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Another DIY Snorkel

7K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  Capo9786 
#1 · (Edited)
To replicate the airbox i built, visit this thread on the Paint Can Air Box.


Parts and Supplies:

Working, sealed air box
rubber elbows and metal pipe or flexible air ducting $10-$30
Found at a local Auto shop or Intakeparts.com
90" rubber cobra head elbow $20
6 feet of 3" OD 16 gauge steel tube $25
3" ram air snorkel head $50 check out LetsBreat4x4 on ebay
a handful of appropriate hose clamps



To start off, make sure you have either a rubber elbow or a flexible air tube leading from your sealed air box through that nifty hole they give you on the inner fender.




I personally was going to use a 90º rubber elbow and a 90º cobra head on the inside of the fender, but i lost the regular elbow and was forced to use the flexible plastic intake tubing i bought a long time ago. hose clamp that end to your airbox.



bend and fit the tubing and mark where you want the hole in your fender. drill out with a 3 inch whole saw. Take a 4" piece of 3" outer diameter tube and hose clamp the flexible tubing. Stick the exposed tube through the 3" hole in the fender and hose clamp the cobra head at the appropriate angle.




now you will need to get the tube bent to fit the fender. I recommend a 7-12º bend to fit the fender. I went with a 10º. at the roof line, you will need to cut the tube at the appropriate angle to have the tube sit perfectly vertical. make sure the vertical part has at least 5-6" to get the best water wicking effect from the ram air snorkel head. Have the joint welded, and grind smooth if you wish and paint it.



In order to secure to the A pillar i drilled a small hole in a hose clamp and secured it with one of the screws under the rubber lining. its a little weird and sits funny so that still needs to be worked out. Maybe with a weld on tab for the screw.




you now how an awesome snorkel.





update: 3/2/11

I chopped up my fenders and in the process had to move my snorkel tube up and to the right. I found out that with a little massaging with a rubber mallet, you can cuff another cobra head right up there and have it all tucked away. this can be done with cutting your fenders or not. this gets it nice and tucked away, taking care of steeze's concern.


 
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#2 ·
WOW! You put alot of thought into that set up. Prob the cleanest DIY snorkel I have seen. Rep points! I might have to do this...
 
#3 ·
The DIY snorkel is the best one I've seen so far that resembles the $300 ones. How hard or easy is it to clean your air filter just the access to it looks difficult.
 
#4 ·
well as of right now i have to replace the gorilla tape around the can every time i clean the filter but i just loosen the intake coupler around the throttle body and it pops right off if the tape is cut.
 
#7 ·
Looks good

Only thing I can see that might be an issue is that the snorkel exits low on the fender and if you get hit there or get too close to a tree your intake is in jeopardy. Because it exits lower it also sticks out more... putting it more at risk. If you were to set your X on that side the intake would be crushed... that's one of the reasons im re-building fenders to stand up to that...

Dont get me wrong I dig it, just something to consider...
 
#9 · (Edited)
I strongly disagree here..


This corrugated pipe will hurt the air flow not help.. I like the install except this..
The air flow needs to be smooth not choppy And Id say your not getting enough air to the engine.. That may be what your hearing and thinking sounds good..
 
#11 ·
I think its OK. In the ATV world that is what everyone uses to pipe their snorkels. TJ will know....but I think it will not be a issue.
 
#12 ·
If thats the same pipe I used back when I was racing its smooth on the inside the outsides corrigated for strength so it doesnt crush. I used it to vent the 383 into the cockpit from the valve covers kept dirt out of the oil. However Im with steeze on this one that exits the fender way low hell I dont even have that part of my fenders anymore its been cut off for tire clearence lol.
 
#13 ·
i highly doubt that the flex tube is restricting it that much. especially considering that rubber flex pipe used from your airbox to your throttle body is more of the same kind of rippled tube AND its a good 3/4" smaller in diameter. if you were to not even consider the ripples, the open diameter that allows free airflow is still a greater opening than the original airbox. With the cone filter, airbox and new up tube i think i have opened up airflow more than the original set up. And thats without the ram air effect of the snorkel head.

And yes, i did think about this for a while before i ended up using the pipe. I figured that since i lost the rubber hose that would allow me to use the metal pipe i originally had intended, even if i did managed to get rain water in the intake that corrugated tubing would provide some stopping effect to rain water coming down the intake. This is why i decided to stick with this tubing.


and that sound im hearing is definitely coming from the LARGE amount of air its sucking in, not the lack of it.
 
#14 ·
i highly doubt that the flex tube is restricting it that much. especially considering that rubber flex pipe used from your airbox to your throttle body is more of the same kind of rippled tube AND its a good 3/4" smaller in diameter. if you were to not even consider the ripples, the open diameter that allows free airflow is still a greater opening than the original airbox. With the cone filter, airbox and new up tube i think i have opened up airflow more than the original set up. And thats without the ram air effect of the snorkel head.

And yes, i did think about this for a while before i ended up using the pipe. I figured that since i lost the rubber hose that would allow me to use the metal pipe i originally had intended, even if i did managed to get rain water in the intake that corrugated tubing would provide some stopping effect to rain water coming down the intake. This is why i decided to stick with this tubing.


and that sound im hearing is definitely coming from the LARGE amount of air its sucking in, not the lack of it.
That's a good point... the corrugated pipe would catch any water in there.. didn't think of that.
 
#17 ·
if you think about it with the corrugated pipe. even if it ripples on the inside whats prob happening is that air is getting stuck in the ripples. this in turn would create a buffer for the rest of the air to move over unrestricted. if you watch the myth busters episode about better gas mileage with your truck bed down you prob know what im refering to. just my 2 cents.
 
#18 ·
I Firmly believe that his intake is much better than stock. Zach do you have a scantool or somebody with access to one? the Stock air intake is actually prettly low. It is actually pretty low. Just by removing the baffles I improved it a good bit. I Do not remember exactly how much and what the numbers were as it was a while ago. Hook up the scan tool Zach and see the amount of air the the sensors are reading and let us know what it is.
 
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