Has this happened to anyone else? I built a PVC snorkle for my '96 kick, took it swimming and the next week the bearings in my alternator were trashed. Although I was able to score a used replacement for free I must admit that I was looking for the Ford emblem an hour in to swapping it out.  (I think the total swap time was about two hours) Now I'm afraid to take it in the water again.

Bad luck or is this to be expected?

gravity storm

I'll bet it was the little "swim" your kick had that did it. I'll still put a snork on my kick someday and take it swimming but think about all the stuff that gets submersed that probably shouldn't.

Bell housing & T.O. bearing or if auto water down the vent and all around T.C.
evap canister
electrical stuff, wiper motor, A/C condensor fan motor etc., etc.
Who knows what else???

What do the guys that go swimming with their rigs regularly do to ward off the water gremlins?

They tear their equipment apart on a regular basis. 

Water finds a way into everything no matter what you do.  Change your diff fluids on a regular basis, like every one or two dunkings.  You should also tear into your front end and repack your wheel bearings.  Make sure you silicone any part that doesn't have a gasket on it.  Silicone on everything else probably wouldn't hurt either...

Make sure your Diff breathers are extended up as high as possible.  You will probably want to put a filter on the end as well.  Or run it into your snorkel air box to keep them out of the water as much as possible.

After you get out hit the local spray off car wash and spray down your engine compartment.  Some dirt probably worked it's way into your alternator bearings.  Bad luck is all. 

Only go "swimming" when you have to! My snorkle is there for safty and insurance reasons. Just in case I drop into too deep a whole. Water is the enemy of anything electrical or mechanical. Most woods water also has high concentrations of sand and dirt in it as well, works like grinding or lapping compound. Drone is correct, regular maintenence is the key to longevity.

Water crossings should only be performed in a small rubber dinggy, avoid that wet stuff whenever possible!

ya I agree, swimming = to much work......  trails, mud, rocks.... leave the water for the boats.

If you are going to dunk your kick you need to waterproof everything you can. I extended the front diff breather up over the engine into the air filter box. The rear breather goes up into an air space behind the drivers tail light. I have not changed this on lil Suzy and I've not had a problem. The biggest thing you can do is replace the manual fan with an electric. The fan throws huge amounts of water around the engine compartment when it contacts water. I made a bracket and re-used the compressor fan from the AC system. Run the wiring through a switch on the dash so you can turn it off before you hit that big mud hole. I also use dielectric grease on all the spark plug wires and around the cap to seal them up as well as all the other electric connections I work on. As for the Alternator I had a lot of trouble when I was using autozone rebuilds. The big chain rebuilds are rebuilt as cheaply as possible I talked to a local re-builder at the time and he refused to even accept the autozone rebuild as a core. He said that he would have to replace all its parts to bring it up to his standards. Sure enough the rebuild I got from him lasted for quite awhile getting dunked about every weekend. I have since swapped out the stock alternator for a 105 amp GM unit. Since I did that I have not had to replace it. The design of the GM alt with the external exhaust fan on the front works quite well at keeping stray water out. I am not mud bogging lil Suzy anymore but these mods really helped when I was and I know she is prepared if I ever run through a deep mountain stream.

They tear their equipment apart on a regular basis. 

Yep

Most woods water also has high concentrations of sand and dirt in it as well, works like grinding or lapping compound.

Yeah, I also found that the belts get trashed as well, lots of tiny bits of stone get embedded in them. I used to change the timing belt and fan/PS belts regularly. Also watch out for a build up of grit and stuff around the bottom crankshaft pulley, behind the cover. Clean out the starter regularly too, its surprising where the mud and grit gets to. It kills brake shoes quickly too.

thanks everyone for the responses. I need to check all of the fluids soon. Other than the alternator so far I have not had any problems.

It sure was cool to see the water come rushing over the hood........