Chances of Hydrolocking my v6

[hinmo24t]

Hey...I have an 04 with 140k, 2.5" lift and 33s. I live near a legal wheeling forest and it consists of non stop deep puddles and mud. think moguls 100'+ apart with water that fills in between them, for about 7 miles. i have run the trail in the 4runner a dozen times through it, with wranglers, tacoma etc. i extended my diff breather but dont have a snorkel. also i dont splash into the puddles i creep in pretty slow. havent yet got a snorkel and think the price is kind of bogus for them to be honest ($600 investment for protecting essentially a $3000 repair is about 20% preventative expense)...i know they havent even had snorkels for this model until recently with a few outliers running LC or other snorkels. I have fresh new splash shields in my wheelwells and a crew trying to run the trail tomorrow morning (its deep out there right now). what do you think the chances of ruining my engine are one of these days?

these puddle can get to 3' deep + in spots btw

thanks,
Tom

 

[montijo505]

Hey...I have an 04 with 140k, 2.5" lift and 33s. I live near a legal wheeling forest and it consists of non stop deep puddles and mud. think moguls 100'+ apart with water that fills in between them, for about 7 miles. i have run the trail in the 4runner a dozen times through it, with wranglers, tacoma etc. i extended my diff breather but dont have a snorkel. also i dont splash into the puddles i creep in pretty slow. havent yet got a snorkel and think the price is kind of bogus for them to be honest ($600 investment for protecting essentially a $3000 repair is about 20% preventative expense)...i know they havent even had snorkels for this model until recently with a few outliers running LC or other snorkels. I have fresh new splash shields in my wheelwells and a crew trying to run the trail tomorrow morning (its deep out there right now). what do you think the chances of ruining my engine are one of these days?



these puddle can get to 3' deep + in spots btw



thanks,

Tom

If you’re worried about it, don’t do it. There is the cowl snorkel option if you don’t like traditional snorkels. It involves running some tubing from your intake inlet to the hood cowl near the windshield. A quick search should turn up a few threads.

The other potential for disaster here is water ruining your ECU. If water gets in to your driver floorboard and under your seat, it’ll be toast. There’s multiple people on this forum that have had this happen and if I remember correctly, it’s an expensive fix. Not quite $3k for an engine, but still. Good luck!


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[hinmo24t]

Thanks for the input...i should mention if i do ruin the truck i do have means to get it fixed or buy another cheap 4x4, but its not ideal for sure, certainly dont want to take a hit like that

 

[hinmo24t]

anyone else?

i tried following cowl intake like invidizsm, but i didnt really understand it. also, for those, isnt the air intake near the hood/windshield? if so, i wonder about rain/snow or a big surge coming up the hood and easily getting in there. ive been reading and reassured that my stock bumper and oem airbox location is actually pretty decent and the risk really increases with modified bumper/aftermarket, or trimmed wheelwell liners. i guess there is a directional flap of some sort that you would have to submerge to really pull into the motor. with it being at the top of the fender, or high point of it, i think youd really have to submerge it almost. to the point where electrical issues probably ar emore risk than hydrolock.

i must say it seems the east coast wheeling i do differs a lot than out west...not for the better per se but i have a lot more experience in water than a lot it seems. the trucks been a beast out there but damn itd suck to hydrolock.

thoughts?

 

[81runner]

If you’re worried about it, don’t do it. There is the cowl snorkel option if you don’t like traditional snorkels. It involves running some tubing from your intake inlet to the hood cowl near the windshield. A quick search should turn up a few threads.

The other potential for disaster here is water ruining your ECU. If water gets in to your driver floorboard and under your seat, it’ll be toast. There’s multiple people on this forum that have had this happen and if I remember correctly, it’s an expensive fix. Not quite $3k for an engine, but still. Good luck!


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Are you sure it's not on the passenger side? Only reason I question this, is because I've had the seat and carpet completely out for sound deadening and wires for my sound system recently, and I didn't see anything under the drivers seat or the floor boards at all. I know if you remove the trim under the glove box, there's a few computers in there, not sure if one of them is the ecu.

As to the original question, air intake is in the passenger front wheel well, near the top. You'll see the vents. If there water you're wading thru is higher than that, I'd say your chances are better than average, you'll lock it up. That being said, I've done parts of big bear where there was water to the top of my tires, just took it nice and slow though those spots, no issues

 

[hankd]

the water damage happened to me. the ecu is located under the glovebox. however there is a wiring junction in the driver side kick panel near where your left foot rests while driving. if that gets wet, it will zap the ecu. the truck will work fine for the rest of the day but by next morning it will be zapped and the truck won't turn over anymore.

the location of this wiring junction is quite low, around carpet level maybe a touch lower. so if the truck takes in any water the junction will get wet. there is some room for play, so you can raise this wiring junction, try and seal it, etc. in my case, an automotive electrician rerouted the junction for the offending wires.

solution here is to thoroughly clean the wiring junction and make sure it is 100% dry. then buy an ebay ecu for 100-200 bucks. then a trip to toyota to get it programmed. in my case, the junction was not thoroughly cleaned out and i fried two more ecu's and spent a bunch of money unnecessarily on tow trucks and auto electronics shops.

i was stuck in water for 30 mins so i kind of watched it unfold. if you are just going through the deep water and don't get stuck, you are unlikely to take water in. in the case that you do take water and get wet, the truck will still work fine for the day and surprise you the next morning. in that case you could take the vehicle home, disconnect the battery, dry everything out and hope to avoid the whole mess.

i've been through 3' water since but only in two spots and it was brief. and i was kind of nervous about a hydrolock but it was fine. 7 miles and i'd nope out of there tho lol.