I dont want water in my engine! safari snorkel - 200tdi defender

[IrieLandy]

Hello!

Calling all fans of deep wading....

i need some advice about snorkels and sealing up the air intake system so i can don my flippers and do a bit of fish-spotting...

I have a defender 90 200tdi (its an '84 but to all intents and purposes is best considered a '94) which has had a safari snorkel fitted by somebody during its life. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that said individual was a bit of a poser and liked things for show rather than use (e.g. 4 hella spots mounted on the front of the roof rack and no wiring to them whatsoever!) since i stupidly drove into a flood thinking "i'm alright i've got a snorkel!"... one replacement 200tdi later and i'm left wondering why have a snorkel when there's a nice big aperture in the bottom of the air filter housing which sucks in water like a thirsty warthog and eventually does very nasty things to one's pistons!

so... since i didnt buy the snorkel myself i have no idea if they come with blanking/sealing kit for all the possible places that water can get in. A general search on the net seems to suggest that such kits are not readily available unless someone can tell me otherwise.

i'm posting this in the offroading section in the hope that one of the intrepid types that i've seen disappearing up to their necks into rivers only to reappear unscathed on the other side might post a reply and tell me how its done!

Apart from the air intake, are there other areas that need attention for serious wading - axle breathers are one i know... somebody posted asking how to seal up the battery compartment... not sure if thats an issue, in my own experience when i drowned my last engine, my battery compartment was definately fully submerged (i know this from the fact that my wellies were full of water!) yet i didnt experience any electrical problems and in fact was able to crank and re-start the engine when it stalled due to water ingress:doh: - probably not that best thing to do in retrospect but there you go!

look forward to some enlightening replies!

 

[Fatboy11]

Gearbox/transfer box extended breathers a good idea too. I've got a 200tdi Disco with a safari snorkel & extended breathers and have taken it through a 4ft deep ford with no problems (except water ****ing in through the bulkhead and having to remove soaked carpets/ soundproofing. I did use some rtv silicone sealant on the snorkel pipe into the air filter & also the air filter cap.

 

[wiltshire landyman]

with the fender snorkel your reliant on a good seal between the wing and the snorkel and the wing and the inner flange get either wrong and its useless

i adapted the safari snorkel on my last fender so the hose from the airbox went direct to the snorkel

 

[Boris113]

you will need:
-extended breathers for both axles, gearbox and transfer box (and possibly timing case??) run these to the engine bay then up the side of the snorkel
-you also need 2 plugs for the bottom of the bell-housing and the timing case (best to only fit them before you go swimming and remove them after)
-i've never sealed up the battery box and not had any problems yet.
-make sure the snorkel is well sealed at every join between it and the engine and silicone the top of the air filter can also.
-there is a rubber drain bit on the bottom of the air can, some people seal it permanently, i wrap it up in duct tape before going in.

my mate went through this with the above mods and no issues a year later...
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6GPcG4m8Qw"]YouTube - Royal Agricultural College Off Roading, Land Rover Defender 90 deep water Cirencester[/nomedia]

we couldn't get his snorkel sealed in time so ran some sealed flexi pipe from the air can to the roof as a temp bodge.

 

[IrieLandy]

Hello, thanks for the advice! i'm off to get happy with a tube of silicone...

by the way... i've always left my wading plugs in - mainly cos it rains so much here in the west of ireland the underneath of my vehicle gets a constant soaking... thought i'd try whipping them out just the other day to check for any oil accumulation and they are seized to buggery! it's been about 18 months since i put them in. anybody else had this problem? i'm sure i didnt overtighten them so i'm wondering is it some kind of aluminium corrosion.. maybe a bit of copper grease would have been a good idea, the plugs dont have much of a head on them anyway so hard to get a good purchase with a socket... and very easy to round off! maybe its time to order one of those irwin bolt extractor sets!

 

[nunny.bdsc]

i was stuck in lake at tong for an hr engine carried on running,my battery box aint sealed.its been fine since

 

[Big Stu 12]

If you want to see how sealed you snorkel is just block your air inlet at the top of it your engine should die........ if it dont air is getting in somewhere, if air can get to the engine so can water..... try this check every time you change/clean the air filter

 

[Browny90]

If you want to see how sealed you snorkel is just block your air inlet at the top of it your engine should die........ if it dont air is getting in somewhere, if air can get to the engine so can water..... try this check every time you change/clean the air filter

Not always the best idea.. I did this up until a couple of years ago.. i had put a new engine(200tdi) in (after filling the engine with silt via the dipstick hole as it was in correctly) when i went to test the snorkel, i covered the end to make a seal, the engine began to die, but... then the suction decided to drag in the turbo oil seal and the engine started to run away, quick drills to stall and a turbo rebuild to get it sorted..

Guess i was the well positioned dipstick in the end..

browny

 

[uk_vette]

i was stuck in lake at tong for an hr engine carried on running,my battery box aint sealed.its been fine since

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