Did i damage my motor

[davidrob]

Hi, Tonight me and the girlfriend were out in the woods doing some wheeling driving through some deep water crossings. She was driving through them all first since her truck is a little more capable than my explorer and when I hit one of the deeper wate holes I was going a little faster than i should have and when i got about halfway through my check engine light came on and i had to floor the gas just to keep barely moving in 4 wheel low. Even when I was out of the water i had to keep the gas floored as the engine barely ran. Everything seems alright now and im wondering if anyone has any ideas what happened there and does it sound like I did any permanent damage. Did I almost hydro-lock my engine, or was it something less than that. Also her truck is a tacoma with the trd racing package and with 33s and a v6 and my explorer has 30s and 2 inch lift, why would she be able to fly through the water and have no trouble and I almost didn't make it, are toyotas just that much more capable than an explorer

 

[Alec]

Yup, you probably either almost locked it, or got some wires wet.

I'd also check your oil, diffs, and tranny fluid for water contamination if your breather lines aren't extended.

1) extend your breather lines
2) get an open intake or drill some holes in your airbox to give air another way to enter the motor than from the stock location behind the bumper
3) try to seal vulnerable electrical parts.

 

[davidrob]

So drilling the airbox is actually better than stock? I never did it because i was under the impression that that is the worst thing to do if you have to cross water.

 

[Bashman]

If you do a lot of deep water crossings you might want to consider a snorkel.

 

[davidrob]

This water wasn't really all that deep.. maybe up to the front bumper. So I don't think I really need a snorkel. I just can't understand why when I was riding with her she flew threw it and didn't have a single problem, and i've been through in my friends stock grand cherokee and no problems there either. I guess just bad luck. So something along the lines of a KKM filter kit will fix that problem?

 

[XplorerKid]

This water wasn't really all that deep.. maybe up to the front bumper. So I don't think I really need a snorkel. I just can't understand why when I was riding with her she flew threw it and didn't have a single problem, and i've been through in my friends stock grand cherokee and no problems there either. I guess just bad luck. So something along the lines of a KKM filter kit will fix that problem?

Your stock air box breathes right near the bumper, so first thing to do repalce your current airfilter, good choice would be a KKM, or a K and N and drill your air box, and remove the stock piece that sucks the air from near the bumper.....

 

[KPT]

Pull the codes. Should give you an idea of what got wet. You can get the codes with a wire. http://dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html#TSTS

 

[davidrob]

The check engine light went off shortly after i got out of the water...I just revved it for a while until everything seemed to be running fine and the light went off. However, the abs light came on while I was going through and it has been on ever since

 

[DeRocha]

Like explorer kid said your air intake actually snakes down to draw in air from your front bumper. So driving throught h20 could cause you to have some hydro lock issues.... The KKM and other open intakes will be a few inches highter than the stock air box.

 

[XplorerKid]

Davidrob, i dont know if this interest you, but i have made a snorkel that in theory should work, unless you sink the truck, but i have not been able to test it out, as Yesterday, the big test day, i had another problem arise, and it wasnt as wet out where i was gunna test it since it hasnt rained in a long time. If you would like to see it, Do a search for " Redneck Engineering Inc- Snorkel" .....

I also got alot of Opions from my 4x4 Club members that it should work......

Hope this Helps

-Caleb

EDIT-

Heres a link- http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108392&highlight=Redneck+Snorkel