General Question-Snorkel

[chrissey]

Sorry guys I am just setting up my GQ for travelling around Australia, starting at the Sunny Coast going up north all the way to Broome and I am a little confused and got so many questions from reading about other peoples opinions whether I should add a snorkel to my GQ or not.
Some people keep telling me you are crazy if your traveling in remote places and go anywhere as deep as where you might need a snorkel, you think that's true in general?

How deep can i go with a GQ? I dont think I would feel comfortable going any deeper than the bottom of the headlights anyway.....so let me know what you think. Tell me know what is a snorkel actually good for, what water depth should you go without and why are so many cars around Queensland driving around with a snorkel, even tidy city SUV' s?????:1087:
Snorkel or no Snorkel??

cheers
chris

[Aquarian51]

Hi Chris

A snorkel supplies cleaner cooler air to your engine than without a snorkel because the normal air intake is from in the engine bay or under the wheel arch. Unless the snorkel is air tight you wouldn't want to be driving in water deeper than the bonnet, but would you really want to be driving through water that deep.

A snorkel will probably give you better fuel economy because of the extra cleaner air. There are some threads on here about snorkels and how and what to make them from.

Having made my own - my vote is "Go the snorkel".

cheers

Len

[YNOT]

The purpose of a snorkel is to raise the air intake. This not only raises the fording depth but also puts the air intake up where the dust is usually thinner. If you plan to be doing a lot of driving on dusty roads then you can also get cyclone precleaners heads for some snorkels (Safari is one). These pre cleaners spin the incoming air so the dust settles to the outside and cleaner air is drawn in to the main air filter.

The standard air intake on a Patrol is behind the headlight on the L/H front corner, allowing for a bow wave that gives you a safe fording depth of about half way up the wheels. That said I have taken a Patrol without a snorkel through a water crossing that had water half way up the doors and a bow wave over the bonnet - I got lucky and survived but I wouldn't recommend doing it without a snorkel.

If you are planning on going to remote places where you are likely to need the snorkel for water crossings then it's best to be travelling with other people or at the very least have a winch and other recovery gear AND a good knowledge of how to use it. You are not crazy, you got a 4WD so you can go 4WDing, but be smart about it.

Tony

[04OFF]

A Snorkel is cheap insurance if you plan travelling around places you don't know well.



You should always try and pre-walk through any water crossings, but you can still miss holes or rutts you just cant see or feel , your wheels may drop into these rutts submerging your standard air intake.

The way i look at it, a snuffed engine (even if not destroyed) in the middle of a water crossing ,could very quickly turn into costing thousands of dollars, i doubt you will regret spending $400-$500 for a snorkel.



I have a safari snorkel, i use a uni filter pre filter over the snorkel head in dusty conditions, great when your in a convoy.;)





If you get a snorkel, its a good idea to extend your diff breathers as well.

[chrissey]

Hey Len, Tony and 04OFF.
Very helpful reading through your comments and actually as we are going to do a lot of driving I will seriously consider getting a snorkel. I did some driving around the Glass House Mountains 4wd tracks today and there where some smaller water crossings/ water holes I always walk them and poke around with a stick haha.
Anyways the main reason would be the dust/ cleaner air intake. We havent got the greatest budget so its always a bit of weighing up what to do with the vehicle. Anyways it will be a once in a lifetime adventure for us to drive around this beautiful country and you are more than right we dont want to be stuck somewhere spending huge amounts of money.
I bought Gregorys 4wd Touring book, and do some research in the Forum everyday and will get the right recovery gear and by then know how to use it.
Thanks guys, very helpful!
Chris

[growler2058]

Cheap insurance agree with all above, personally i would not have a 4wd without one. i have a 4wd to take me where i wanna go and if the water is a litl deep i want to get across with the donk still running

[Finly Owner]

Make sure all the fittings for snorkel and air bow are water tight sealed.

Tim

[chrissey]

Cheap insurance agree with all above, personally i would not have a 4wd without one. i have a 4wd to take me where i wanna go and if the water is a litl deep i want to get across with the donk still running

So true, I saw there are some DIY Snorkel threads in the Forum or I might find a 2nd hand one. Anyways you guys made me feel its better to have one on the vehicle.
cheers chris

[chrissey]

Make sure all the fittings for snorkel and air bow are water tight sealed.

Tim

Well i guess you buy a Safari Snorkel kit and it comes with all you need to make it fit and properly seal it, right? This would speak against the DIY or 2nd hand ones.

[YNOT]

Any snorkel needs to be properly fitted, even a safari snorkel will leak if it's not properly installed.

Tony

[growler2058]

Absolutely must be water tight including some silicone in the drain on the primary filter housing (td42) dunno if others are the same

[04OFF]

Any snorkel needs to be properly fitted, even a safari snorkel will leak if it's not properly installed.

Tony

Yes, and going from stories ive read, unfortunatly getting it fitted by a retailer that sells snorkels, does not always "guarantee" your snorkel is fitted correctly .

If you do choose to fit one yourself, i suggest you don't use any old silicone, but use a Automotive Adhesive-sealant product from the "Sikaflex" range, its a Polyurethane and much stronger, plus it wont encourage rust, is sensor safe, and comes in Black (other colours are available)

[chrissey]

Hi,

thanksd, very helpful information here. Any suggestions where to get a snorkel, preferably Safari for cheap? I anyone in the Forum selling snorkels or knows a place to save a $ or two?

thank you guys,


Chris:blowup:

[04OFF]

I found these guys had pretty decent pricing on Safari brand snorkels

http://www.olbis.com.au/ap_template/subcat_safari_snorkel.asp


Just to give you a rough idea...


If you plan to do it yourself, you may need a large hole saw, and air hacksaw or tin snips etc , plus Sikaflex , some paint (to cover bare metal after cutting) and a drill/drill bits.

Id never fitted a snorkel before and a Safari on my GU took me 5 hrs (not sure about GQ fitment) , i did spend almost a hour modifying a few things i didn't like with some of the pipework tho.



In general,i found prices for snorkel installation (GU, again not sure if that makes a big difference ?) seemed to start at around $250

[fixer982]

Oh and if you are checking water crossings, check that it's not a crocodile zone, as a snorkel won't help there. The rest is as everyone said, seal it up and fit a precleaner or filter if it's real dusty.

[Bigrig]

Why a safari? I got an ironman supplied and fitted for $580. Still not the cheapest item you'll put on your rig, but just like my panel chop today - if you value the vehicle and are not 100% confident in doing it, then get someone who knows how (and who has to warrant it for both product AND installation, which includes rust treatment - if you install the safari or any other brand yourself, kiss the warranty goodbye!).

Just my opinion - others on here have done theirs with great success.

[Johnny G]

Seems like cheap once off insurance to me

[Bigrig]

Seems like cheap once off insurance to me

Too right mate!!

[Warnie]

My Safari Snorkel for my GQ (GU was the same price) was $419 and me and a mate fitted it on Sunday. Safari for me represents proper R&D from a trusted brand and also is australian owned and made. For fitting yourself, you will need the:
- holesaw bit ~$40
- masking tape ~$2
- drill ($50-$700 depending on quality - I would recomend buying an impact drive drill so you can take wheel nuts and other random bolts off also with it EG: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280600450857?hlp=false)
- drill bits ~$20
- step drill bit up to ~20mm (16mm for the GQ) ~$20 for a set
- some rust proofing coating ~$10
- a caulking gun ~$10
- some non corrosive silicone ~$7

extra $115 + drill + self satisfaction

If you dont have these things it can be a costly job to go get them. But purchasing them will be an investement for future mods and also DIY's around the house.

I wasn't completely comfortable doing this to my troll so I asked a mate who was comfortable to give me a hand, no worry's.

The mob I bought my snorkel off was sunshine state 4x4 at Archerfield