zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Trucks
/
I Can't Stop Watching This Flooded Jeep Fight For Its Life
I Can't Stop Watching This Flooded Jeep Fight For Its Life-August 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:15

After my Jeep and then the deformed carcass that once was its engine, I’ve never been able to look at deep water puddles the same. Which is why this video of a Jeep four-liter fighting for dear life makes me tremble in terror.

This is an older video, but it’s a unique one; where else have you seen an engine bay-view of a car going through deep water? Plus, considering all the going on in Texas, this one’s fairly relevant right now.

The owner of this ‘89 Jeep Cherokee was noticing his engine cutting off when he went through small puddles. So, to replicate the problem and find out what was shorting, he decided to take his XJ slowly through a deep puddle and film it for our viewing pleasure.

Watch as the entire engine gets engulfed in muddy water. Even the battery gets submerged, and water goes above the dipstick tube. Keep an eye on the intake, which is right behind the driver’s headlight. If that thing goes under while the driver is hard on the skinny pedal, the Jeep is toast:

This video sent me through a whirlwind of emotions, as I had flashbacks to that fateful day that took the life of my . I just couldn’t take it. The Jeep’s intake is right behind the driver’s side headlight, so as I watched that light start to dip below the water level, I couldn’t help but cringe:

Ah! It’s dipping below the water! Reverse! Reverse!

Two seconds later:

Whew, it’s back above water.

Two seconds later:

No! It’s going back under! Don’t do it! Let off the gas!

Two seconds later:

Whew, it’s just above water.

Thank goodness no XJs were killed in the filming of that clip, though I think I have have aged 20 years just from the stress of watching it.

I say “no XJs were killed,” and not “no XJs were harmed,” because the owner, in his YouTube description, describes the damage caused by his little foray into the dirty, watery depths, and it was extensive. He says:

The damages that this and 2 previous dunkings caused was rather enlightening. Dirty water worked it’s way into just about every part of my Jeep inside and out.

Firstly, water did actually enter his air-box, and made it difficult for the engine to suck in that sweet, sweet oxygen:

Some of that water was getting into the airbox and soaking the air filter, effectively choking the engine of fresh air. The engine would die and not start until the filter dried a bit. The fix for this was a snorkel.

But that was nothing compared to the smoked bearings:

Quite a few bearings were destroyed either by direct contact with gritty water or oil contamination over time Including: Alternator rear bearing, Mechanical fan bearing, Driveshaft U-joints, Transfer Case Bearings, Piston Rings, Tie rod Ends, All Front and Rear Axle Bearings.

That’s a lot of bad bearings. To add to that though, the electrical system took a real beating:

Electrical Components and connections affected include: Starter, Alternator, CPS Sensor, Cap and Rotor, Oil Pressure Sender, Turn Signal Bulb Sockets, IAC Sensor, Blower Motor.

Okay, but what about the mechanical bits? Were those okay? Well, they were, but they wouldn’t have been if the owner hadn’t changed their fluids, which had been contaminated with oil:

Fluids and greases that were contaminated Include: Engine Oil, Front and Rear Diff Fluid, Transfer Case Fluid, Drive Shaft U-Joints, Tie Rod Ends.

So if you take anything away from this, it should be: Don’t drive through deep water unless you have a snorkel and lots of time and money for wrenching.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Trucks
Ford Robbed Us Of The Old Four-Door Ranger To Give Us The Explorer Sport Trac
Ford Robbed Us Of The Old Four-Door Ranger To Give Us The Explorer Sport Trac
By definition, a big truck like a or struggles to be small. Even in its smallest, most trucky configuration — a two-door single cab — a full-size truck is relatively large and comes with a sizable bed for hauling cargo. But a small truck like the third-generation can do...
Aug 13, 2025
Porsche Built A 911 With Portal Axles To Go Where Unimogs Can't Reach
Porsche Built A 911 With Portal Axles To Go Where Unimogs Can't Reach
No car has ever driven at higher altitude than this 992-generation Porsche 911 Carrera 4S with portal axles. On Saturday the Porsche crew, led by racing driver Romain Dumas, reached the highest peak of the west ridge of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile, . That’s the tallest...
Aug 13, 2025
Deer Flies Directly Into Pickup As Its Prospective Buyer Arrives
Deer Flies Directly Into Pickup As Its Prospective Buyer Arrives
No square inch of the Northeast is safe from deer, as video out of New Jersey shows. A deer, tearing through the suburbs, managed to leap over a Pontiac Vibe and Honda CR-V before landing on the bedside of a 2007 Chevy Silverado — just as a prospective buyer arrived...
Aug 13, 2025
The Nissan Navara Was The Overdue Frontier We Deserved A Decade Ago
The Nissan Navara Was The Overdue Frontier We Deserved A Decade Ago
gets dunked on for letting models like the languish for years. But, the truck saw a model update well before the release of the , which is mechanically much like an with a design. Outside of the U.S., the successor to the second-generation Frontier came in 2014 with the...
Aug 13, 2025
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Is The Hybrid Truck America Probably Needs
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Is The Hybrid Truck America Probably Needs
In addition to the all-electric , the truck brand announced this week that it will also release a engine gasoline-powered hybrid version of its electric pickup, called Ramcharger. The goal here is to use the V6 engine as a generator for the electric powertrain when the 92 kWh battery...
Aug 13, 2025
There Was Once A Glorious Compact Chevy ZR2 Truck
There Was Once A Glorious Compact Chevy ZR2 Truck
Those who saw the meteoric rise of through the 2010s and onward probably associate the badge with the . The was Chevy’s halo midsize truck when it was released in 2016, but the ZR2 badging goes all the way to the when Chevy made the S-10 ZR2. It’s gnarly....
Aug 13, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved