Waterproofing ideas?

After going mudding and dumping the entire drivers side of the Taco into a lake of mud I have come to realize a couple of things..

- These trucks are no less susceptible to getting their interior flooded then any other vehicle out there.

- There are more then a fair share of sensors under the carpet which while have weatherproof connectors, are still very susceptible to getting water in them. One includes the yaw sensor which brand new costs $780 from the dealer for the part alone!

- There also happens to be a SRS impact sensor which was tripped on when water was flooding my interior which got shorted for a brief moment but got dried over time and the light has now come off.

That's all of the sensors I happened to see when I lifted the carpet which appeared more then vital to me. If there are other sensors somewhere along the floor, someone please chime in and let us know it's location.

With this stuff being said, while the Taco is an awesome offroading machine, something needs to be done to these vital sensors to prevent from getting them shorted out in the event that the interior does get flooded. Grommets on the floor pan does not do shit if the water is being retained in the electronic modules. These are very expensive new parts and not everyone has that kind of money to spend on something so minuscule and small in the event something like flooding does indeed happen.

I am making this thread in effort to prevent expensive issues after a day out of having some awesome. If anyone wants to start contributing ideas over, it would make some of us very, educated, happy, and most importantly, dry where it really matters!

Oh and one more thing, pictures are highly encouraged of the waterproofing ideas. I saw in a random thread that someone mentioned putting a zip lock bag over their PCM but how is that going to help if the connectors still need to be plugged in?!

 

oh and if you ever get your carpet wet you had better take out the interior and the carpet so you can allow it to dry properly. otherwise your asking for mold and mildew issues. I know from experience.

 

Lift your truck. That should help a bit.

 

I experienced this in February of last year. Flooded the whole thing.

Definitely remove the carpet and rip off the stock padding. I went to home depot and got a whole roll of carpet padding for $20. It went in PERFECTLY after I cut pieces to match the floor area.

When you pull up the carpet you'll see a ton of port holes in the sheet metal. Seal those bitches up with GE Silicone II. The door seals didn't seem that bad in my opinion. They kept quite a bit of water out for over 45 minutes while I was sunk. I think most of it came from the firewall area.

PS: Your starter will start to fail more than likely. If this happens PM me and I can tell you how to fix it. I learned under fire

 

Good suggestions here so far. I fear however, it's really a loosing battle. Truck wasn't made to submarine and you could spend a hundred hours trying to retrofit and still have issues. I too see the threads where people report noisy-squealing pulleys or failing alternators a week or two after water play. There was even one report of someone why hydro-locked their truck! I'd just stay the f away from lakes, ponds, rivers, etc. My 2 cents.

 

I have driven my 03 DC TRD through water that came up over the hood and didnt get a drop in side. Maybe i was lucky. IDK

 

Funny to think a truck is a submarine.

The door seals etc are adequate for a trip Through the water. Not so much for parking it in the water.

Dielectric grease is your friend.

 

This thread has great potential. This is what I want to do with MY Tacoma!!!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7gZ28Msa8g

 

These guys from the National Guard are interested in waterproofing their Deuce and Halfs. Almost made it through.

 

Flex-Seal? They did seal up that S-10 and turned it into a "boat".

 

I have a jet ski and we spray a silicone based waterproofing on the engine to prevent rust and protect electronics while getting all fancy on the water. Also makes it easy to wash crap off because once it drys, nothing sticks to it. Might be a good idea to spray our engines and undercarriage. Might help against salts as well. I'll take a closer look at the spray can later and see the specifics.

 

Yeah right. I'd never have to get out of the truck. Drive it right down the ramp and start fishing. Anyone have a good rod holder mod for muskies?

 

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One very easy way to make it super dry but will take a few days is ---> Park it, take a dehumidifier and place it inside (careful not to tip it over when full), stick 120VAC cord inside and roll up window and seal doors with tape.

I have helped fix 4 flooded cars and this will make them bone dry inside ... if you empty humidifier ... and keep the interior sealed tightly while drying it out.
.

 

There's really no way to water proof if it goes above the door lines. Even the floors have holes for this and that.

 

I got the carpet pulled back right now and am running the fans as we speak to help promote some drying. I have kept the windows cracked open for several days to help promote drying as well. The only part which I cannot access is the rear of the drivers side to lift the carpet there. It's my daily driver so I always need to go everywhere.. maybe pulling out the entire carpet is a better answer and leaving it out. Haha.

 

don't drive through deep water?

 

Lift is kind of off the table because it being my daily driver I don't want to have clearance issues in the parking garage

Thanks man, I will be sure to do that if and when it does crap out! It appears that the grommets on the floor were the biggest issue of all when it came to it. I can see markings of dirt where the water started coming through.

I'm definitely on the carpet issue right now, it's sitting in the garage with the air on full blast and a small secondary fan to help aid further in the effort. So far it's working out quite well. I also removed that stupid plastic liner that was on the padding, that seems to be a big water retaining culprit

Hydrolocking is not too big of a surprise to me if you are too deep in over your head with water. I am really surprised that people are willing to go that deep into water. If I wanted to do that I would had gotten a military Humvee. Lol

Wow! You older Taco's have all the luck when it comes to that stuff.

I wish I had more supplies at home, especially that grease, and maybe some silicone. I used all the silicone on my previous car's engine parts. That junker.

Haha that looks like my old unit up to their shenanigans again.

I haven't heard of that in a while! I might actually have to look into it.

God I wish I had a humidifier.

I think they were the ones which let water in actually.

Gee isn't that the idea of a century... Lol dude I made this thread so people can contribute their ideas for waterproofing a car so the trucks can be made a little more resistant to short circuits during fording of deep waters.

 

I've gotten that suggestion of getting a beater many many times but honestly this is the way I see it, they are just parts, it's just a car, yes I am still paying it but the moment it sees off road that warranty is void anyways. You are only young once is the way I see it and what is it without fooling around in the truck a little? It helps I have connections at my local Yota dealer too and that I work there. Idk, breaking it is something that is not of too much concern to me. It's more about the fun factor. I still do toss around the idea of getting a spare beater though, or maybe just sticking to dry offroading. Lol.

 

buy a boat