? Hope yall will be at Overland Expo in Flagstaff in May!

[@ronniebarker3501]

Great video. I need to do that to my JK

[@Peter-xtreme]

Great topic. Also worthwhile venting the winch.

[@oldmanjankins8812]

How too? I have the Open Road 13,500 lbs. Is it hard?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

I've never heard of venting a winch.

[@Peter-xtreme]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures If you have a winch to IP67 standard then not necessary, if not it is cheap insurance. There are breather kits available online for under $30

[@sempergumbie]

Matt, how did you fit a large spare tire under the Gladiator?

[@genedixon9906]

Not sure of his exact bar but search for CLAYTON ADJUSTABLE TRACK BAR REAR. One like that offers the room needed for a larger spare because it has a bend in the right spot.

[@sempergumbie]

@@genedixon9906 thanks Gene!

[@mattlewandowski73]

As an owner of a mostly stock (for now) Third Gen Tacoma. Matt is dead on about the placement of the airbox. 18" of water and it is potentially getting the interior of the airbox splashed with muddy water (ask how I know). But at the same time, with some mild modification, the fender also protects the air box somewhat as you are less likely to get hit with the bow wave being sucked in. (A few inches of lift and mud tires would also help if anyone wants to send some my way) :) Common solution for us Toyota owners for diff breathers is to spend $80-90 on an ARB breather and mount it high on the firewall. This is not the ultimate solution, but it is a possibly the best (or at least one of the best) commercially available solution... Being on a tight budget I went looking for an alternate solution. The majority of the other breather kits where different shape, but same operation as the ARB unit, and most that I found were actually more expensive. If you have access to cheap machining you can fabricate something as all the ARB breather is, is a 5 port manifold (four with plugs to attach differentials and other breather lines, and the fifth attached to the filter) And a filter (I could be remembering wrong, but I think it is just an open cell foam disk). Alternately, it is not inconceivable to use a 1/4" NPT 5 port manifold and some adapters for air compressor such as people use for air lockers and other OBA builds. You will need about $35 for a roll of 1/4 inch airline or similar tubing either way you go. Amazon has a manifold that would work for $20, and some fittings (about $30, but will include more parts than you need for the breathers). In the end, the DIY solution does not save you THAT much. Another option that goes back at least to the 80s was to use Y connectors to connect lines from your breather ports to a valve cover breather. This was fairly common on "mudders" as well as desert racers and camel trophy land rovers in the late 80s, though I do not know if it is still a common approach.

[@gregstrange3794]

Another great video! Could you sometime do a compare and contrast on the two different air intakes for your families jeeps? Did you go with the air intake for your Gladiator for aesthetics or purely function? Curious minds want to know!!! Thanks in advance for your time on this question.

[@zd533]

Excellent video as always! Is your rear diff leaking? 21:22...

[@EastIdahoOverland]

I think snorkels look goofy on rigs that have no other mods, like a lift, armor, or bed and roof racks. If the vehicle doesn’t have anything else, snorkels just seem out of place looks wise. But they looks good on a fully setup rig

[@clementstevens]

thanks for keeping us on our toes. what taillights are you running

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

I have oracle flush mount tail lights.

[@wildwestexplorations8097]

Nice job and good advice

[@lloydrage]

Finally catching up on vids after fixing stuff after EJS. Very informative video! Is your rear diff leaking?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Indeed it is. It’s on the maintenance list.

[@tomassanesson902]

Awesome epik video

[@richardsimpson3433]

Are you happy with the power output of the 3.6 engine with the larger tires and equipment weight your jt is carrying ?

[@dennisr7452]

On the rear diff you removed the hose from the diff so you could put it in the proper place. Do you think it is worthwhile to put one of the spring clamps on hose at the diff connection?

[@Wade_the_Xterra]

Cheap and easy insurance for sure 👍🏻👍🏻

[@TreyBaker]

Should have worn your "Safety Third" shirt for this video 😂

[@mattlewandowski73]

Matt, did you say the "magic cap" said Gore on it? If so it may be using a Goretex membrane as the air filter. It is used in other types of breather because it is air permeable, but not water permeable.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Sounds like it.

[@VisioX2K]

Since you mentioned it in the video, how did you fit a 38" spare underneath?

[@oldmanjankins8812]

Must run it at half PSI. lol

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

The clayton off road rear track bar allows it to fit fully inflated.

[@jerryrodgers6785]

Great timing. Actually could have used this over the weekend to check in on the Union Schoolhouse…. Decided to turn around this time after watching UTVs and a 4 wheeler suck water. Will add the diff extensions but I haven’t settled on a snorkel for the JK yet. Also took some water to a fog light that I have to fix/replace now so need that dielectric grease too. Thx for the walk thru!

[@journeybeforedestinationov3553]

Go with the AEV snorkel. Really easy to install and remove for repairs to other things in engine. Also best price. I have had mine for 4 years with no issues at all on my JK. It really works like a champ!

[@Bruce2518]

Do you seal your doors? I’d like to find a good way to do that.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

The JL and JTs have great door seals from the factory.

[@danielcooper34]

What about on the 396 that they don't make snorkel for?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

With the hood the 392 comes with you don’t need a snorkel. It’s built in.

[@TwoFeatherChannel]

that's why you shouldn't go splashing fast into water crossing, just for the visual effects

[@richieandcrew]

Just send it...

[@wildwestexplorations8097]

How hard was the snorkel to put on

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Not hard at all.

[@jaypikachu6660]

Mud water crossing is a total disaster, it will destroy alternator, A/C compressor clutch, drive belt pulleys and bearings.

[@davidritacurl797]

Where's the fun in working on a clean vehicle? Lost count of the number of times I got junk in my eyes and bumped my head as a result. Ah, memories fuzzy headache inducing memories.

[@joecerda630]

If you don't like it...don't look at it ~ George Lopez