water resisting my engine bay

[raser13]

hey guys, need some advice from the masters. i had a 350 in my '80 CJ5 but the distributor got bent last weekend when i went trailing.(this happened every time because it was against the fire wall) i blew the rear main seal bad and had to limp it with minimal oil back to camp. and needless to say it's dead.

but i got a good line on a '80's AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l hear in town, cheap so i'm going to go back to it. i was figuring while i was doing the heart transplant that i might do a few upgrades at the same time. i intend to add electric fans out of a taurus to help with cooling.

but the main problem i've had in the past is when i go bogging or do a little fording. with the chevy water was always getting in the distributer and the air breather. is there a good easy way to get these problem areas buttoned up on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l ?

i've seen all kinds of snorkels for the FI 4.0L but not any for the carbed AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . am i missing them somewhere? is there a GOOD,cheap diy decent looking way to make my own? and is there a good way to seal up the distributer??
what about wiring? i have already started to get rid of the decades of wire nut splices that are every where on this thing by soldiering and heat shrinking joints or running brand new wire. but the problem is at all of the connectors. they're not made to take water. how can i seal them up? is there a good way to protect the alternator better?

i don't take this thing scuba diving. but every once in a while you find that mud puddle you thought was a couple feet deep that ends up being up to your chest. i do have the differential and tranny vents up as high as i can get them.(top of the hood up front and at the top of the fender well in back) thanks guys, any info is great.

P.S. is there a good safe way to bring my exhaust up the side of the jeep? if it was just me and my wife going out i would just run the pipe up the sid and call it a day. but i have my 6 yo daughter riding in the back with us. i'm terrified that we'll heat the pipes up good and she'll touch or bap them and get badly burned. or some one in a parking lot will have the thing happen. i don't want some one to get burned just because they parked next to me and had to shimmy passed. help!

 

[raser13]

oh' and any other CHEAP and i do mean CHEAP that you can think of that i can do at the same time as this? any tips would be amazing thanks guys.

 

[Torxhead]

To keep water out use pure silicone caulking. To make a temporary exaust, add on a cutout flange with an add on pipe.

 

[caveman]

Spray your distributor down real good with WD-40. Inside and out. I do it every time that I know that I'm going to get into the mud or water and have never had a problem since I started doing it.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Running any vehicle in deep water will lead to prematrure failure of all kinds of parts no matter what you do. You simple cannot button up everything. For example, you raised the vent on your differential, but what about the axle seals at the hubs. Have they been replaced recently. If so, you might not have water in there. But, if you have the original seals, I would bet you will find signs of water in your axle and hub. There are ways to minimize this that have been previously discussed here. As another example, every electrical connection in the engine compartment that is exposed to water will eventually corrode. Water will seep down into the wire without some type of waterproofing. There are simple too many places for the water to do damage. Best thing is to stay out of it all together. Not exactly what you want to hear, but the truth.

 

[raser13]

I'm not looking for a perfect seal on everything. Hence the title being water resistant, not water proof. I'm just looking for ways to make it where if i go through a large mud puddle or cross a creek i don't have to worry that a mile down the road the jeeps going to star running rough because water got into the disributer or soaked the air breather and made it into the carb. I'm also trying to minimize the chance for a short under the same situation. So i was just looking for pointers to help keep the stuff at bay a little longer.

I know that water will find a way and that i should stay away from it, but dang it it's just so much fun! But i will keep an eye on the hubs though. Never thought of the front seals leaking.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

It's not necessarily water get'n into the dizzy cap. As it's more likely condensation that forms
LG

 

[Peanut Butter]

I know that water will find a way and that i should stay away from it, but dang it it's just so much fun! But i will keep an eye on the hubs though. Never thought of the front seals leaking.

I know what you mean... I use to have a Bronco II that I loved running up and down the beach with in the surf, till I realized what kind of damage I was doing to it.

Pay close attention to your diff and hubs. Water gets in there and now you get the kind of damage that cost big bucks. Easiest way is to check your grease and fluid levels. Look at the color, if its a whitish gray, most likely water got in it. Pure silicone can help seal up connections etc. It is usually easy to remove if needed. Any electrical connections that can be sealed with marine heat shrink will help too. Good fender liners are a must. Also the less splash you make the less water will get into everything, just not as much fun. The most important thing though is to have fun. Any hobby that is fun is going to cost some money!

 

[TeamRush]

Think about what's going on when you splash a HOT drivetrain into cold water...
The temp drops inside, air contracts and sucks water right in.
Where you can, like in the drive train and wiring connections, GREASE stops the water.
Where grease is, water can't be and grease isn't like a seal with an air gap behind it...

.

Not that I can't put this into the 'Cheap' category, but I have a '73 that runs happy along with water lapping over the hood.

The first step was to seal up the distributor,
Put an MSD Delco to Ford distributor cap adapter on it, (wider cap, brass terminals, spark energy up off the shaft),
Then pulled the vent cap out of the distributor cap (Ford style) and screw in a MIG welder tip as an air nozzle.

I simply blow compressed air through the cap, it blows bubbles under water.
A good set of MSD spark plug wires with dielectric grease sealed those up,
And I used a pressure regulator & distribution block to run air to axles, Transmission , transfer, etc.

The 'Snorkel' is off an '89 Cadillac, fit right on the MC 2100 carb and has a band clamps for the breather tube/air cleaner above the water line.

The 'Snorkel' works quite well turned around so the air tube comes through the firewall behind the glove box in most cases, a 'Cone' air filter works pretty well behind the glovebox.

'Normal' people won't sit on the back of a low bucket and steer with their feet like it's a boat, but we sometimes do...

My compressor is 12 Volt DC, air tanks under body on frame (semi trucks bone yard) and the inlet tube is stuffed up in the windshield frame since compressor is mounted next to brake master cylinder.

If you intend to get really wet, I suggest oil filled gauges, an electric fuel pump (no atmosphere diaphragm problems), an electric fan since water will pull fan blades into the radiator, and some other odds & ends,
Like an ATV axle CV joint boot around Transmission shifter to keep the water from coming in faster than the air pressure can keep it out...
I have yet to see an old CJ with shifter seal intact, and the factory boot doesn't do a thing for water from below.

If you intend to shut it off, or you don't have it sealed up and it dies, I'd get the exhaust above water level also...
Once it's not running the engine can fill with water backwards through the exhaust.

For electrical components, lots & lots of dielectric grease in connectors.
Where grease is water can't get in.
Same for spindles/hubs, fill them completely.
It's a little extra drag on bearings/hubs on the highway, but it beats a rebuild every time you get wet.
There is room in the hub grooves (behind lockouts) for a grease zerk and passageway drilled into/between bearings, once hub is installed, simply pump it full of grease.
Makes short work of repacking bearings that way also.