Water crossings - how low can you go?

[Malcur Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Malcur]

I have a 4l petrol Prado, stock standard, no snorkel, no diff breathers, etc. I am interested in opinions as to the deepest creek crossing I can safely negotiate without damaging my vehicle (assuming current flow is not an issue)? What are the best options to allow for deeper crossings (e.g. snorkel, tarp on front, car bra, diff breathers, etc)? :?:

Mal

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

Going by the owners manual...700mm which is less than the hight to the top of a tire. Remember the airbox intake is inside the guard.

Diff breathers are cheap protection (you should be able to do them for $20 or so)
A snorkel is around $400-$500.
A tarp/bra is more to protect the radiator/engine bay (stops the fan deflecting into the back of the radiator) I don't think it will help protect the intake much as the tire throws water up into the wheel arch/inner gaurd area.

Going any deeper than 700mm on a standard car is a gamble.....


Mick.

[MattWhite Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MattWhite]

Someone else can do it but do a search for sovereign bullbar as the older installs had o splash protection down the bottom and it really lowered the fording (spelling?) depth. The ultimate protection is a snorkel but I would differ a little and say that a tarp or bra with the right momentum will provide some protection as it creates a good bow wave. If you can imagine, the water built up in front of the tarp is actually the water from behind it displaced. Not explained very well but if you keep moving they do help. If you stop...................it might be permanent! :roll:
Personally, if you want to drive through water do breathers and snorkel and feel confident.
Matt

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

Spot on Matt.

The LCOOL technical post about the early Sovereign bar fitouts is Here.

Basically, with one of the older Sovereign bar fitting kits, anything above 100 mm deep, at over 30 km/hr, is asking for trouble.

By comparison the new fitting kit extends the inner guards down to the front of the bullbar.



Personally ... I've gone with the snorkel and extended diff breathers.

The other thing I have to do is extend the transmission and transfer case breathers to the same location high up on the firewall ... cheap insurance against an expensive repair bill.

As for the water blind .. I recently saw one that Mototrim had made up ... and it is a really nice design. I reckon if he made a few up and advertised them here he would have a ready market ... hey Moto :lol:

Cheers
Chippy

[jeff s Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close jeff s]

The man who posted before me should know. If you watch his avatar long enough you will see a pic that I took. It shows 1/3 a prado, the top third.
the bottom 2/3rds is obsured by brown water that resembles a wave not unlike one you would find at Bells Beach in a storm.
This manouver was enough to wet the airfilter and stall the engine. Luckily it did not ingest a mouthfull into the cylinders. Note this is PRE snorkle on a V6. I truly doubt that at this depth a car bra would have helped. as you can see chippy had a pretty good bow wave happening, but I think the QE2 would be proud to call that bow wave hers..... :shock:

The good old snorkle is not just for looks, It keeps out dust that is thrown around inside that wheel arch also...

Jeff.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Years ago I didn't bother about a snorkel on my first real 4wd which was pre Prado in Oz. Coming home from a bush trip we went through a creek crossing that we had crossed early in the morning and the water was about 300mm deeper. Water up the windscreen - very high heart rate to say the least. Luckily no water was ingested because I got out fast enough but that was sufficient for the car and every one since to get a snorkel and extended breathers. Toyota says the fording depth is 6 or 700mm which puts the water level above all but the front diff breather. Not sure how they can state this but I suspect any warranty claim would be a nasty one. My view is that a snorkel and extended breathers (diffs, gearbox and transfer case) are mandatory mods to a 4wd even if you have no plans to do the Daintree or equivalent, every day tracks can get deep crossings after a little rain. There are a couple of posts in here about extending the breathers and it is an easy if fiddly job. Plenty of posts about snorkels and fitting too. Can't comment on the factory bar though, check carefully if you have one.