Water Crossing in 80 Series Landcruiser

Gordon - my wife and I drove through the Kimberlys' in July August 2001 with a Landrover and offroad campervan. We had several water crossings but nothing deep - deepest was Pentecost River but only a bit over axle depth. I guess it all depends on conditions at the time - cyclones etc, but you certainly sound well prepared. The Gibb R road was the roughest I have ever encountered, but hadn't been graded for a while. You will enjoy the area.

Gordon,if you fit the radiator blind properly you dont have to slacken the fan belt,providing you dont stall anywhere.Same for timting cover.Diff and gearbox breather lines have to be extended.It pays and it is an easy job.Cluch housing should be ok againg providing you pick the right gear before crossing..(2 or 3 rd low sounds good)and avoid using it under water during the crossing. the best thing you can do is cool your running gear prior to crossing as hot seals will let the water in casings regardless of breaders.

I have done the Kalumburu road several times, it is likely to be more of a problem than the GRR. If the road is open, and it should be by June then there are unlikely to be any problems for an 80 series with a snorkel. The last 70 odd k's from Theda to Kalumburu can be pretty rough depending on where the Grader is and what has been done. It's a good idea to overnight at Theda and do the trip to Kalumburu slowly the next day with a couple of good scenic river crossings for stops and maybe a bit of fishing. Make sure you go out to Honeymoon beach and catch up with Les..it's quite an experience!

Best place to extend them to is under the bonnet up as high as you can get it. I used 3/8 inch pressure air tubing. Take off your existing breathers on your front and rear diff. The 3/6th tubing should push over the nipple on your diff. Use stainlesss hose clamps at every join. I ran my rear line inside the chassis rail up to the front. I picked up a line from my gearbox and transfer case with a nylon tee piece (make sure you get ones that don't mind oil). I then put another tee in to pick up the front diff line. I finished the end of the tube with a Ryco fuel filter, which keeps gunk out of the line as well as caturing any drops that might sneak in. The line is as high as it will go on the firewall. The gearbox and transfer case breathers on an 80 generalling are combined into one rubber hose that end just on top of the bell housing at the back of the motor. Take the flapper valve off and stick a joiner and hose on to extend into you combined line. Hope this helps

Steve has said it Gordon.That is how is done.
I run my rear diff breader up against the fuel filler which is as high as the firewall.

Gordon
Crossing the GRR is not to bad if the river crossings are to deep the road will be closed anyway.That was our experience in may 01 we could only travel about half way along but well worth it

Gordon - you are unlikely to encounter any water crossing on the GRR that will cause you a problem during June (refer to current road condition reports to see how it is now). However, you never can tell with the Kalumburu Rd, especially towards the top. In this case, the advice you have received here is all accurate. Extending diff breathers should be the first mod you ever make to your vehicle anyway. Do that even before buying the snorkel! It's fairly easy and costs next to nothing to do.