Most of us here in the East Coast have alot of mud and water to play in. While this is alot of fun, it is also hard on equipment. I have first hand experiance in this aspect since I've trashed both a tranny and engine in one day.

There are multiple locations on a Scout where water and mud can cause damage and must be fill, or protected. I'll point these out and tell you how to fix them.

Let's start in the front of the truck.

The front axle is a oft' neglected item, because most people don't use thier 4 wheel very often therefore they don't change that fluid regularly. Water get's into front axles in more locations than rear axles.

First we have the axle breather. This is a small poppet valve located on top of the pumpkin. Theoretically, this is a one way valve, but it isn't water tight. The best thing to do here is to remove the valve and replace it with a hose barb and a piece of fuel line routed up into the engine bay. We'll talk about what to do with these hoses later.

Next is the diff cover. If there is fluid leaking out, than water can get in. Changing the gear oil whenever deep water crossings are made will protect the bearings and gears from rust.

The axle tube ends at the knuckles have seals that must be kept up. These, along with the shaft u-joint's should be replaced avery 35,000 or so.

The wheel hubs and rotor bearings are a very sensitive location that needs to be kept dry. New and well kept grease seals on the back side of the rotor should be maintaind. Keep plenty of marine grease between the inner and outer bearings. The locking hub bodies should be sealed to the rotor hubs with silicon gasket maker. The outer hub caps also should get a small bead of silicon between the cap and body.

The oil is very vulerable to water. This can be protected rather easily.

The dipstick is the lowest open port on the engine. First smear silicon around the area where the dipstick tube enters the oil pan. Then take the dipstick it's self and squirt silicone into the cap, all the way around, then jamb it into the tube. This will make a watertight seal, but will enable you to check the oil. Remember to reseal this after checking the oil.

Next up is the valve covers. The screw in flame arrestor that has a hose going into the air cleaner should have a new hose on it and have clamps on both ends. That way water won't get in through either ends of the hose. Also, the threaded end should have thread tape on it. After the flame arrestor is the oil fill cap. Again, take the trust silicon and squirt a bead around the vavle cover opening and tighten the cap down on it. The PCV valve should also have a new hose on it and there should be clamps on both ends of it as well.

The aircleaner is a big target to get water in and a dangerous place for it to go. I rotated my aircleaner around so that the snorkal is facing the firewall, but; you can't do this with all of the IH cleaner housings. I have a 4 barrel. I also added a bead of silicon between the carb and housing. On top of the housing the hole where the bolt goes through to hold the lid down will let water right into the engine. Again, squirt silicon around the bolt and tighten the wing nut down. Adding a rubber or nylon washer under the wing nut would help.

The manual is the easiest. There is a popet valve just like on the front axle, only a little bigger. Remove it and get a hose barb to match and run fuel line up to the engine compartment. Make sure you put hose clamps on these hoses.

The auto tranny is more complex. The easy part is the dipstick. Do the same as with the engine dipstick, squirt silicon into the dipstick cap and insert into the tube.

Again, like everything else, where oil is leaking out water can get in. Make sure every gasket and seal is good.

Now, with an auto tranny, there is a gapping hole located behind the torque converter. This is the vent for the tranny. It is a dumb design and can't be fixed without removing the tranny. See my 727 rebuild FAQ for how to fix that.

The diff cover should be sealed tight. Replace the diff fluid regularly, especially if deep water crossings are frequent.

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