Besides a snorkel what needs to be done the keep my 91 sammy running for a while (10mins) underwater?  I will be in about 4 feet of water... any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

3 foot lift?

 

dont give me any ideas...LOL maybe i should just get a boat

a boat on a samurai frame would be wicked

anybody?

You'll need to seal the distributor. The spark leads and plugs need to be in good shape too. I always pack all the electrical connectors with petroleum jelly to keep out the water. Four feet is quite deep, will your instruments, ECU, radio etc.. be underwater at that depth?
You can't seal the cab up entirely because if you do you will float - that can be quite dangerous if its a river crossing that you're doing.

I had my old sami in a few water crossings about 5' deep a few times (just above the wipers on my windshield with my lift and tire size).  I was running a diesel though and didn't have to worry about as many electrical components as you will.  Here's what I would consider:

1.  Breather tubes for your axles, transfer case, and transmission all should be extended to somewhere high and tip-over valves added.  If you don't, all of them will cool down and suck in water when you submerge them.  It's a pain to change all of your gear oil after each trip.

2.  Snorkel needs to be 100% watertight.  Also make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks as they will drown out your engine as well.  Also make sure your crankcase breather/PCV system is watertight as that can let water into your crankcase.

3.  Assuming you're running a 1.3 then you'll have a fan clutch; if you're running something else, make sure that you do have a fan clutch.  Otherwise the fan can flex (or break) in the water and cause damage to the radiator.

4.  Distributor, wires, and coil need to be perfectly sealed.  As Rhinoman suggested petroleum jelly can help keep the water out at the joints.  I might consider some kind of plastic bag/housing for the distributor and coil...10 minutes is a long time and my guess is that the ignition system will be the first thing to quit working on you.

5.  Your ECU needs to be sealed; maybe another watertight bag would work. 

Another note; 4' of water would tend to make my sami REALLY loose in the water.  Little waves would lift the tires up off of the ground quite easily.  Any kind of cross current will tend to drag your rig downriver. 

Another note; 4' of water would tend to make my sami REALLY loose in the water.  Little waves would lift the tires up off of the ground quite easily.  Any kind of cross current will tend to drag your rig downriver. 

just run with the body plugs out like I do , waters coming in any way 

sweet!!! awesome advice guys, thanks!

i myself have had the displeasure of being swept downstream in my samurai and its not the greatest feeling to have. i have a snorkle and the diffs/trany/tcase/vent exstensions along with a sealed ecu in a dielectric oil ran to a powersteering cooler and a 12volt oil pump. along with a fully waterproof marine stereo system a completely waterproof wiring harness thanks to a gallon of sylicone and 6 miles of heatshrink, and a quick conect uptube stack for my exhaust. i thought i had myself a nice little boat until i got too deep and my tires started to bob along the bottom. lucky for me i had my drop hitch winch connected to my buddy's fullsize chevys winch, or my sammy would be an aquarium ornament right now. i had to swim along side of it and hear my engine die as it tipped over. not to mention i was being swept down stream myself. the water wasnt too swift  or it would have been worse. it took 6 hours to get my samurai out of the river. and when i did it wasnt too pretty. it took calling every friend i knew with 4x4s and winches to get it done. along with some pretty life threatening diving attempts to get it past some big rocks (on its side). if you go through the trouble to do all the modifications dont get stupid. remember to bring the boat on your fishing trips. there is a limit to how deep you can go. 4 feet is about where i started to loose grip. id be careful going too much deeper than that unless you have weighted tires. im only running a 5" lift with 31s.

i myself have had the displeasure of being swept downstream in my samurai and its not the greatest feeling to have. i have a snorkle and the diffs/trany/tcase/vent exstensions along with a sealed ecu in a dielectric oil ran to a powersteering cooler and a 12volt oil pump. along with a fully waterproof marine stereo system a completely waterproof wiring harness thanks to a gallon of sylicone and 6 miles of heatshrink, and a quick conect uptube stack for my exhaust. i thought i had myself a nice little boat until i got too deep and my tires started to bob along the bottom. lucky for me i had my drop hitch winch connected to my buddy's fullsize chevys winch, or my sammy would be an aquarium ornament right now. i had to swim along side of it and hear my engine die as it tipped over. not to mention i was being swept down stream myself. the water wasnt too swift  or it would have been worse. it took 6 hours to get my samurai out of the river. and when i did it wasnt too pretty. it took calling every friend i knew with 4x4s and winches to get it done. along with some pretty life threatening diving attempts to get it past some big rocks (on its side). if you go through the trouble to do all the modifications dont get stupid. remember to bring the boat on your fishing trips. there is a limit to how deep you can go. 4 feet is about where i started to loose grip. id be careful going too much deeper than that unless you have weighted tires. im only running a 5" lift with 31s.

hey buddy why the hell didnt you tell me about what happened to your sammy