Hmmmmmmmm......

So, many of you know how I am in the mud. So I was contemplating getting a snorkel. See my avatar!

I've heard lots of pro's and con's of getting one and am not sure if I really need one. People say that since your computer and all of the electronics are underwater, what's the sense of having a snorkel if you don't waterproof the whole Jeep! Ask "Green Bay" about the water coming in through his dash.

So I ask people that I know and trust...

Do I get a snorkel or should I just slow down in the muddy stuff?

On top of all that, I can get a set of CCC rockrails for less than the snorkel. Denise tells me that I should go for the rails....

Any thoughts? (either way)

So after our last trip to Pit Jr (my 3rd time there, but this was the deepest I had seen it), a snorkel was added to my rather extensive list of things that would be nice to have if I had unlimited funds to dump into the jeep. Its not really that high on my list. I guess the thing to keep in mind is I'm guessing there is some sort of seal on the computer box and you have to keep in mind that a 4 liter engine will pump 4 liters of water through the engine with every revolution (probably one before the engine dies), so it would probably be easier to kill an engine faster than the computer box will leak to kill the chips. And I'm thinking the chips are less expensive than a new engine.

On the other hand, if the snorkel seal fails .. . (do a youtube search for "Death of a Rubicon").

The other thing to remember is your jeep hood now has lots of water holes (I guess these are actually air ventilation holes), so you would be more likely to ingest water than if you still had a stock hood. Plus we have seen small amounts of white smoke coming out your exahust before.

As far as our last trip to Pit Jr, if I had taken it easier on the skinny pedal I would have gotten across w/o nearly the bow wake that went over the top of my hood. And you may recall Mudslinger's 2nd pass through Pit Jr where he found the deep muddy bottom spot.

Unless you are extremely confident that the a snorkel will not leak I would spend the money on something else first and take it a little easier in the deep spots. But that's just me. And there are plenty of spots at RC where you can get plenty muddy w/o putting your engine at risk.

Works for me, Green Bay. I could almost hear your voice as I read your post - that's weird! LOL.

One more thing I almost never hear discussed regarding water crossings is the breather tubes that come off each axle, the t-case, and the transmission. So get water in the breather tube on a transmission and if you don't change the fluid in an hour you may be looking at a new transmission. Just that hydrolocking an engine is much more dramatic and sudden death of the jeep. I've heard a stock JK Rubicon is set up for water crossing of up to 30 inches WRT the breather tubes. Don't know the situation for TJ/LJ. Of course a suspension lift will raise the height of the transmission and T-case tubes, but does nothing for the axles.

After fording the "pond" on the 11th, I've realized that I didn't change any of the fluids - diff, tranny, whatever. Guess I'll be doing that soon.

Man! Wheeling is a lot of work! Whew!!!

As a mudaholic I know that it takes a lot of work to waterproof everything. Most of the waterproofing is fairly cheap. Take a look at the swamp buggies down in Florida for some ideas. Normal mud pits don't require a snorkel, just the deep water crossings.

The breather tubes for the diffs, tranny, t-case, etc...typically have a "snorkle bend" and/or a valve to help keep the water out.

They are not breathing in/out under water like a scuba diver breathes, etc.


When the oil/diff etc, gets hot, the air in the case expands...and the breather lets it vent.

When it cools, the air contracts, and the vent lets make-up air back in...and so forth.


So, even if under water, I don't see stuff getting into through the tubes. Of course, to help ensure that, I coil the tubes (I add Tygon tube extensions...) so that the tube itself contains a lot of make-up air, and, also contains enough volume to compensate for a decent amount of water in the coiled section that keeps it from getting to the diff itself, etc.

If you're really hot, and are in cold water which cools the diff, it will tend to want some make up air when the air inside contracts. An extra 24" of tubing is typically plenty to account for that.

In real life, you rarely go from dry all day to 3-4' deep water...you're more likely to be splashing around with your diffs awash for quite a while before you actually, if ever, get that much deeper....so they had time to cool before you submerged to periscope depth.










An another advantage to a coiled breather tube is that under full articulation, you don't tend to yank the breather out of the diff when it gets too taut, etc.


Many years ago (At Paragon IIRC) I was so eager to go play, I didn't extend the breather on my Wrangler and while doing some underwater articulation, and the breather DID pull out....and the diff DID get water in it.

Luckily I had synthetic oil in there, so it coated the metal parts and avoided damage...as I didn't NOTICE the tube missing from the top of the axle until that night at the campsite.

How much of a problem is water getting in through the end of the axles at the wheel bearing seals. I rotated my tires the other day and one of the back wheels was practically rusted onto the hub (or the other way around). It took about a minute of yanking at that wheel with all the lugs off to loosen it up enough to get off. If there is tha much rust on the hub, I'm expecting some water inside. Not noticing any problems, other than the extra loud tire hum after the rotation.

Rims do that all the time. Nothing to worry about. Your axle seals should be fine since it's so new. After you wheel it a bit you may want to upgrade the seals.

Anti-seize - slather it on and enjoy life.

Wow! I learned a lot in this thread. Glad I started it.

I've already nixed the snorkel idea. Working on getting my CCC rails. Might take a few weeks but they will be what I want.

Feel free to keep on discussing the mechancal stuff that I know NOTHING about...