Alternator Protection from Water

[Stallion]

Afternoon to all from Tanzania East Africa,

I refer to the above subject.

Wanted to know, how would you protect your vehicle's Alternator from Water when doing deep creeks or river crossings? Mud Dog, am sure you can give me advises on this, therefore i'll be waiting to hear from you, and anyone out there who has done some modifications on protecting the vehicle's Alternator from excessive water.

As you must all know that the Standard 4Y Carburettor Engine has allot of open space from under the hood, where water can easily get into the engine, hence the Alternator when doing deep creek or river crossings.

Regards
Shermohamed

[Mud Dog]

You need not be concerned about the alternator and water ingress. There is in any event little or nothing you can do about it.

Water is no problem, but mud or very muddy water is. Mud chokes the airflow that is needed to keep the alternator cool and mud / muddy water is not good for the bearings, so avoid it wherever possible.

[Haboob]

There is only one way to do this.
You must be sure that there are no hazards in the water,
which will stop your vehicle, which will cause it to drown.
2nd gear low range works best under most circumstances,
realizing that circumstances change according to conditions.
About 2 000 rpm will give you enough power and a constant speed,
but ease into the water, increasing power and speed, as the level rises to the 2 000 rpm.
Keep this constant which will cause a bow wave to form in front and around your vehicle.
If water gets into the engine compartment,
you run the risk of breaking the fan and wetting and damaging electrical components.
Constant smooth driving will keep your engine dry and get you safely through the water.
Do not underestimate the the power of running water,
which can push your vehicle off course and also effect the bow wave you have formed,
causing your vehicle to turn sideways, roll and flood.
Where ever possible, avoid water, as your diffs, electrical implements,
wheel bearings, wiring and many other things can be affected and damaged.

Andy can add to anything I may have neglected to answer
and write a piece about driving in MUD, using brakes to maintain traction...

[Mud Dog]

A "solid drive" fan is a definite no-no with water crossings and should be disconnected while doing such a crossing if there is any chance that the water is deep enough to reach the fan. You will damage the fan and very likely the radiator as well. Vicous fans are more forgiving and are hardly problematic if you keep the revs down - I would be inclined to say lower than the 2000rpm Edge mentioned and more like 1500RPM. With deeper water you should still be able to push a substantial bow wave which should have a big enough trough behind it to keep the engine bay relatively free of water.

More more serious water depths it's advisable to leave the windows open in case you fall into an unseen hole and become submerged. Opening a closed window under water is almost impossible because of the pressure against it.

Don't be afraid to let the cab and the bin fill with water in deeper crossings .... the vehicle will have less flotation and allow for better traction.

Golden rule is avoid crossings deeper than axle height if you can so as to save your vehicle and bearings. After any crossings deeper than axle height on should drain the diffs, gearbox and transfer case at the earliest convenience to check for water contamination and replace the oils if contaminated.

High level breathers defginitely help to prevent contamination.

[Haboob]

The other thing to remember is, while you have a good bow wave going, yo will not have water entering your open windows,
even if the water is above the line of the bottom of the window. The water will keep the bow wave around the front as well as the sides of the vehicle,
and not enter the cab of the vehicle. It is more likely to enter through the holes in the floor boards of the vehicle and below the doors.
This is more likely with flowing, than stagnant water.
Once the vehicle stops moving and you lose the bow wave in deep water, the water will enter every where that it can get in to any part of the vehicle...

[Stallion]

Thank you Mud Dog and Haboob,

I'll take notes of these and follow. The road to my Farm will be full of water during the long rainy season here in April and May, therefore I was just taking precautions for the coming season.

This is offcourse going to my regular basis terrain, so need to get prepared.

Regards
Shermohamed

[Mud Dog]

I don't know what sort of water depths you anticipate, or how muddy that water will be, but I would perhaps consider fitting some sort of belly plate (bash plate). It doesn't need to cover the whole engine compartment area and nor should it - you need to have ample ventilation to the bottom or you will have cooling problems. Nor would I want it to cover the sump entirely because airflow over the sump helps cool the oil down a bit.

All you really need is to cover from the radiator back to just past the alternator so that it serves as a splash guard and helps to keep the water / mud away from the alternator / fan / fan-belts and being carried or sprayed up to the distributor, coil and plug leads.

[Haboob]

Andy, What about the piece about mud driving (brake control to stop wheel spin)?
There is a little piece in The Tips on Over Landing in the Useful Articles Section,
but you have a LOT more experience in this respect and can probably put it a lot better.
I still scared of the brown/black goooo. Especially where it is deep as well...

[Mud Dog]

Hi Edge. Yes, the handbrake can help in the event that you don't have a diff-lock.

The principle behind it is very much the same as "fiddle-brakes" except that you cannot "fiddle" and apply braking to one selected wheel only. The handbrake applies brakes to both rear wheels. The idea is that the brake force applied restricts the one wheel from spinning (the one with the least or no traction) and forces some drive power to the wheel that has traction as well. Not only used for mud, but for axle twister obstacles or any situation where one rear wheel is either slipping or in the air.

It works, I have used this technique on a number of occasions, but I don't think that it's something that one should be doing too much of because it puts a lot of strain on the drive-train and the brake components.

If you have a working diff-lock, then this technique doesn't have any benefit.