Yeti fording depth

[CFB]

I seem to remember a while ago someone asking how deep before flooding the engine and the answer being 300mm as the air intake was at the bottom of the engine.

I ws doing my usual routine checks this morning and noticed that the intake on my 110 4x4 is right at the top edge of the grille.

Is this the same for all yetis?

If so, how deep is safe to drive through water?

I appreciate other factors may be involved.

[Llanigraham]

According to the Handbook it is to the bottom of the sills, however I'm sure I've been deeper, but very carefully.

I didn't get out to measure it!!

[fabdavrav]

Handbook for the yeti state bottom of sills...(beaten to it)....but as you say the air intake is alot higher up!!!.......

I've driven through water up to the top of the sill at least in my MKI Fabia (and thats about 30cm)!!!!! The air intake is high up in the engine bay and so long as you keep in second gear and a decent amount of revs and slip the clutch (don't let the engine revs die as the exhaust gases then reduce allowing water back up the exhaust pipe!).....you should be ok......

Also don't go charging in a create a big bow wave as this will swamp the engine from above!!!....

[Llanigraham]

Handbook for the yeti state bottom of sills...(beaten to it)....but as you say the air intake is alot higher up!!!.......

I've driven through water up to the top of the sill at least in my MKI Fabia (and thats about 30cm)!!!!! The air intake is high up in the engine bay and so long as you keep in second gear and a decent amount of revs and slip the clutch (don't let the engine revs die as the exhaust gases then reduce allowing water back up the exhaust pipe!).....you should be ok......

Also don't go charging in a create a big bow wave as this will swamp the engine from above!!!....

Not quite how we would teach it, but it'll do.

First or second doesn't matter, in a Yeti first is probably better.

You do not need to slip the clutch since as long as the engine is running it will create enough pressure to keep the exhaust clear.

Enter slowly and gradually increase speed so that a small bow wave is created in front of the bumper, pushing water away from the engine.

Do not go so fast so the wave breaks, in either direction.

Smooth water is generally flowing over a smooth surface, or is VERY deep.

Rippled water generally flows over a rough surface.

If in doubt....DON'T

[fabdavrav]

Not quite how we would teach it, but it'll do.

....... ........

Oh and another thing.......if you see traffic backing up on the other side of the big lake in the road (total side to side flooding over a long distance of road) when everyone is just not going through.....wait until someone big goes through and watch how deep it is on them and also they will clear some of it out of the way.....BUT wait for the waves etc to calm down after they have driven out and drive down the highest part of the road (usually the middle section on a normal single carridgeway road)!

The ammount of times I've gone through big flooded dips in the road!!!......had to empty my front fog lights out on my old Polo after going through one big lake!!!!

...AND ALWAYS do gentle constant braking after you have left the area (as soon as it is safe to do so) to help dry the brakes out!!!!!....

[rockhopper]

Have you seen my post about Elsie going into limp home mode after going through water too deep. The bow wave came over the bonnet

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[The Plumber]

Have some photos of the initial air intake with the top cover removed. Appears to be designed to reduce the risk of water getting into the intake pipe; the air and any water enters through the bottom slot at the front. The lighter air can then be sucked up above the deflector plate while the heavier water passes underneath into the engine bay. That's my interpretation of the design anyway, which seems to be supported be the 'witness' marks from water that has entered the box.

Oh might be of interest a generic schematic of a modern diesel engine induction and exhaust system;

TP

[CFB]

Excellent replies chaps.

From what graham and fabdavrav said I presume the up to the sills advice is a precaution against water getting into the cabin then.

Very clever design of the air intake to stop the water getting into the engine.

[Llanigraham]

Excellent replies chaps.

From what graham and fabdavrav said I presume the up to the sills advice is a precaution against water getting into the cabin then.

No I don't think so. I think it is just a way of giving an easy reference point.

[Arkaig]

Fording in Florence!

[rockhopper]

Fording in Florence!

Only up to the bottom of the sills, so not too deep. This was posted a while back.

[speedsport]

....... ........

Oh and another thing.......if you see traffic backing up on the other side of the big lake in the road (total side to side flooding over a long distance of road) when everyone is just not going through.....wait until someone big goes through and watch how deep it is on them and also they will clear some of it out of the way.....BUT wait for the waves etc to calm down after they have driven out and drive down the highest part of the road (usually the middle section on a normal single carridgeway road)!

The ammount of times I've gone through big flooded dips in the road!!!......had to empty my front fog lights out on my old Polo after going through one big lake!!!!

...AND ALWAYS do gentle constant braking after you have left the area (as soon as it is safe to do so) to help dry the brakes out!!!!!....

Look out for the fool coming the other way who sees you half way through and rather than waiting for you to get clear, decides to drive towards you creating his/her own bow wave! Oh, and then there are unseen things in flooded urban areas like raised manhole covers & buried traffic islands. The moral is if you can, watch someone else go through first!

[vegit8]

Can someone confirm if the Diff's have breathers in them, was told at my 4x4 Response induction training that some diff's have breathers to allow for expansion of gasses when the oil gets hot.

This may have been for the benefit of all the Land Rover drivers of course.

The point was that as you went through water that covered the diff the resultant drop in temperature would cause the air to contract and draw water into the diff, which then created a nice emulsion!

Their general advice was no deeper than below the hub

[James I]

I think the air intake being at the top of the grill theory is misleading, if you look at the bottom of the air filter housing you will find a drain pipe that allows water out of the filter box, this goes lower in the engine bay and can when submersed act like a vacuum cleaner sucking water into the air box, hence the sills being a safe height for water.

[Llanigraham]

Can someone confirm if the Diff's have breathers in them, was told at my 4x4 Response induction training that some diff's have breathers to allow for expansion of gasses when the oil gets hot.

This may have been for the benefit of all the Land Rover drivers of course.

The point was that as you went through water that covered the diff the resultant drop in temperature would cause the air to contract and draw water into the diff, which then created a nice emulsion!

Their general advice was no deeper than below the hub

Front drive looks like it uses the engine breathers, but I can't find anything about the rear axle.

I've certainly gone deeper than the bottom of the sills; propbably nearer the bottom of the door, and to be honest I'm not worried. Most modern cars the seals are far more effective than I used to have on my Series LR. The oil in the axles on that regularly got changed (if it all hadn't leaked out!!)

James the little pipe shouldn't be a worry as it is actually the drain for the air filter box, and exits in a low pressure area where water shouldn't get to. I also think it may have a one-way flap in it.

[ejstubbs]

Look out for the fool coming the other way who sees you half way through and rather than waiting for you to get clear, decides to drive towards you creating his/her own bow wave!

Or, as happened to my sister recently, the fool coming the other way who sees that the water is much deeper on their side of the road, so moves over to your side and only then realises that you are coming through...and just sits there, blocking your exit from the flood unless you take the risk of going through the deeper water on what would otherwise have been their side of the road

The moral is if you can, watch someone else go through first!

Also: don't set off until you have clear passage all the way through. My sister (again) made the mistake of following someone through another flood recently, only for them to stop dead right in the middle, forcing her to come to a halt as well. In fairness, the tailback was very long and she was trying to help the traffic flow a bit. Unlike the character in front - but you do need to allow for people doing daft things like that. They'd only stopped due to loss of bottle, not because their car was flooded.

[Llanigraham]

And one very simple instruction:

IF IN DOUBT.......DON'T!!

[Phil-E]

And one very simple instruction:

IF IN DOUBT.......DON'T!!

Yup.

It can end in tears.

I broke my old Citroen ZX 1.9D driving through a flood.

The water was up to about the door seals and the engine sucked a load of water in. I went slow but the air intake was right at the bottom of the bumper (very clever eh?!)

I felt like a right tool and had to scrap the car after that!

Phil

[Scamparelli]

Hi all, this is my first post and unfortunately not a very happy one!

Not long after purchasing my 170 Yeti, I decided to potter down a track which cut off the journey to work. Came across a large puddle, which turned out to be larger than I had guessed. I pottered my way into it and got stuck. Feck.

So picture sitting in your brand new Yeti, in a puddle up to the sills (a bit higher on the passenger or left side) with all four wheels spinning. Beached. Feck.

Got towed out by recovery, in the process a metal connector on the tow rope snapped on the first attempt putting a little dink on the boot lid :(, following a good clean found a few scratches on the rear alloys where the wheels had been spinning against stone or something :(.

Anyway, not good, but my main worry and reason for the post, it now has a bit of engine noise on idle. Could be clutch (I initially had clutch slip and the pedal took a few minutes to return to full travel), but wondering what else it could be. It's like an intermittent chuffing noise related to the engine speed.

It's going into my local garage to diagnose the noise, but any advice on what to look out for would be extremely useful.

Thanks!

[Falmouthboy]

Lots of good advice from Graham, who is an experienced off-roader. However, as he says, 'if in doubt'. See the link below - a project I have been involved in.

https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/community-and-living/cornwall-fire-and-rescue-service-homepage/keeping-safe/road-safety/be-a-safer-driver/driving-tips-and-advice/turn-around-dont-drown/

[ernieb]

Interesting project.  One of our local roads does flood from time to time and people will insist on driving through.  The last one, a few weeks ago, resulted in one of the big man hole covers coming off damaging the surrounding road surface and the car that decided to go through the water ended up sinking front end.  They were recovered OK but the damage closed part of the road for a week.  This is in an urban area on a highly used road so people assume it will always be OK.  They seem to leave there brains at home when the start out in there protected box on wheels. However, the road really dips under a bridge and whilst they installed pumps about 15 years ago these failed and the water came up very quickly.

[gumdrop]

I drove through a puddle on a bend luckily I went in faster than

I meant to and ended up surf boarding until I reached the other

side and the wheels touched firm ground under the water.

I think the engine splash shield lifted the front of the car, not

the nicest thing at 5:00am