Testing the new tires

I got my new Trxus tires a couple weekends ago and though it was nice to get them on the truck and start getting jealous stares, I was really itching to get them offroad and try them out. HXOC to the rescue :D. Here's a pic of me playing in the mud down in Potosi, MO :smoka:.

http://photos.hxoc.net/albums/album11/aal.sized.jpg

I actually ended up getting so deep that the water came over my hood up almost to the windshield :eek:. If i had known it was going to get this deep, i probably wouldn't have done it (hey i've only got 2k miles on my X, its ok to be slightly protective :p). However, in hindsight it was fun as hell (nothing like the adrenaline rush of putting 25k in immediate danger :bloated: ). Damn I love these new tires. I am no expert but I could tell a huge difference between stock and these on rocks and in the mud. I doubt i'll make another mod to my truck that will result in this kind of difference http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/bigok.gif

From that picture it looks like the water wasn't too deep. You were just going a bit too fast. If you have a good bow wave in front of your truck the water shouldn't go over your hood unless you're in real deep.

Good to see another owner enjoying his new truck. :D

Better wash out your air filter after that one. You can just about bet you sucked some mud up it. I had to ford a deep clay mud puddle in Ocala over Labor Day and when I opened my air filter afterwards, I found red clay caked on the inside. There is a baffle on the inside fenderwell that is a mud trap. If it clogs, your engine will starve for air and shut off. Do yourself a favor and give it a quick look. Awesome photo though. The bad thing about mud mixed with water is that mud requires speed and water requires finesse. If you go slow, you get stuck and wind up with an interior full of mud. If you go fast, you wind up sucking water and hydrolocking. Kind of a catch 22. That's why I try to avoid mud pits that are full of water.

Speaking of hydrolocking, can anything be done to prevent this and what should one do after hydrolocking? Thanks


DOG

A Snorkel will help prevent it.

I have not done this...

I beleive that you are to pull all the plugs and start the engine.
This will force the water out.

I'm still not clear if this works for all types of engines (like ours).
I have heard a bunch of jeep guys do it but that have old trucks.

Originally posted by warmonger
The bad thing about mud mixed with water is that mud requires speed and water requires finesse. If you go slow, you get stuck and wind up with an interior full of mud. If you go fast, you wind up sucking water and hydrolocking. Kind of a catch 22. That's why I try to avoid mud pits that are full of water.


This is why I like to avoid mud entirely these days ... mud is evil.


:stormzap:

Originally posted by Maddog
Speaking of hydrolocking, can anything be done to prevent this and what should one do after hydrolocking? Thanks


DOG

Use a stick to measure the depth of any mud/water hole you are not familiar with..even some you are as they can become deeper. As far as if you hydrolock your motor or you feel it bucking..shut it off immediately then get towed/winched out of the hole. Remove ALL of the spark plugs and crank it over, then drain the oil and change it along with a new filter. If you were submerged deep/long enough look into changing the diffs, trans and transfer case fluids as well...sometimes it would be smarter to get flatbedded home but it all depends on how far/long you were under the water.

Thanks Todd. I didn't know the trick about removing the plugs and draining the oil. I have a winch on my ARB so hopefully I won't have to worry about changing diff fluid and the like as I shouldn't be stuck in a hole for a long period of time. I do realize though that Murphy's Law does apply. This summer, I had to drop over $350 to get a tracked vehicle to get me out of a hole at 2AM after my winch failed.

Dog

Originally posted by Maddog
This summer, I had to drop over $350 to get a tracked vehicle to get me out of a hole at 2AM after my winch failed.

Dog

Winch failed? Do tell!

I had a problem with the small buttonhead capscrew that fastens the winch cable to the drum assembly on my Warn M8000. Apparently it was not tightened down from the factory and worked its way out of the drum assembly. When spooling out some cable for the extract, the drum assembly would turn, but the cable was dislodged from it and wouldn't spool out or in.

When I tell people about this, I usually get, "You can't spool it all the way out." However, up until then I'd only used the winch maybe 5 times and I had never used more than say 60' of my 100' of cable. I'm still a big supporter of Warn, but it was just one of those things you never forsee happening. I just replaced my old cable, which was frayed in some places with a Master Pull and thus far its working well.

Originally posted by Philosopher
mud is evil.

Amen.

I see it this way. With rocks you can plainly see your threat. With mud, you never know. Even if you use a stick, it can be unpredictable. Is there a stump underneath? A boulder? A bunch of boards someone else used to extract themsleves? Its not worth the hasle or the cleaning. Some people like the excitement of a big mudhole. Not me. Give me an obstacle I can see.

Originally posted by Maddog
Thanks Todd. I didn't know the trick about removing the plugs and draining the oil. I have a winch on my ARB so hopefully I won't have to worry about changing diff fluid and the like as I shouldn't be stuck in a hole for a long period of time. I do realize though that Murphy's Law does apply. This summer, I had to drop over $350 to get a tracked vehicle to get me out of a hole at 2AM after my winch failed.

Dog

As an offroader it's still a good idea to change your diff fluid more often than the service schedule recommends.

Another tip. If you're instrument panel starts acting weird or flashing, get a new alternator quick. The die soon after displaying this behavior. They can also die without flashing but you're screwed in that case.

Thanks for the compliments/info guys. I'll have to see if i can figure out where my air filter is and check it for mud (ah another new adventure :D). I probably did take this a bit fast, but as some of you pointed out i was a bit scared of losing momentum or whatever and getting stuck in the stuff. Not only was was i fearful of the car getting screwed up but i did not want to have to take a swim in that :monkeypis

Originally posted by Schludwiller
From that picture it looks like the water wasn't too deep. You were just going a bit too fast. If you have a good bow wave in front of your truck the water shouldn't go over your hood unless you're in real deep.

Good to see another owner enjoying his new truck. :D

I am a bit confused here. It seems to me that the faster you go, the bigger the bow wave. Can you clarify this? :confused: Thanks

You want to start a wave and then slow down a bit and follow it.

X_(------>

The water is much more shallow behind the wave.
If you do not slow down then you are just pushing thru the water.

Originally posted by Schludwiller


Another tip. If you're instrument panel starts acting weird or flashing, get a new alternator quick. The die soon after displaying this behavior. They can also die without flashing but you're screwed in that case.

That could also be your reverse switch on the tranny frying out (you lose all gauges but the white dash lights stay on). Happened to me, not fun.

Originally posted by rhombus
You want to start a wave and then slow down a bit and follow it.

X_(------>

The water is much more shallow behind the wave.
If you do not slow down then you are just pushing thru the water.

Ahh so *that's* how you're supposed to do it http://www.plauder-smilies.de/kopfpatsch.gif. Thanks for the tip, we are supposedly going to see a lot of water crossing on our next xcursion so I can try out this technique then. Damn i love this board http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/xyxthumbs.gif.

Originally posted by Schludwiller

Another tip. If you're instrument panel starts acting weird or flashing, get a new alternator quick. The die soon after displaying this behavior. They can also die without flashing but you're screwed in that case.

I experienced this problem the first time I encountered that same mud hole pictured (more water though). I avoided it this time (and will continue to). I warned everyone before they tried it, but some people don't listen. :D At least it didn't happen to anyone this trip.