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Comment by jetrink | Hacker News Reader

I live on a road that floods regularly and I'm always amazed by how many drivers are willing to drive into water that is over two feet deep[1]. Car after car, they plunge in like amphibious operation is a standard feature on new vehicles, sending water over the hood and a wake across my front lawn. All that is to say, I would not be surprised if these people forged ahead into deep waters and are playing dumb when it didn't work out.

1. https://i.imgur.com/htJzqJY.jpg

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I looked at your photo and that water is barely over the wheel hubs, it seems like a pretty standard small beer ask of a car.

Caveat: I live in Australia, we have cars with higher ground clearance and snorkels for when the water gets properly deep.

Water over the wheel hubs is a big deal. If you read your owner's manual submerged hubs requires re-lubing, at the very least. If you submerge a diff or crankcase those have to be drained and redone as well.

I'm not seeing the issue .. we already ramp and block cars and trailers about every 18 months and relube hubs etc, have done for years (since ~1960 by my recollection).

I mainly leave that to my father who was born and 1935 and still loves doing that kind of routine maintainence, he used to ride ring pounders through the Kimberley floods back in the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47q6RiwcILg

It's just routine vehicle maintenance, make it a habit and tthey last for years.

Maybe routine maintenance in your parts (which would make sense if you're frequently fording rivers). For most car owners it's something that needs to be done... basically never. Can't blame them for not knowing something like that.

Any modern vehicle 1 ton and smaller doesn't have hubs that you can repack with grease (except Ford E350), and hasn't for the last 20 years. Everything has unit bearings that you can't disassemble, except full floating rear axles where the wheel bearings are bathed in the differential oil.

Edit: I see you're in Australia, so 70 series Land Cruiser also has spindles in the front axle.

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