🙁
Viking burial?
Sorry to hear of your loss.
As an owner of a Doblo camper who lives in a floody area, I think I need to check this out. We often have to drive through 30-40m of 1 foot water to get home but this winter has been ok. Are the intakes particularly low on the Doblo? Ours is a 2012 manual diesel.
We have never had a problem in numerous other cars although our mk5 golf didn't like it years ago.
one the daft things about Rufford Mill Ford is they have road closed signs up.
the ford video. i get the deep ones, but there is couple at around 5mins where it's barely up to the sills. how low are the intakes on these cars?
As an owner of a Doblo camper who lives in a floody area, I think I need to check this out.
Time to start modding
the ford video. i get the deep ones, but there is couple at around 5mins where it’s barely up to the sills. how low are the intakes on these cars?
They're all piling in at Mach 1 the whole engine bay will be full of water. Even if it doesn't by some miracle reach the filter, imagine hitting water at 30+mph yourself. Lots of force there to break all sorts of electrical connectors and such
does anyone want to tell me how badly I’ve ****ed up?
As someone who had their Doblo written off by another driver I can tell you you ****ed up bad. I could forgive you for having drowned a sack full of kittens in the water but not a Doblo.
You want low revs & about 6mph (tick over in 2nd gear) to create the safest bow wave & some luck!
Would be good to rig up a gopro & light filming the airbox to see how close you are to lunching your motor.
That Rufford Mill ford has cost me several hours of my life on YouTube. Particularly concerning was the bloke in the saloon car who decided to divert down the river instead of crossing the ford :o)
RIP Doblo
I did it to a car in the 80s, it was my mother's pride and joy.
Is there any advantage to having an air intake low down? Would they design that for a reason or does it just end up there because that's where there's space?
Conversely, any disadvantages to a snorkel? Apart from it costs a bit and adds a little bit of weight. We aren't talking high performance engines here, will it make any real world difference to the performance?
Is there any advantage to having an air intake low down?
Cooler air at the bottom versus sucking it in at the top of the engine bay
A bow wave absolutely does not mean over the grill/bonnet, it means a gentle rise of water ahead of the car. I think it's very bad advice for normal cars, dead slow and know where the intake is!
To the OP, might be worth pulling the head off, getting some basic checks done. Some engines have sacrificial rockers that can be replaced.
I'd never restart an engine that's stalled in water, not until the airbox is open and plugs/injectors removed so you can't do now damage.
For whatever it's worth, I completely drowned my old mondeo- wasn't that deep water but a **** in a truck decided to just plough through and his wave literally went completely over me and a couple of other cars. Then it sat in the flood while the water got deeper getting smashed by other waves, for about 6 hours.
Trailered it home, let the water out of the exhaust, took out the injectors and blew out the water, changed the battery, did some other general drying and it started right up. Though it did smell of sweaty balls for the rest of its life.
To the OP, might be worth pulling the head off
Best advice ever seen on STW.
A bit deep at Rufford today
I am in awe of the confidence/optimism of those drivers piling into that Ford, beggars belief!
I have so many questions, is it a 1hr diversion for the alternative route, why would you? Do the helpful chaps with 4x4's take cards or is it cash only for removal? Oh my!
is it a 1hr diversion for the alternative route
No, about 10 mins. Gawd knows why folk risk it.
beggars belief!
gotta love the wrecked/ripped off exhausts, lost number plates and body panels, even before you get to the bent conrods.... there's also going to be one almighty collision midstream!
I particularly liked the recent episode with the JCB Fastrack hitting the ford at about 40mph 🙂
Sorry for your loss OP. You could try flogging it for parts but can't imagine there'd be many focaccia door, looking to buy it.
Px it though you might get muffin for it
I live nearish Rufford Ford. It's normally quite manageable (being aware of your max wading depth helps) so I'm guessing these videos are when it is unusually deep and people aren't checking the depth sign.
Just been doing some Googling, apparently the BMW X5 air intake is laughably low.
I’m guessing these videos are when it is unusually deep and people aren’t checking the depth sign.
And ignoring the road closed sign.
And ignoring the road closed sign.
And now playing up for the cameras.
Haha, fair enough. Idiots.
And so it continues
Poor Volvo 240😞
✊OneLifeLiveIt✊
I’d seen some of those videos before and generally felt sorry for the people who got stranded (particularly as two of my friends have had cars written off by the flooding in October). Did that lot seriously ignore closed road signs to try and cross the ford??
That Volvo looked tidy. What a waste.
One of these poor guys? 😀
Other than the deep wet bit and the dead cars littered by the side of the road, you’d think the crowd of spectators with cameras standing beside it would be a bit of a clue…
Aye - and that big eff-off ‘Road Closed’ sign for flooding. Not seen that on the videos before. Guess some people are trying it for the sport.
Anyway. Hope the OP gets everything fixed. My mate who got caught in the Ambleside-area flooding in October got away with a bent con-rod and the engine is just about holding it together. My other pal wasn’t so lucky. Ended up an insurance write off.
My mate who got caught in the Ambleside-area flooding in October got away with a bent con-rod and the engine is just about holding it together. My other pal wasn’t so lucky. Ended up an insurance write off.
Looking like the second option for me. The garage said if it started then I could probably limp home which I did until about 500m from my house where the engine light came on and the engine cut out, it won't start so I'm guessing it is fully ****ed now, if it wasn't before.
Luckily for me an older family member lost their licence recently, so I've been lent a car to keep me going until I can sort the van.
Biggest shame is that I spent a fair amount of time and money converting it into a bit of a campervan, going to try remove the bits I added before I gets sent to van heaven. Maybe I'll find another Doblo and I'll be able to fit them.
Biggest shame is that I spent a fair amount of time and money converting it into a bit of a campervan, going to try remove the bits I added before I gets sent to van heaven. Maybe I’ll find another Doblo and I’ll be able to fit them.
If you've got time and effort invested in it the it sounds wiser to put another engine in the van rather than all those bits into another vehicle.
So that ford, or indeed any ford. What happens to an ev?
Just been doing some Googling, apparently the BMW X5 air intake is laughably low.
We took our old petrol V8 X5 camping last year. Met a few river crossings, so did the right thing and waded in to check water height. All was good.
On the way out of the national park a couple of days later we came across a river that looked shallow, and feeling confident, barged straight in. There hadn’t been much rain, should be fine, I thought.
Half way through the water was over the bonnet, the car was slowing due to the drag, and the 35 profile tyres weren’t dealing with the rocky river bed well at all.
I started swearing, realising we were in trouble, and floored it.
Miraculously, it dragged itself up the river bank and survived!
It was sold the following month and a Toyota prado bought to replace it. I will have a snorkel fitted at some point too! That “sinking feeling” is something I do not want to repeat 😄
Pics for fun. First is the old, entering an easy crossing, and the second is the new, in an environment the first would’ve struggled with
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I started swearing, realising we were in trouble, and floored it.
Like this guy? 😀 (5:20 if it doesn't go there)
(Sorry for another gratuitous Rufford Ford video)
We were out on the weekend. Bear in mind the 110 is bog standard and has no snorkel....
was a bit squeaky bum but reality was we still had a few inches to go till the air intake was underwater (provided we kept the bow wave moving!). Yes, that is water over the bonnet at 11 seconds 🙂
What happens to an ev?
They don't care. No air intake, heavy, and the high voltage bits are waterproofed.
You could probably drive an EV completely underwater briefly before the low-voltage side got flooded and shut down.
People concentrate on the air intake and forget about the axle/crankcase/gearbox breathers. If they work then they're fine, but if they're sticking open, missing pipes, etc...
Slip the clutch (if you have one) and add a few revs to keep the exhaust clear too (EDIT) while keeping speed down
If the sign says Road Closed, any insurance implications if people go past and write their vehicle off?
If the sign says Road Closed, any insurance implications if people go past and write their vehicle off?
I just renewed my car insurance last night. For the first time ever I noted the summary of cover included excluding driving while drunk or on drugs, or driving in "contravention of temporary road orders". I suspect insurers are tightening up - or I've not read policies before..
