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Drowned my taco yesterday...

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AZ_CAVALRY

AZ_CAVALRY

8️⃣ Paragon
Rig of the Month
Tacoma3G O.G.
It's not as bad as it sounds, but still could've been in serious trouble. Sorry for the long story, but I would appreciate the help! I went on a group run with some Phoenix guys to Box Canyon in Wickenburg, AZ. If you have heard anything about the trail, it's short, but has LOTS of water to play in. I made it to the end of the trail fine, following a few stock Tacomas through the puddles. On the way back, as I was driving into one of the deeper ones, the truck ended up stalling. My back end is submerged (see photo), and lights start coming on. Check engine, oil temp, backup sensor, etc. I get towed out of the puddle I'm in and through another (thank you again Ethan). Every time I would put the truck in drive, it stalled. We unhooked the battery, let it sit for a few minutes, then started it up. I revved the engine after it started and water sprayed out from under the hood, not sure exactly where. After that, it drove fine and I ended up driving home okay without any problems.

I stopped by SDHQ today, and they recommended flushing the front and rear diff (quoted ~$250 parts and labor). Would everyone recommend I do this? I honestly don't know much about engines, but I want to make sure nothing happens down the road.
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The stalls are concerning... did you suck water into the intake? How high did the water get on the truck?

I would definitely change the diff fluid, especially if you did not do the breather mod. $250 to flush both seems like a very fair price.

I'd consider greasing everything and changing all fluids for that matter, depending on how long you were sitting in the water.
 
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0uTkAsT said:
The stalls are concerning... did you suck water into the intake? How high did the water get on the truck?

I would definitely change the diff fluid, especially if you did not do the breather mod. $250 to flush both seems like a very fair price.

I'd consider greasing everything and changing all fluids for that matter, depending on how long you were sitting in the water.
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The intake was dry as far as I could tell. I did not do the breather mod, but will have to consider it now. I was sitting in the water for three or four minutes, and the truck was off for most of that time.
 
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I'm wondering if it was electrical that was stalling the truck then. If your air filter was dry then you didn't suck any water into the intake. That could potentially be even worse, but luckily it is hot and dry right now. I don't think three to four minutes would be enough to cause any corrosion here in the desert unless everything wasn't allowed to adequately dry out... The stalling is definitely cause for concern though.
 
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0uTkAsT said:
I'm wondering if it was electrical that was stalling the truck then. If your air filter was dry then you didn't suck any water into the intake. That could potentially be even worse, but luckily it is hot and dry right now. I don't think three to four minutes would be enough to cause any corrosion.
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If it was only electrical, I should still replace the diff fluids right?
 
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0uTkAsT said:
Absolutely on the rear since you have not done the diff breather mod, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to do the front also.
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Awesome I really appreciate the help! I will make sure I get that done.

0uTkAsT said:
By the way, what group did you do the run with?
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Some people created a small group on instagram and just hit me up. There was 9 or 10 of us. I'll send you one of the posts so you can see who I rolled with.
 
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$250 sounds reasonable for both.
Curious to see what the issue is/was as the pic does not look like you are too deep.

Looks like fun, have yet to hit that trail
 
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azshooter40 said:
$250 sounds reasonable for both.
Curious to see what the issue is/was as the pic does not look like you are too deep.

Looks like fun, have yet to hit that trail
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Yeah I think the momentum pushed me a little out of the water, but the problem happened a few feet back. Whatever it was, it scared the crap out of me. Thought I hydrolocked it.
 
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taco_del_infierno said:
Awesome I really appreciate the help! I will make sure I get that done.



Some people created a small group on instagram and just hit me up. There was 9 or 10 of us. I'll send you one of the posts so you can see who I rolled with.
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No problem. You should try to get those guys to sign up here!
azshooter40 said:
$250 sounds reasonable for both.
Curious to see what the issue is/was as the pic does not look like you are too deep.

Looks like fun, have yet to hit that trail
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Let's do it!
 
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Wow, crazy story. Definitely like others have said go flush everything out. Honestly I wouldn't be driving it at all until I did so. No telling where you flooded and motors and drivetrains are not fond of water.
 
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Flush your dif anytime they become completely submerged, even with a breather. Monitor the issues you have with the stalling and such and I’d get in contact with Toyota to possibly run diagnostics
 
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