my friend and i are going out to play in the mud and my dad is always like," dont go fast thru puddles because the water gets up in the engine and thats bad." i know that when you go play in the mud your truck gets drenched and i think ti would be hard to not let the mud up in your engine. what do you do when your done putting a nice new layer of mud on your truck?

 

clean and clean and clean and clean and clean. It takes days to get that crap off. It sucks.

 

Don't clean it and take lots of pics!

Mud getting on the engine shouldn't necessarily be bad for it, it's just a pain to keep clean once you drench everything with it. Of course mud will make anything that can rust, rust faster because it's holding in some of the moisture but you can easily keep that under control by keeping things clean or possibly gettin some undercoating and spraying off your wheel wells and frame and anything under the body pretty much but your not limited to that. I also heard a rumor that spraying armor all in your wheel wells before you go out or any other places of concern helps the mud wash off alot easier but I never really tried it cuz it's not worth it if you get muddy occasionally.

 

As long as you dont get it in the intake your fine. You can have an inch thick layer of mud covering the entire engine and it will run just fine. After I get back from a good day in the mud, if I feel like cleaning it, just make sure the engine is cold and spray it down with the hose. Just look in the owners manual for the stuff not to get too wet like the power distribution block and what not. I give it a good soaking in Simple Green then hose it off and it comes out pretty good.

Dirty water, now thats something differant. I killed an alternator and my friend killed a jeep in the same day in the same hole....

 

big metal pieces don't like drastic fast changes in temperature
if you are pushing your motor and it is hot, a normal temperature under stress or heavy load, it is possible that fast immersion or even a generous soaking of water could cool portions of the motor enough to cause cracking or other stress related problems to manifest
now I said possible, but I think not too probable
it is however something to consider if you are running hard and then suddenly enter deep water

when fording streams or big puddle holes you are usually going slower or even stopping first to work with a spotter or leaving the cab yourself to scout the line

now Ranger’s going back and forth through deep puddles might be running a higher engine temp
plus their engine compartments are not getting sufficient chance to vent the ambient hot air
if drivers are going for a big splash or other fantastic effects and have been pushing their engines they might have something to worry about

 

There are a whole host of potential problems you can run into by driving around in the mud. If you want to play around in the mud buy a beater truck that you don't care about.

 

dave is right, if you want to ruin a good truck, drive it through water. mud on the engine is not good, it wont allow the engine to release heat, so clean it as soon as you can, take it to a pressure washer, cover the battery alternator, and air filter if you have an open element, spray some simple green on it, maybe a tire brush and blast it off.

ALWAYS CHECK A HOLE BEFORE YOU DRIVE INTO IT

CASE IN POINT:


This one incident: New transmission ($950 used), new wiring harness, new ECU, new transmission gear sensor, alternator, drain and fill differentials, wheel seals and bearings. This is why i DO NOT ever drive in water any more

 

I built a skid plate/mud shield out of some sheet metal to help keep water and mud out of my engine bay. Of course it doesnt prevent all of the water and mud out, but it did significantly reduce it.

 

That one hole caused all that? Dang... I've gone through deaper stuff than that...

The skid plate is a good idea though. Before I built mine my engine would be HORIBLE after some mud, not its confined pretty much to the sides of the engine. My exhaust manifolds and like battery and A/C stuff gets dirty but the engine stays relativly clean...

 

kid in my class got 1/2 gallon of water in his 97 ranger, hydrolocked the engine and bent 2 rods. i ruined a transmission from playing in deep water.

mud if not to deep can be alright. make sure to wash it ASAP so it doesnt harder and u wont get it off. dont go through anything u dont feel safe doing, dont take challenges from ur friends and dont go through rivers, creeks, deep mud holes with water and u should be alright.

 

I can't say much about how bad it is but, as far as cleaning I like those drive though touchless car washers, with the sprayers under the car that spray the underside. They did a pretty good job maybe got the worst off. Last time after warton I sprayed it with a pressure washer and took the big pieces off, then run it through the touchless carwash to spray the underside and they did not do the greatest job on the sides but it was pretty clean when done.

 

My truck has been muddy for the past week or so. Who cares about washing. And it wasn't intentional. I got mud all over it getting a tractor unstuck, not playing around.

 

You probably want to extend your vent tubes in your axles and transmission to ensure they stay above the water line. I've been in up to 30", and often in 20" to 24" in floods around here with no problems at all.

Look at my Cardomain site (WWW link in my signature) down about 3/4 way on the first page (where it takes your first). There is information about how I extended the tubes on mine. I got the basic design from Buckgnarly (Carl) who's also a member.

 

If you are in 2WD, speed might be your only choice. Just know your limits and check out the hole before entering.

 

yeah always check before you go through :D

 

water=evil...repacking bearings...changing diff fluids...possible water damage...ya'll can keep it! exteneded vent lines or not u still need to repack ur bearings and diff fluids after u try to play submarine...

 

Not if you use the special grease for tolerating water, like for boat trailers. Amsoil and others sell water resistant wheel bearing grease. Can be pricey -- but it's worth it.

You CERTAINLY DON'T need to change you diff fluids after playing in the water if you extend your vent lines. The seals hold fine and unless you get REALLY deep under water there's not enough pressure to force the water into the diff through the axle seals. The bearing issue can be relevant though.

 

im not gunna take any chances and the bearings...ya that grease is good and all but ifs always good to check and be safe.

 

Very true. It's always best to keep up with the maintenance when your truck is used in "extraordinary service", lol!

The League of Extraordinary Rangers!!!

 

God these are some good horror stories, good enough to not make me wanna play in the water and mud...

And I was watching Trucks once and Stacy said a tip was to spray the frame down with cooking spray or armor all so mud doesn't stick. Is this true? Does it work?

 

it works, and very well. i usually spray my inner fenders down. the gooey mud still sticks but it comes off really easy

 

Shweet ^_^ ... Trucks is a great show, but not enough Rangers... I think I've only seen one Ranger on Trucks before, and now they got a New Extreme 4x4 show w00t.

 

i also fear water i cant see the bottom of. first day i had my 87 s10 blazer i was out messing around and saw a puddle that looked innocent enough. turns out the center of the puddle was only about 6 inches deep while the wheel ruts were about 3 feet deep. i stayed in it for about 3 hrs waiting for the tow truck. toasted both front half shafts and the smell never left the interior. the thing only lived for another three months or so. ever since i have avoided water unless i watch some one else go through it or i can see the bottom.

 

Absolutely. I was out in the Jersey Pine Barrens with Tom Barcia and what looked like a normal large puddle we did not take for granted. He told me that some guys with big 4x4's come through and really dig deep ruts.

So we "probed" for them with branches and what not to see how deep each time. Glad I learned that from someone or I might have ended up sometime like you did in that old S10.

 

first time i ever went offroading with dave southern, he and i were about to go through this water hole... then some people told us a jeep on 44's made the hole...

lemme summarize the depth finding experience: we could never figure out how deep it might be... we couldn't find a stick long enough... it was deeeeeeepppppp

aside:

and know the trail before you go on it... dead ends are no fun... if i hadn't stopped and gotten stuck where i did, i would have found myself in 4+ feet deep water and a locked gate... lol