Subaru: forester thro water

Section 8-6 of your Owners manual describes in detail your requirements.

village idiot wrote:
 

Hi!

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:56:39 +0000 (UTC), "village idiot" <village
com> wrote:
 

I _don't_ know about the Forester specifically, the Ms. shies away
from even splashing thru mud puddles with hers ;-)
However in general I would limit water crossings to not more than
about axle deep with your Soobie, and that in clear water with a firm
bottom. I have crossed streams considerably deeper than that with my
old GL wagon, and it has scars to prove it too! Stalling, sinking into
mud, or finding that hidden rock in the middle of a ford isn't a whole
lot of fun.
If you really must cross deep water, your Forester will probably not
balk at crossings up to knee-deep or maybe even a bit more, however
you'll want to get out and walk (wade) thru first. Find a firm line
for both wheel tracks and check for hidden rocks, holes, and such.
Drive thru as slowly as possible w/o risking a stall; a large bow wake
can wet out engine electronics, and even result in your engine
aspirating water. Be prepared to pull your carpets afterwards, as some
water will almost certainly find it's way in, and you'll probably want
to check the fluid in your differential for water contamination as
well. Go carefully!
I'll mention one more option often overlooked by adventurous
offroaders, tho it probably won't apply to your needs. For that real
deep/fast/scary crossing, especially if you feel there is any
possibility of sucking in water (very bad), use a winch to pull the
vehicle across with the engine off. Once you get to the other side,
allow a few minutes for water to drain from the airbox and such,
perhaps pull the distributor cap and dry it with a paper towel, and it
should start right up. If you are concerned about the possibility of
water entering the intake (usually a closed throttle butterfly will
keep this from being a concern), stuff a wad of rags in the inlet
track before starting across, and turn the engine thru several
revolutions with a wrench on the crank bolt before trying to turn it
with the starter.
We've gotten vehicles across rivers where the water was over their
hoods using this routine, but it sure is a pain in the a__, and you'll
want dry laundry by the time you're done.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

"S" <uccs.edu> wrote 

What's a distributor?
--
Ken Lyons
Inside the Beltway
[Remove the first two digits to reply]

Sounds to me like you need a really serious off-road vehicle, not a
soft-road car like the Forester. Get the Forester for normal driving, but
also get an old Dodge Power Wagon or similar for the dirty, wet stuff! ;-)

"Tony Burns" <com> wrote in message
news:com... 
what 
but 

village idiot <village com> wrote in message
news:bpdffn$d37$btinternet.com... 
what 
but 
fiord is correct not ford
and 10 or 12 inches of wather should be nothing to worry about

S <uccs.edu> wrote in message
news:com... 

fiord not ford )

 

no way <com> wrote in message
news:_3Jub.115$sprint.ca... 
water hahaha bad typing not spelling !!

"no way" <com> wrote in message
news:_3Jub.115$sprint.ca... 

OK, I'm missing something here, apparently. Please explain: the ground
clearance on the Forester is 7.5 inches. Subtract that amount from 10 and
you get 2.5, and from 12 you get 4.5. That's 2.5 or 4.5 inches higher than
the bottom of the car. Water won't get inside (especially given the latter
number)?

I'm not where I can apply a ruler to my car at the moment, so I'm only
guessing you may say, "Check the height of the bottom of the doors, or door
seal."

HW