Waterproofing V8 Disco
Discussion
Just wondering if anyone had any good sugestions for the best way to waterproof a V8 disco - i know it wont be submersible but having got into quite a sticky puddle at sibbertoft on Sunday it would be apprieciated. i was thinking of new leads and cap and then running each lead in some pipe to stop tracking.
Thanks
Dave
Thanks
Dave
firesafetydave said:
Just wondering if anyone had any good sugestions for the best way to waterproof a V8 disco - i know it wont be submersible but having got into quite a sticky puddle at sibbertoft on Sunday it would be apprieciated. i was thinking of new leads and cap and then running each lead in some pipe to stop tracking.
Thanks
Dave
The dizzy is the problem and many before you have tried in vain (waits for torrent of posts about how people have succeeded).Thanks
Dave
The real fix is to fit Megajolt which uses Ford coil packs and a Ford pickup and trigger wheel. With this you can go submerged but don't forget everything else like extended axle breathers and snorkel.
You could go the whole hog and fit Megasquirt to run both ignition and fuel injection.
Steve
Here are my tips:
Coil.
Unbolt the coil and get a plastic icecream tub which the coil will fit in. Bolt the coil back down sitting it in the plastic tub. You'll need to cut holes to let the wires through the side. Seal these up with silicon sealant or gaffer tape. Put the lid on the tub. Result is that coil is sat in a sealed plastic water tight container.
Dizzy Cap.
Remove dizzy cap and run bead of non setting sealant around mating faces. Refit cap. Remove leads. On the outside of the lead "towers" of the dizzy cap, smear a little non setting seatlant then rre-fit leads to dizzy. Make sure leads are well seated on dizzy cap then apply a little sealant to the join between lead and cap covers.
Get a 5l bottle of orange squash and cut the bottom couple of inches off. This should fit over the dizzy and keep the worst of the splashing water off the dizzy.
Plugs.
This is the hardest one and I found the best results were to apply sealant to the end of the plug covers before you push them on. Be sparing as you don't want to get any on the plugs themselves. with the plugs firmly pushed on and the covers in place, smear a little sealant on the join between lead and plug cover.
Use good quality leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm and make sure that there is no arcing of the leads. Best to do this in the dark as you can see the blue flashes.
Breathers.
get some tubing from B&Q used for irrigation systems. It is very cheap. Connect to existing breathers and seal up. Run tube up as high as possible.
Slightly more extreme is to remove the viscous fan and replace with an electric one with a manual cut off on the dash. This means that the fan can be turned of when wading and so doesn't throw water all over the engine bay.
By far the cheapest one is to drive sensibly. Enter the water slowly. Water splashes are great fun but they do splash water all over your electrics. Maintain your bow wave and you should be able to wade safe enough to make hydraulic-ing your engine (if you don't have a snorkel) your biggest fear. If you do have a snorkel, remember to seal all the joins, and check the air intake pipes for any splits or holes.
A squirt of WD40 or your prefered brand of water dispersant on all the electrics before you start the day doesn't hurt either.
The rubber nodders you see advertised are very fiddly and will only go someway to giving the same protection I have described above.
The main thing I have found is that you need to take your time and consider each element of your ignition system. If you are running on LPG then this is even more important as LPG is very fault intolerant of a dodgy ignition system.
All learnt on my 91 V8 RRC running LPG
Coil.
Unbolt the coil and get a plastic icecream tub which the coil will fit in. Bolt the coil back down sitting it in the plastic tub. You'll need to cut holes to let the wires through the side. Seal these up with silicon sealant or gaffer tape. Put the lid on the tub. Result is that coil is sat in a sealed plastic water tight container.
Dizzy Cap.
Remove dizzy cap and run bead of non setting sealant around mating faces. Refit cap. Remove leads. On the outside of the lead "towers" of the dizzy cap, smear a little non setting seatlant then rre-fit leads to dizzy. Make sure leads are well seated on dizzy cap then apply a little sealant to the join between lead and cap covers.
Get a 5l bottle of orange squash and cut the bottom couple of inches off. This should fit over the dizzy and keep the worst of the splashing water off the dizzy.
Plugs.
This is the hardest one and I found the best results were to apply sealant to the end of the plug covers before you push them on. Be sparing as you don't want to get any on the plugs themselves. with the plugs firmly pushed on and the covers in place, smear a little sealant on the join between lead and plug cover.
Use good quality leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm and make sure that there is no arcing of the leads. Best to do this in the dark as you can see the blue flashes.
Breathers.
get some tubing from B&Q used for irrigation systems. It is very cheap. Connect to existing breathers and seal up. Run tube up as high as possible.
Slightly more extreme is to remove the viscous fan and replace with an electric one with a manual cut off on the dash. This means that the fan can be turned of when wading and so doesn't throw water all over the engine bay.
By far the cheapest one is to drive sensibly. Enter the water slowly. Water splashes are great fun but they do splash water all over your electrics. Maintain your bow wave and you should be able to wade safe enough to make hydraulic-ing your engine (if you don't have a snorkel) your biggest fear. If you do have a snorkel, remember to seal all the joins, and check the air intake pipes for any splits or holes.
A squirt of WD40 or your prefered brand of water dispersant on all the electrics before you start the day doesn't hurt either.
The rubber nodders you see advertised are very fiddly and will only go someway to giving the same protection I have described above.
The main thing I have found is that you need to take your time and consider each element of your ignition system. If you are running on LPG then this is even more important as LPG is very fault intolerant of a dodgy ignition system.
All learnt on my 91 V8 RRC running LPG
Liszt said:
Here are my tips:
Coil.
Unbolt the coil and get a plastic icecream tub which the coil will fit in. Bolt the coil back down sitting it in the plastic tub. You'll need to cut holes to let the wires through the side. Seal these up with silicon sealant or gaffer tape. Put the lid on the tub. Result is that coil is sat in a sealed plastic water tight container.
Dizzy Cap.
Remove dizzy cap and run bead of non setting sealant around mating faces. Refit cap. Remove leads. On the outside of the lead "towers" of the dizzy cap, smear a little non setting seatlant then rre-fit leads to dizzy. Make sure leads are well seated on dizzy cap then apply a little sealant to the join between lead and cap covers.
Get a 5l bottle of orange squash and cut the bottom couple of inches off. This should fit over the dizzy and keep the worst of the splashing water off the dizzy.
Plugs.
This is the hardest one and I found the best results were to apply sealant to the end of the plug covers before you push them on. Be sparing as you don't want to get any on the plugs themselves. with the plugs firmly pushed on and the covers in place, smear a little sealant on the join between lead and plug cover.
Use good quality leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm and make sure that there is no arcing of the leads. Best to do this in the dark as you can see the blue flashes.
Breathers.
get some tubing from B&Q used for irrigation systems. It is very cheap. Connect to existing breathers and seal up. Run tube up as high as possible.
Slightly more extreme is to remove the viscous fan and replace with an electric one with a manual cut off on the dash. This means that the fan can be turned of when wading and so doesn't throw water all over the engine bay.
By far the cheapest one is to drive sensibly. Enter the water slowly. Water splashes are great fun but they do splash water all over your electrics. Maintain your bow wave and you should be able to wade safe enough to make hydraulic-ing your engine (if you don't have a snorkel) your biggest fear. If you do have a snorkel, remember to seal all the joins, and check the air intake pipes for any splits or holes.
A squirt of WD40 or your prefered brand of water dispersant on all the electrics before you start the day doesn't hurt either.
The rubber nodders you see advertised are very fiddly and will only go someway to giving the same protection I have described above.
The main thing I have found is that you need to take your time and consider each element of your ignition system. If you are running on LPG then this is even more important as LPG is very fault intolerant of a dodgy ignition system.
All learnt on my 91 V8 RRC running LPG
Thanks for this advice - will have a goCoil.
Unbolt the coil and get a plastic icecream tub which the coil will fit in. Bolt the coil back down sitting it in the plastic tub. You'll need to cut holes to let the wires through the side. Seal these up with silicon sealant or gaffer tape. Put the lid on the tub. Result is that coil is sat in a sealed plastic water tight container.
Dizzy Cap.
Remove dizzy cap and run bead of non setting sealant around mating faces. Refit cap. Remove leads. On the outside of the lead "towers" of the dizzy cap, smear a little non setting seatlant then rre-fit leads to dizzy. Make sure leads are well seated on dizzy cap then apply a little sealant to the join between lead and cap covers.
Get a 5l bottle of orange squash and cut the bottom couple of inches off. This should fit over the dizzy and keep the worst of the splashing water off the dizzy.
Plugs.
This is the hardest one and I found the best results were to apply sealant to the end of the plug covers before you push them on. Be sparing as you don't want to get any on the plugs themselves. with the plugs firmly pushed on and the covers in place, smear a little sealant on the join between lead and plug cover.
Use good quality leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm and make sure that there is no arcing of the leads. Best to do this in the dark as you can see the blue flashes.
Breathers.
get some tubing from B&Q used for irrigation systems. It is very cheap. Connect to existing breathers and seal up. Run tube up as high as possible.
Slightly more extreme is to remove the viscous fan and replace with an electric one with a manual cut off on the dash. This means that the fan can be turned of when wading and so doesn't throw water all over the engine bay.
By far the cheapest one is to drive sensibly. Enter the water slowly. Water splashes are great fun but they do splash water all over your electrics. Maintain your bow wave and you should be able to wade safe enough to make hydraulic-ing your engine (if you don't have a snorkel) your biggest fear. If you do have a snorkel, remember to seal all the joins, and check the air intake pipes for any splits or holes.
A squirt of WD40 or your prefered brand of water dispersant on all the electrics before you start the day doesn't hurt either.
The rubber nodders you see advertised are very fiddly and will only go someway to giving the same protection I have described above.
The main thing I have found is that you need to take your time and consider each element of your ignition system. If you are running on LPG then this is even more important as LPG is very fault intolerant of a dodgy ignition system.
All learnt on my 91 V8 RRC running LPG
Dave
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