Old wives tails

[The StRanger]

I remember an old wives tale about when crossing water or playing a water if you keep an old nylon and soak it with K&N oil and wrap it around the air filter before you go through it will help keep the water out of the intake.
Has anybody else ever heard of this and does anybody know if we truly works?

also does anybody have anything else by way of old wives tales that they want to know about it let's hear them.

[ColoJeeper]

On my old CJ, i've removed the fan belt to stop the fan from bending or throwing water all over the engine if it hits the water and then hanging a blue plastic tarp over the front of the hood and grill. Crossed the river at the crossing at Longwater, doing that and the water was deep enough that it was entering the door on the drivers side and flowing through. Pushed the jeep sideways a few feet while crossing and made me think I was being really dumb. However, the engine stayed dry and I had no problems with the deep water. My theory was that the tarp helped push the water around the engine bay instead of through it..... or maybe I just got really lucky.

[FINOCJ]

I tried the same at longwater a lot of years ago (wasn't as lucky - but i didn't push it too hard and was quick to kill it in the river with a friend on the other bank ready to pull me out). I think the fan blades really do cause a ton of resistance to the engine if they start hitting the water, not to mention possible splashing onto electrical components like distributor, coil, points etc that can kill spark - I think this is the biggest reason for engine stalling in water. The problem is if the fan belt also drives the water pump then it doesn't take much time to start having overheating issues and heat damage. You can run without a fan for a lot longer than you can run without coolant circulation - or you have to let the engine cool way down to buy some extra time while the engine is still heating up and the thermostat is still closed. One friend always used an electric fan that could be turned off (disconnect power wire) but allowed the pump to continue operation as normal.

[ColoJeeper]

I was as worried about the fan blades twisting and getting into the radiator as to spraying the motor. I didn't take long to get across the river and don't remember noticing any change in the temp gauge when crossing. Even so, don't know as it was one of my smarter moments and wouldn't attempt a water crossing that deep now with the way I am setup.

[Jim]

Ever think of 1) hooking a tow line to another dry-land vehicle before entering the water should a tow out be needed and/or 2) backing across. Backing across doesn't solve a too deep for air intake issue but it does allow one to test the deeper water while keeping air intake to the high end.

[The StRanger]

Didn't think of a tarp.
I have heard of screen door screen over the radiator to stop it from clogging with mud.