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Deep water fording kit idea

G

Guest

Guest
I've recently spent some time reading up on Unimogs. One of the
smartest concepts on the newer unimogs (well, newer being post 1978) is
that their entire drive train is pressurised to 1,5 bar when you put the
unimog in 4x4, thus preventing water from entering the drivetrain while
fording deep water holes.
I've been wondering how practical it would be to devise a similar
concept for a land cruiser? From a practical point of view, it should
not be too difficult - one would simply drill a small hole in the diff
housing and fit an air tube which is connected to a low pressure
compressor (similar to the process of fitting an ARB diff lock - only
difference being that you want to pressurise the entire diff housing,
not just the locker mechanism). The only other modification I can think
of that would be needed is that you will somehow need to be able to
close off the breathers on the diff housings to allow pressure to build
up in the diff housing.
Another consideration that will need to be kept in mind is if the oil
seals will be damaged in any way by the increased pressure within the
diff housing. Does any one know what type of pressure the oil seals
will be able to withstand?
I think in theory this could also be applied to the gearbox/transfer
box?
I'll probably never end up doing this conversion, but it's always nice
to play with ideas of improving an already great vehicle....
Cheers
Paul
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Paul,
I have a vehicle with this system on. I don't think closing the
breathers is neccessary, you just need to put more air in the axle
than is escaping. If air is coming out, water can't get in. This is an
old system, mine is on a vehicle designed in the 60's. You need to
have a tank full of air all the time, you would not want to wait while
a small compressor filled up your axle's.
Regards, Clive.
 
Paul

Are you sure it's 1.5 bar, not 1.5 psi? 1.5 bar is the pressure at
roughly 48 feet of water, which sounds like serious wading to me! 1.5
psi would be about 3.5 feet, which seems a bit more like it!

Assuming the latter then I can't believe there would be any issue at all
with seals, you could blow harder than that. It's a really good idea,
and I'd have thought that a small compressor which delivered that to the
breather pipes would be easy and cheap to rig up. Probably one of those
cheap little things that plug into the cigarette lighter that has a
pressure cut-off, + a reservoir, would do.

Sadly it wouldn't stop the grease being washed out of the wheel
bearings, or the alternator flooding ...

Christopher Bell

Incidentally we had a Unimog here (Devon) a while back when the
electricity board came to trim back trees under the powerlines. It was
the depths of winter and my 80 series got bogged down about 10 feet into
our field, just sliding every which way on the mud. The Unimog, on sort
of "mini tractor" tyres, just walked straight through it all without any
problems.
| I 've recently spent some time reading up on Unimogs. One of the
smartest concepts
| on the newer unimogs (well, newer being post 1978) is that their
entire drive train
| is pressurised to 1,5 bar when you put the unimog in 4x4, thus
preventing water from
| entering the drivetrain while fording deep water holes.
| I've been wondering how practical it would be to devise a similar
concept for a land
| cruiser? From a practical point of view, it should not be too
difficult - one would
| simply drill a small hole in the diff housing and fit an air tube
which is connected
| to a low pressure compressor (similar to the process of fitting an ARB
diff lock -
| only difference being that you want to pressurise the entire diff
housing, not just
| the locker mechanism). The only other modification I can think of
that would be needed
| is that you will somehow need to be able to close off the breathers on
the diff housings
| to allow pressure to build up in the diff housing.
| Another consideration that will need to be kept in mind is if the oil
seals will be
| damaged in any way by the increased pressure within the diff housing.
Does any one know
| what type of pressure the oil seals will be able to withstand?
| I think in theory this could also be applied to the gearbox/transfer
box?
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Christopher wrote: Are you sure it's 1.5 bar, not 1.5 psi? 1.5 bar is
the pressure at
roughly 48 feet of water, which sounds like serious wading to me! 1.5
psi would be about 3.5 feet, which seems a bit more like it!

Paul - Could well be 1.5 psi. Now that I look at it 1.5 bar does sound
like a bit of overkill... I'll have to recheck!
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