vehicle prep (water proofing)

[JU5T1N]

Prevention always beats cure..... If you can prevent the water crippling your expensive toy for a relatively cheap price why not do it and be 100% prepared?

I see so many people with expensive 4wds spending lots of money to get the car modified to be able to do sand, mud, snow, dirt, rock & apparently $500 or so on a snorkel is all they think they need to cross any depth water. Some cars have water proof computers so those people can switch off now....

So many 4wd's have computers these days. So many owners don't even know where there computer is mounted. Then theres those that do but hope water never enters the car. Theres a lot of 4wds that have the computer mounted standard in the passenger side and some drivers side front kick panel, not real high off the ground is it?

Then 4wd's have a lot of ways for water to enter the vehicle. Be it holes in seals, drill holes in metal, missing plugs, bad door rubbers.....water will find a way.

There are 100's of waterproof electrical boxes on the market that people can place their cars computers in to eliminate the chance of crippling your car. I did 4wd comps for 15years none of which were in a diesel. I had no doors on 1 car in an event with water at chest level yet car still ran fine due to proper preparation. I wanted the water in the car to stop it floating so I could get grip on the bottom. If you know its a possibility that it may get wet then why not think ahead. Some people worry about heat when box mounting....then get a removable lid that you can install before crossing then remove once reaching the other side.

I've even seen a few guy have 2 electrical cut outs installed on their cars. One to cut power to everything other then the motor and the other to cut power to the motor if you completely sink. They then recover the vehicle, drain it of water. Then check the Computers box to see if water entered. If its a no then they can start it once oil has been checked for water. One guy removed his spark plugs, wound over the motor to push out the water that had entered, reinstalled his spark plugs and away he went. If water is found in the oil....change it. At the end of the day your car is still ok to get you home

To me its simple computers are worth $350-$2500 some even more.
Rescued from places like the Cape $10,000+
Waterproof electrical boxes can be brought for less then $100, it could be the cheapest mod on your car that saved it from ruining your whole holiday/adventure.

[Silvo]

do you have any photos of your electrical box installation to show us how you did it?

[JU5T1N]

do you have any photos of your electrical box installation to show us how you did it?

Sorry to say but I sold my comp truck to when I brought my 1st GTR. My new motor has a waterproof ECU so no need for it, another good point to tell the Mrs

These are the boxes I'm talking about. Rubber firewall plugs + silicon.

Mine was top pic, back row, far right.
 

[Roo]

Sounds easy....but how many ecu's are in your truck? I have a 100 series TD and there are 11 ecus in the dash alone. Now most of those are just glorified relays but as far as essential ecu's I only have 2, one for the engine and another for the transmission(auto)...well I think that is all that is essential for the vehicle to keep going, never know with the canbus system vehicles if every one of those little ecus is required to keep the electrons flowing and wheels turning.

[JU5T1N]

Sounds easy....but how many ecu's are in your truck? I have a 100 series TD and there are 11 ecus in the dash alone. Now most of those are just glorified relays but as far as essential ecu's I only have 2, one for the engine and another for the transmission(auto)...well I think that is all that is essential for the vehicle to keep going, never know with the canbus system vehicles if every one of those little ecus is required to keep the electrons flowing and wheels turning.

Ahhhh Toyota got to love them.... 

Just kiddin a lot of 4wd's are making it harder these days. Most people aren't willing to have water up to their dash level. And those that are, are also willing to seal them off but most of these trucks aren't the Mrs shopping car either.
My point is, learn your vehicle weak point, and their locations. ECU's are always forgotten about. If they're low their vulnerable such as a kick panels either sort it or keep on the dry stuff.
If your willing to risk knee height inside, seal to this height. If your serious enough to get water to dash height, get serious and start sealing the 11 ecu's you talk about. As for the little parts your unsure of try as simple as a balloon with cable tie or elastic band, boxes as I've shown or something similar. All ECU's are located in a spot you can access so Toyota or X brand can can reach them one way or another. The extent you go to sealing it off is up to you but also remember this when you get to a crossing. Heat shrink, silicon sealer or gel, boxes, balloons, washing gloves theres lots of ways to get as serious as you wish.
The further you go as far as sealing goes the more peace of mind you have 

[GeeTee]

No 4WD these days doesn't have a computer and every 4WD has a quoted wading depth that any owner should have read in the Owners manual as part of any sensible trek prep

But for comps.. go hard! The hot trick for the old VWs I used to play with (ha ha stil do!) was a rubber glove over the dizzy: one finger for each plug lead and the thumb for the coil