4WD Vehicles Water Crossings
We all like to have a play sometimes and water crossings with our 4WD vehicles can present a huge amount of fun for you and your family, yet much respect has to be paid to our 4WD’s when entering the wet stuff.
NEVER enter the water at high speed as the results can be catastrophic to your 4WD, NO matter what the base consists of, always enter slowly at first and then accelerate if need be and aim to have a gentle bow wave in front of the vehicle, not one you can surf on.
Technical & Engine Issues
Many of you may have encountered loose, bent or missing number plates and a dead give-away to this is having entered water too fast. You may also have heard of or experienced broken fan blades or cut open radiators which is also driver error having entered too fast. The worst scenario especially with a diesel engine is getting water inside the engine through the air intake system.
It only takes as little as 1/2 a shot glass of water to destroy most engines which can result in multiple thousands of dollars damage and becoming stranded where you sit. The reasoning behind this is the high compression of most diesel engines and the fact that water cannot be compressed very well, with both factors combined something has to give and results in hydro Lock. Every time I have witnessed any of the above it has been driver error 100% of the time.
“Remember to ALWAYS Enter the Water at a Slow Speed”
– Pete Deas
