How to hydrolock your engine : Step 1

[Deggers]

Oh dear . . .

"Abandon common sense, all ye who enter here".

Rufford Mill Ford, North Nottinghamshire.

Deggers

[iain]

What a clueless lot :-)

[john.r.davies]

Predictable, the vehicles, anyway.  F=^°¢π great SUVs get through - it would be an indictment if they didn't.   "Lesser" cars, about half make it?    The bikes were surprising, but I suppose they were prepared with high intakes.

But even the SUVs ... None of them used standard water crossing technique, low speed, high revs and disconnect the fan belt.  Just plough on regardless.

 

[Tony_C]

Nah, that’s not fair Iain……… At least 50% made a good job of it and all where entertaining…… Keep em coming Deggers !

 

…. Just not sure (was it Polish) I the foreign registered car got home?

[Hamish]

This is becoming famous on YouTube. 
the white vans just stall and float away. 
then sink ruining your Amazon packages

[Deggers]

18 minutes ago, Hamish said:

This is becoming famous on YouTube. 

Probably with insurance companies too, H.  

Here ya go, Tony.

 

Deggers

Edited January 5, 2022 by Deggers

[john.r.davies]

The videos show the ford at many water levels, some of which I would have been very confident crossing in my non-SUV.     I've smugly done so when many others were stopped by flooded roads, becaue I have a Hydractive-fitted Citroen C5.     This automatically adjusts the ride height to speed and road surface, but may be controlled as well, to provide a ride height 30cms (12") above the lowest setting!  Just saying.

 

[MilesA]

57 minutes ago, john.r.davies said:

 

But even the SUVs ... None of them used standard water crossing technique, low speed, high revs and disconnect the fan belt.  Just plough on regardless.

 

Interesting John. What is the theory behind that technique?

Some years ago my mother accidentally did something similar in her aged Nissan Micra. Advised that water had got got into the engine and was kaput. A replacement was installed.

Miles

[john.r.davies]

"First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover" Tim Slessor's account for the Oxford & Cambridge  Far Eastern Expedition (1957-8)   

Maybe I should have said, "THEY (the Hooray Henrys in the SUVs) just plough on regardless".

But even that isn't foolproof:

 “The river was 120 yards wide.  By the time Cambridge got out to the middle we, in Oxford, were worried. There was an impressive bow-wave creaming around the bonnet and a wake that would have done credit to a cross-Channel steamer. Eventually, the car emerged on the far bank with water streaming off and out of it like a bedraggled dog after a swim. Our turn next. We did very well until the middle. There the engine died. Quite a lot happened in the next few seconds. BB and I did an emergency exit through the roof-hatch and Nigel followed quickly behind. Screwdriver and spanners in hand, he clambered down onto the bonnet and fiddled inside. BB, realising the unique filmic potential of the situation, plunged overboard fully dressed towing his ciné camera and tripod behind him. I took off my boots and trousers, hitched my shirt up under my arm-pits and waded off to the far bank to fetch the Cambridge winch cable, the crew of that car being so paralytic with laughter at our expense as to be almost useless. With the winch run out we hooked on to Oxford, and the long tow began. All highly humorous – to Cambridge anyway. It took an hour to dry out the engine.”

But their Landies were specially prepared.   A retired colleague is now restoring the MK2 Landie that he and his wife drove back to the UK from Australia in the 60s.  Apart from the windlass (engine driven) on the front bumper and  some internal chnages to make it more habitable it is standard.

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by john.r.davies

[iain]

2 hours ago, Tony_C said:

Nah, that’s not fair Iain……… At least 50% made a good job of it and all where entertaining…… Keep em coming Deggers !

 

…. Just not sure (was it Polish) I the foreign registered car got home?

True some new what they were doing, but not many. Other were plain lucky :-)

(I have always been taught, Slow in, create  a bow wave and then maintain that speed on LR off-road courses.) So far its worked....

[ntc]

1 hour ago, iain said:

True some new what they were doing, but not many. Other were plain lucky :-)

(I have always been taught, Slow in, create  a bow wave and then maintain that speed on LR off-road courses.) So far its worked....

Yep true that is I have driven though it many times for both shooting and rallying 

[Tony_C]

2 hours ago, iain said:

True some new what they were doing, but not many. Other were plain lucky :-)

(I have always been taught, Slow in, create  a bow wave and then maintain that speed on LR off-road courses.) So far its worked....

Yep Iain, agree….  I was also told (at least try to) keep the revs up!……..

However, nowadays think I’d be more inclined to pull up the alternative route on Google maps..

[john.r.davies]

On the YouTube version of that Rofford Ford video, it says that SatNav directs strangers down that lane.   Presumably in wet weather!

[ntc]

It’s Rufford park estate owned by the council 

[PodOne]

Presumably none of them can read signs.

Without a water proofed vehicle with a snorkel only an idiot would try! ie military landie or TM.You might if your lucky get away with it once with todays cars/SUV festooned with electronics its guaranteed to end badly. The locals must have a right laugh even time it rains I'd be charging £50 to pull them out and retire.

Would seem sensible to have a flood gate similar to the snow gates in the highlands.

I bet their insurance companies would be well pleased with the film footage and sign included. Thank you Sir the exit door is on the right.  

Andy

PS I have a SUV but there's no way I'd risk it having driven suitable vehicles in deeper situations in the past and they still occasionally get caught out!  

[duncan]

entertainment for the locals right enough, as good as watching gin palaces trying to anchor in a good breeze   

[iain]

10 hours ago, duncan said:

entertainment for the locals right enough, as good as watching gin palaces trying to anchor in a good breeze   

Nothing funnier :-)

[barkerwilliams]

Drving near Usk many years ago in a Sierra drove along a flooded lane, perhaps eight inches or so of water, slow and steady textbook stuff. Went really well until I slowed down and the wake behind overtook the car lifting the car up and it floated along turning for a few feet before coming to rest at right angles across the very narrow road beautifully positioned with no room to  manouver the car back onto the road.  Unfortunately no camera phones then.

Alan

[harlequin]

On my way to work one morning I came down a fairly steep hill to find that the country lane was flooded at the bottom. No problems I thought as in those days I drove a 90 inch Land Rover Defender. So off I set, nice and slowly, after a couple of bends in the road the hedgerows on either side started getting further appart. It was about this time I remembered that there were drainage ditches between the edge of the road and the hedges, which were ofcourse hidden under about a foot of water.

There was no chance of turning around, and backing up seemed more risky then creeping forward so very very slowly forward and fortunately I came out.

George 

[ianc]

In 2007, attempting to reach Malvern for the IWE, using my usual cross-country route,  I came across numerous vehicles, both big and small, which had come to grief. 

Eventually, I gave up the attempt somewhere near Worcester as the Severn was miles wide and I watched a Land Rover plough (successfully) through deep water in the dip in the road ahead of me. 

I turned round and took a different route home to Tring, skirting Birmingham.  Nine hours on the road, but 4VC never missed a beat and very little water got into the car.

Very frustrating, but I was safe and so was the car.

Ian Cornish

[harlequin]

When I had the Land Rover I went on an off road driving course run by a company that used Defenders, I was truly amazed at what they were capable of doing. Very noisy and unlikely to win many races but very little would stop it.

George 

[stillp]

In the 90s when Ford were about to launch the Probe, a colleague and I went to a pre-launch test day at Gaydon. After driving two versions of the Probe and answering a questionnaire we were treated to a trip around the 4X4 course, which was even muddier than usual after a week of heavy rain. Ford had swapped Gaydon's Land Rovers for their small 4X4 - was it called Maverick? Rebadged Nissan I believe. Anyway, the demonstration drivers from Gaydon were very impressed and had used one to tow a stuck Landie out of a mud bath. At one stage the Ford was in a deep hole - the water/mud was about half way along the sloping bonnet, just an inch or two below the side windows. The driver turned the engine off, which worried me a little a little, but after a few moments he just turned the key, put it in gear and drove out, with no drama at all. Very impressive. The Probe wasn't.

Pete

[Chris59]

 

(the "white" house is mine)

Edited January 7, 2022 by Chris59

[stillp]

[john.r.davies]

That's pretty deep, Chris.

In 2015, the Lune flooded Lancaster, includung the main electricy substation on its banks and te lower part of the town.    Lights went out for three days.

This was the morning-after as the emergency services began clearing up, on Caton road, the main road out of town up the Lune Valley.  No, that Police Landy got through OK, the water had receded a lot from its worst - it had been as high as the traffic bollards.   Yes, that's a Roller, they don't walk on water.