Drove the 51 to the World Championship Chuckwagon Races at Clinton Arkansas last week. Well the Little Red river was up due to recent rains and I needed to cross it. After debating a bit we dove, er drove in. Stayed slow to minimize splash. Wound up crossing 3 times in all. I did keep the brakes engaged while crossing to minimize the classic "no brakes" on the other side.
Made it OK, however I felt I should have been a bit better prepared by either spraying the distributor cap with silicon or WD40. Back in the day I'd have pulled the plug wires and applied a bead of silicon around each spark plug tower on the distributor and around the base of the distributor cap. However for just a bit of splash protection, that's a bit much.
Anyone felt the need to take any of the above steps, if so what'd you do?
Make sure your starter is dry on the insides. I had to drive thru flooded river water and latter parked . Those older starter casings don't like being under water. After the truck is parked a while the corrosion will start to set in. Blowing the starter off with air hose, or even a leaf blower may help a little.
Some of the big AD trucks had a vent on the top of the rear differential. Make sure that didn't go under water. Front wheel bearings should be OK if you drove the truck a lot after submerging. But check them in future along with brake shoes. Darn mud in the water can haunt those parts long after they dry.
Finally, a quick look over all your electric wiring (cloth insulated!) and relays that may have gotten wet on your truck would not hurt . It's not like the water hurts them right away , its when those parts sit wet a long time afterwards that aids corrosion.
Soggy, thanks for the detailed reply. I had not consider the starter. Fortunately the next day we drove for about 2 1\2 hours at about 60mph with temps in the low 90's. I'm guessing all the moisture was cooked out.
If I was concerned about water in the starter, I would unscrew the bottom bolt that holds the two end plates to the main body and see if water runs out. Those bolts just slide in between the coils, so nothing will happen if you just take one out and put it back.
Mike B
Mike Boteler
1956 Chevy 3100 Resto Rod 1952 Willys M38 Army Jeep 1983 Jeep CJ7 Laredo 1984 Jeep CJ7 +++++ Silver Spring, MD
Soggy makes a good point you shouldn't ignore about checking the differential oil. I would most definitely check it after going through water like that. Even just a little bit of water in there will let you know (and would be bad if you left it).
~ John
A kid raised on Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tonka cannot be reasonably expected to own only one vehicle as an adult.
1949 Chevrolet 3804 In the Legacy Gallery | In the Gallery Forum 1973 IH 1310 Dump 1963 Kaiser M38A1 2001 International/AmTran RE3000 "Skoolie" 2014 Ford E-350 4x4 (Quigley)
Gosh, forgot about the rear axle vent on my 1/2 ton. My '69 3sp+overdrive transmission has a vent as well.
Good points to consider fellas!
~ Cosmo 1949 Chevy Half Ton Rocinante, like Don Quixote, he is awkward, past his prime, and engaged in a task beyond his capacities. "...my good horse Rocinante, mine eternal and inseparable companion in all my journeys and courses." ...Don Quixote, Cervantes "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."...Yogi Berra "Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." ...Eric Hoffer
