I would only worry if mud and such got into the brake area.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Alistair Bell
Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 11:11 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Rear wheel over half in muddy water. Need to repack bearings or
???

Last week i got my right rear wheel stuck in about a foot and a half of
water in a river... gravel and round river rock. I won't go into why I got
into that position :), but take it as read that I made a bonehead move.

My syncro's viscous coupling is kaput so I didn't have front wheel assist.
The diff lock was not much help, both rear wheels just dug deeper. But... I
did have my home made bridging track and a high lift jack. I was able to
stand in the river and jack one side of van up in the air and put the track
under rear wheel, then dig a trench for the other side wheels and slowly
drive out of the river.

The moral of the story, apart from not getting into that situation in the
first place, is that the high lift jack paid for itself again.

I wasn't worried about water getting into the bearings or the brake drum, as
it was pretty well clear water. But if it was mud I might take the time to
remove drum and flush out any debris that might have got in.

I would say that the bearings would be fine. Maybe regrease once home if you
like.

alistair

On 6-Sep-10, at 7:20 PM, Scott Chapman wrote:

I went adventuring in my 85 Westy today.

Lesson learned:  NEVER try to cross a sizable puddle without inspecting it
first!  We managed to get the right rear in muddy water over half way up the
tire and it took over an hour to get it out again.

I am wondering if I need to do anything with the brakes or wheel bearings,
or anything else, as a result of this "abuse" :).

I went to a self-serve car wash and washed wheels out thoroughly on both
sides but haven't gone further yet.

I'm in Cheyenne, Wyoming and leaving from here to LA on Thursday AM.
The
last thing I need is trouble on the trip.

All advice and wisdom greatly appreciated!

Scott