Look at your air intake now, it's essentially a CAI already. The intake is on top of the grille and is OUTSIDE the front edge weatherstripping on the hood.
Water proofing my 2013 OB
I purchased a 2013 3.6 OB last month, and I'm absolutely in love with it. I was a big honda fan before, now I've completely made the switch and I couldn't be happer.
I live in SE Virginia, and flash floods and puddles are a huge issue. It was the deciding factor in going from a sedan to a SUV type vehicle.
Last week a torrential downpour came through and I was stranded at the gym. I had to drive through over a foot of water, it was probably even more than that. This happens often around here.
So, I have two areas I'd like more information in.
First, how deep of water can I safely push my OB through? It is completely stock, no modifications as of yet.
Second, what recommended modifications can I make to increase the water height I can tackle? I read a thread about adding a breather to a the rear diff, but nothing in the thread was specific. I've also heard about adding a CAI to the engine, but that it can also introduce other water problems. Perhaps a lift kit to get a few more inches of ground clearance would help?
I know very little about cars and modifying them, but I have an interest in upgrading my OB to be awesome.
I live in SE Virginia, and flash floods and puddles are a huge issue. It was the deciding factor in going from a sedan to a SUV type vehicle.
Last week a torrential downpour came through and I was stranded at the gym. I had to drive through over a foot of water, it was probably even more than that. This happens often around here.
So, I have two areas I'd like more information in.
First, how deep of water can I safely push my OB through? It is completely stock, no modifications as of yet.
Second, what recommended modifications can I make to increase the water height I can tackle? I read a thread about adding a breather to a the rear diff, but nothing in the thread was specific. I've also heard about adding a CAI to the engine, but that it can also introduce other water problems. Perhaps a lift kit to get a few more inches of ground clearance would help?
I know very little about cars and modifying them, but I have an interest in upgrading my OB to be awesome.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
Lifting the car will not really increase your water crossing ability at least with the OB anyway.
Of course your final end game height is the air intake for the engine however there are two things that will have water intrusion and so far via another thread discussion sounds like anything approaching the height of the axle runs the risk of the diff breathers picking up water. The easiest and probably best first step would to sort out a way to extend the diff breather tubes to a higher location. I've done this on a 4runner and the common location was running them using fuel line - to the top of the engine bulk head under the hood.
If your crossing fairly deep puddles on a fairly frequent basis - changing the diff gear oil front and back at the end of the rainy season is HIGHLY recommended given if they have picked up any water you want to replace the gear oil before racking up a bunch of miles with less than ideal gear oil in there.
The Crazy Russians who are head over heals in love with Subaru's have also wired manual switches to the front electric fans so they can manually turn the fan off when crossing high water. Seems the plastic blades on the fans can bend or break and the added load caused by the water can also burn the fan motor out - so simply shutting the fan off when doing a deep water crossing helps eliminate that issue. That might be a tad extreme for your needs. But finding a way to extend the height of the diff breathers would be the first thing I would look into if this is really a common problem for you.
Of course your final end game height is the air intake for the engine however there are two things that will have water intrusion and so far via another thread discussion sounds like anything approaching the height of the axle runs the risk of the diff breathers picking up water. The easiest and probably best first step would to sort out a way to extend the diff breather tubes to a higher location. I've done this on a 4runner and the common location was running them using fuel line - to the top of the engine bulk head under the hood.
If your crossing fairly deep puddles on a fairly frequent basis - changing the diff gear oil front and back at the end of the rainy season is HIGHLY recommended given if they have picked up any water you want to replace the gear oil before racking up a bunch of miles with less than ideal gear oil in there.
The Crazy Russians who are head over heals in love with Subaru's have also wired manual switches to the front electric fans so they can manually turn the fan off when crossing high water. Seems the plastic blades on the fans can bend or break and the added load caused by the water can also burn the fan motor out - so simply shutting the fan off when doing a deep water crossing helps eliminate that issue. That might be a tad extreme for your needs. But finding a way to extend the height of the diff breathers would be the first thing I would look into if this is really a common problem for you.
Lifting the car will not really increase your water crossing ability at least with the OB anyway.
Of course your final end game height is the air intake for the engine however there are two things that will have water intrusion and so far via another thread discussion sounds like anything approaching the height of the axle runs the risk of the diff breathers picking up water. The easiest and probably best first step would to sort out a way to extend the diff breather tubes to a higher location. I've done this on a 4runner and the common location was running them using fuel line - to the top of the engine bulk head under the hood.
If your crossing fairly deep puddles on a fairly frequent basis - changing the diff gear oil front and back at the end of the rainy season is HIGHLY recommended given if they have picked up any water you want to replace the gear oil before racking up a bunch of miles with less than ideal gear oil in there.
The Crazy Russians who are head over heals in love with Subaru's have also wired manual switches to the front electric fans so they can manually turn the fan off when crossing high water. Seems the plastic blades on the fans can bend or break and the added load caused by the water can also burn the fan motor out - so simply shutting the fan off when doing a deep water crossing helps eliminate that issue. That might be a tad extreme for your needs. But finding a way to extend the height of the diff breathers would be the first thing I would look into if this is really a common problem for you.
Of course your final end game height is the air intake for the engine however there are two things that will have water intrusion and so far via another thread discussion sounds like anything approaching the height of the axle runs the risk of the diff breathers picking up water. The easiest and probably best first step would to sort out a way to extend the diff breather tubes to a higher location. I've done this on a 4runner and the common location was running them using fuel line - to the top of the engine bulk head under the hood.
If your crossing fairly deep puddles on a fairly frequent basis - changing the diff gear oil front and back at the end of the rainy season is HIGHLY recommended given if they have picked up any water you want to replace the gear oil before racking up a bunch of miles with less than ideal gear oil in there.
The Crazy Russians who are head over heals in love with Subaru's have also wired manual switches to the front electric fans so they can manually turn the fan off when crossing high water. Seems the plastic blades on the fans can bend or break and the added load caused by the water can also burn the fan motor out - so simply shutting the fan off when doing a deep water crossing helps eliminate that issue. That might be a tad extreme for your needs. But finding a way to extend the height of the diff breathers would be the first thing I would look into if this is really a common problem for you.
i wouldn't touch your intake, i would recommend an afe dry flow drop in filter so you can just clean it instead of buying a new subaru filter every so often. also like subiesailer mentioned, look into modifying your diff breathers.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Subaru Outback Forums
Welcome to the Subaru Outback Owners Forum, we have tons of information about your Subaru Outback, from a Subaru Outback Wiki to customer reviews.
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
