ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: bandit86 on June 11, 2004, 12:52:24 PM
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I got the snorkle, all breathers runing inside the cabin and the ignition covered with ignition protecter. Still acts funny if I drive into a puddle fast. I dont seem to ever find water in the distributor, and it still ran like crap an hour after the puddle. Anybody?
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Do this at night:
Fill a spray bottle with water and lightly spray your plug wires. Fire it up and look for arching or glow. I'd also check the engine grounds, in the daylight of course. ;D
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For some reason, whenever I hose down my engine compartment I manage to get a plug or two wet. I usually have to take a plug wire off and swab out the hole, maybe use WD40 and then put it back in.
I am not quite sure what steps I can take to get a better seal around the wires where they go into the engine. Maybe a better more expensive set of wires....?
Heather
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I emptied a can of ignition wire protector on wires and all around the cap. I'll get a new set of wires and cap. It does almost sound like it's running very lean, because it runs on all 4 at part throttle but bogs on more or idle.
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I've thought about using this:
http://www.worldofpowersports.com/wop/08798-0001.html
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high temp sylicone. it is the red tub. also a set of 8mm wires or bigger double insulated if possible. i drive in alot of water and don't have any problems. the one thing i found that was really tempramental was the o2 sensor plug on the air intake tube on my 94 16 val.
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I like the sound of double insulated.
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I think they have you fixed up... but just in case...
It sounds like hi-test (spark) problems. As they said, check your cap, rotor & wires are in good condition. Make sure all the leads are seated. (I've seen cars run fine w/ the spark plug wires not clipped on the spark plugs... until damp.) Then slide that cup *way* down on the spark plug. As mentioned, for extra seal, you can "glue" the wires onto the plugs with silicone. If you do this, glue them onto the coil and distributor cap, too.
Check the distributor. Lots of guys use a bead of silicone at the base of the distributor cap when seating it. Also buy some hose from an aquarium shop & put about 6" to a foot in place of the vent cap.
For really radical water crossings, like it sounds you are doing, you might consider an under-hood water deflector. The skid plates that go under the front bumper help deflect water down, but an occasional person goes more radical. These aren't water tight... they are just there to deflect most of the under-hood splashing.
Oh... and check all your other connectors, too. You already found one that was corroded, right?
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AND:
If you go into deep enough water, the fan will hit the water and be deflected into the radiator and tear it up. Thats one reason some Off-Roaders use electric fans, When they run into deep water they shut the fan off.
If you go that deep ;D
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AND:
If you go into deep enough water, the fan will hit the water and be deflected into the radiator and tear it up. Thats one reason some Off-Roaders use electric fans, When they run into deep water they shut the fan off.
If you go that deep ;D
Thanks for clearing that up! I always wondered about that and what could happen. Yeah electric fans are wicked.
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I did not have problems with the fan even when the water was over the hood.
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And here all I ever do is a little grease around
the cap and wires on the distributor, never any
on the plugs because it melts, and I bonzai through
any water and NEVER have had a problem, only
if I hose it off with the high pressure at the carwash,
then I pull the plug side WD40 and off I go.
High temp grease might survive the plug temps,
silicone would but how hard is that to get apart ?
Wild
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If you have that little plastic cover or boot that you put over the dist. cap that would be my first guess, all they do is hold the water in and short out between all of the wires :o
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a few pics of playing in the water not to deep here about 3'.
http://www.geocities.com/race8thwonder01/TheTracker.html
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i get a tube of bathroom silicon sealer and wearing rubber gloves i rub the sealer all over the leads and let it set,i refit the leads with silicon GREASE onto the plugs.i spray the cap with sprayon silicon grease then wrap plastic food bags round the dizzi and coil and secure them with zip ties.spray the whole lot with silicon grease again and i can drive underwater!!all i need now is a periscope
;D
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BTW...
You'll probably need to put an exhaust snorkle on your rig, too. Otherwise you can get enough water in the exhaust that the car will run like crud until it drains.
Symptoms can be similar to what you mention.
(Ever hear of someone putting a potato in an exhaust pipe? Similar problem.)
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i get a tube of bathroom silicon sealer and wearing rubber gloves i rub the sealer all over the leads and let it set,i refit the leads with silicon GREASE onto the plugs.i spray the cap with sprayon silicon grease then wrap plastic food bags round the dizzi and coil and secure them with zip ties.spray the whole lot with silicon grease again and i can drive underwater!!all i need now is a periscope
;D
??? can you say over kill!! one tube of RTV for the "dizzi" and some spark plug grease from the counter at schucks...
and are you sure there are no leaks anywhere on the intake? jus wonderin try the starting fluid trick
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AND:
If you go into deep enough water, the fan will hit the water and be deflected into the radiator and tear it up. Thats one reason some Off-Roaders use electric fans, When they run into deep water they shut the fan off.
If you go that deep ;D
well the cluch fans slow down quite a bit. i do alot of under water excusions have been thought 2 fans in the last 2 years.
stu
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Water operation for a car can be tricky. I learned a bit about it in an Austin Countryman.
A Countryman is sort of like a Mini-Cooper (old style) but in a station wagon variety. The top of the car was about up to my rib cage... w/ 12" tires. Naturally, in Panama, where you can have 8" of standing water after a 15 minute rain, it wasn't ideal. Fortunately, it was FWD, so even when the rear end was floating, I still had some traction.
Prior to the mods, running into a rain storm could cause problems, as water streamed under the bonnet. (Cars all pulled over, since the best wipers couldn't keep up. At 45, I was nearly swept off the seat of my MC running into one of these storms.)
If you use grease on the spark plug wires, make sure it doesn't have graphite (or other conductive materials) in it. Back then, I used some silicone grease, used to insulate telephone connections. The cap and coil were sealed with bath tub caulk. It worked well.
One worry is with a hot manifold. The 'Zuki doesn't have a weak manifold (unlike the cast iron on this car) so it's fairly safe, but it can still crack... and the head is moderately strong... not as good as Detroit iron, but better than most inline 4's. Still, deflector shields aren't out of the question.
For this car, I built it in 2 pieces. The top part bolted to the underside of the hood, to the grill area. That was bolted to the lower section, which was also bolted to the pan of the car. Not much water comes through the radiator, but there can be a huge splash from under the front bumper, as water rushes in. You can see your engine temp drop 50 degrees in seconds. It doesn't help with flooding water, but can keep you from being blinded by steam under the rear of the hood.
I also sealed all the connectors. I once "lost" the engine to a short in a connector from the generator. The same connector carried current to the distributor, so it's hard to tell which connection shorted. That short killed my V-regulator. (Being British, it wasn't overly surprising. <g>)