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Water fording depth - Update

PyrPatriot

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So the Gladiator is said to have the ability to ford water 30” deep. That is 2.5ft, or halfway up your thigh if you are 6ft tall

Is that depth for the Rubicon or for all trims?

If for the Rubicon only, do we lower 1” of depth for the other versions (as the JTR is about an inch higher in ground clearance if I recall right)

If the depth is for all trim levels, then it makes me think that there is some electrical component across all the trims that is at the same height, or at least where an inch until it is under water makes a difference. Wonder what it is?

What is the electrical component that limits deeper fordings?

ETA: From reading various threads on the subject on the sister forum: looks like the transmission and transfer case breathing tubes are one limiting factor. I am reading that they are vented tubes so at slow speeds at 30” the tubes (located about 25” high) are not affected. Valves open to vent/cool and when there is cooling (like the transmission being submerged) they close.

also this article was interesting
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/jeep-wrangler-gladiator-tech/


Updated post on p.4
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/water-fording-depth.26673/post-517496
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Moe_Fugga

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You have to think of buoyancy as well. I read an article that talked about a Nissan Patrol floating at 37 inches of water.
 

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You have to think of buoyancy as well. I read an article that talked about a Nissan Patrol floating at 37 inches of water.
His question relates directly to the statement that Jeep makes that these are tested to 30" water depth.
He's not asking can they or will they float away - but what do they base the 30" on - the Rubicon on the Rubicon tires, or the Sport on the smaller tires.
 

361Sean

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I wondered about this myself.....
 

Moe_Fugga

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His question relates directly to the statement that Jeep makes that these are tested to 30" water depth.
He's not asking can they or will they float away - but what do they base the 30" on - the Rubicon on the Rubicon tires, or the Sport on the smaller tires.
I’m sure there are more reasons for the limited depth, but it’s got to mean something haha
 

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I’m sure there are more reasons for the limited depth, but it’s got to mean something haha
The 30" is where the electronics and electrical systems must be water proof, able to be submerged. Above that they have to be water resistant - handle a good rain storm and still function.

Why they chose 30" is open for guessing - but I'd "guess" they didn't want to have to make the electronics fully waterPROOF up higher - that's expensive as heck. Plus you'd have to seal other things, too - bearings in the steering column, the switches up there, and more.
These are made to run with no roof and the doors off - so it would take some swift running water to make them "float away" although with some of the tires that get installed, maybe only 20" would do it!
 
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PyrPatriot

PyrPatriot

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The 30" is where the electronics and electrical systems must be water proof, able to be submerged. Above that they have to be water resistant - handle a good rain storm and still function.

Why they chose 30" is open for guessing - but I'd "guess" they didn't want to have to make the electronics fully waterPROOF up higher - that's expensive as heck. Plus you'd have to seal other things, too - bearings in the steering column, the switches up there, and more.
These are made to run with no roof and the doors off - so it would take some swift running water to make them "float away" although with some of the tires that get installed, maybe only 20" would do it!
I wonder how expensive and how difficult. Dont land rovers go almost all the way submerged? Hummers too? Or am I thinking Humvves?

I used to think “wow! 30”! That’s almost 3 feet!” But then I actually got out the measuring tape. I guess I’ll just keep a yard stick in the bed when I go off-roading
 

Mark Doiron

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... Why they chose 30" is open for guessing ...
I'm going to make a guess, too. They test to 30, and insure all models are built to ford 30". One oft-overlooked limiting factor are the differentials. They get quite hot when the vehicle is run. Hit them with a cold water bath, and they tend to have reduced pressure inside. Most vehicles have sealed differentials, so when fording they are susceptible to sucking water in past the seals. Which is not good for your lube. And which is why it's recommended to check the lube after river fording, and replace if it's contaminate. However, on the Jeeps, they have a breather tube that reaches up high so instead of sucking water in past the seals, they suck in air. The height of that is about 30", though it will vary based on tires size. I'm guessing that the smallest OEM tires offer 30:, everything else is a bit inch or two higher. When you're considering splashing water, it's a wash. Okay, that pun just happened, didn't it?

Anyway, fording is a lot of fun, especially if you've worked to increase that depth and harden other components against water damage. It can be done by even modestly modified rigs with proper precautions (10:35 if not forwarded) ...


But, even with well-prepared rigs, fording swift water, especially when you're many miles from any sort of help in some place like Alaska, can be quite intimidating (10:10 if not forwarded) ...
 
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MarineHawk

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Mr. Dorian is correct that one of the main limitations is the height of the top of the breather tubes on the diffs, transmission, and transfer case.

I had those raised on my old JKUR, and, eventually, will do the same on my JTR.

I wonder how expensive and how difficult. Dont land rovers go almost all the way submerged? Hummers too? Or am I thinking Humvves?
The Hummers would do well in the water.

cbRIenV.jpg


But not the same order of magnitude as the Humvees.
When my unit was getting ready to return from Desert Storm, we had to clean our Humvees thoroughly purportedly to avoid bringing back harmful foreign bacteria or something. We drove them through water that was up to my neck with no problem. There was a mechanical "ford" setting on them that you activated by turning a lever on under the steering wheel.
 

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The vent tubes for my Eagle - the front comes up into the engine bay and the vent valve is just below master cylinder height on the left spring tower.
The rear vent goes up into the right rear frame channel at the highest point - about even with the floor in the car. T5 vents at the top of the transmission, I think the transfer case vent is at the highest point as it's installed in the car.

Yeah, but MarineHawk - those vehicles were made to be driven to hell and back............ almost literally.
 

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On my 06 LJR, the differential vents were raised as others have said. I live in Houston, where we have flooding a lot, and so I really focus on fording capacity. I found that the transfer case vent was just sitting on top of the bell housing, so I raised it and the transmission vent to the top of the firewall. It made no sense to me that they raised the differential vents and not the TC vent.

0B65D6DB-39CC-4F1C-888A-155C679CC7F5.jpeg
 

Mark Doiron

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On my 06 LJR, the differential vents were raised as others have said. I live in Houston, where we have flooding a lot, and so I really focus on fording capacity. I found that the transfer case vent was just sitting on top of the bell housing, so I raised it and the transmission vent to the top of the firewall. It made no sense to me that they raised the differential vents and not the TC vent.

0B65D6DB-39CC-4F1C-888A-155C679CC7F5.jpeg
I raised my transfer case vent, but not the transmission on my JK--which is a manual. That's because the vent for it is about a 1/8" high metal tube poking out of a piece of sheetmetal. There's no hose. Even when I had the transmission out, there was no practical way to attach a hose, short some creative fabrication work to replace or modify the plate that metal tube pokes up out of. Regardless, despite some pretty deep fords, the transmission has never had water contamination. I think the difference is, the diffs get hot, and it is the rapid cooling effect that causes water penetration. A manual transmission runs pretty cool (so does a transfer case, BTW). In fact, the owner's manual for my 2007 JK says the transmission lube is good for the life of the vehicle. They did change that wording in later years, but "lifetime" was pretty par for the course for every manual vehicle I've ever owned--which is quite a few since that's almost all I've ever owned in the last half century. However, if someone has an automatic, since they do run hot, it would be prudent to include that in an upgrade program.

BTW: I do change the manual transmission lube on occasion. I was just sharing what my manual said.
 

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30 inches would be just about the top of the tires on a stock sport, about over the bumper and in the neighborhood of the lower door hinges. Not really all that deep. So the vent tubes maybe the limiting factor.

DF6992A7-8224-4374-9602-FC3305A44BE4.png
 
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PyrPatriot

PyrPatriot

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30 inches would be just about the top of the tires on a stock sport, about over the bumper and in the neighborhood of the lower door hinges. Not really all that deep. So the vent tubes maybe the limiting factor.

DF6992A7-8224-4374-9602-FC3305A44BE4.png
yah, 30” was just below the tires on the sport (31.5”).

There was plenty of steam and a new smell coming from somewhere down there. Of course the water was freezing cold and I had been driving for half an hour highway speeds before going through.
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