Snorkels are kinda like a male version of breast augmentation...... But hey, if you want to or need to - who cares! Like your build man.
Ramathorn15's LX470 build
- Thread starter Ramathorn15
- Start date
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I'm having the same difficulty,...got one sitting on the shelf in my garage,...just keep going back and forth.
I've extended all my breathers, and I like the idea of extending the intake....
but there's no going back!
Lets face it, though, its not like they look like minivans anymore, anyway.....at least, that's the way I'm leaning right now....
I've extended all my breathers, and I like the idea of extending the intake....
but there's no going back!
Lets face it, though, its not like they look like minivans anymore, anyway.....at least, that's the way I'm leaning right now....
You're preaching to the wrong choir! Go for it!
- Thread starter
- #145
I just ordered nutserts that will be here on Friday. Now I have to find a decently priced 4-1/2 hole saw.
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
Lowes
- Thread starter
- #147
I'm going to see if anyone in my clubhouse has one before I spend ~70% of what the snorkel cost on the hole saw. But yeah, the Lowes one seems to be the cheapest. I was really hoping harbor freight had a 4-1/2"er.
You might not want to cut that hole with the cheapest saw that you can find. Set yourself up for success. Mask it all off, mark it and triple check, then use a good blade that won't wander etc.. The masking tape will help keep the paint from chipping. You probably want to remove any burs from the cut edge and paint it too.
So I'm guessing you are going with the ebay variant?
- Thread starter
- #151
Yeah. I bought the ~$70 one off of ebay. I'm really impressed with the quality. Even the hardware is really nice.
You should be receiving a manila envelope soon by the way.
I bought and installed one of those $66 eBay snorks on my LX a couple of weeks ago. I'm also impressed with the quality. There are a few things I wasn't too happy about though:
- the a-pillar bracket to snorkel hardware is already starting to rust.
- the rubber elbow that goes in the fender had lots of "flash" (for lack of a better term) inside it that I had to tear out by hand
- I didn't like the need for rivets in the a-pillar and replaced them with nutserts and stainless button head bolts (I'm sure the rivets are fine, that was just my preference)
- I nearly peed my pants when hole-saw kissed sheetmetal, but again, not the snorkel's fault
- Thread starter
- #153
Looking good! I actually ordered nutserts too after reading a build where the guy used them (cant remember username). Is the hardware you speak of the powdercoated black bolts? The rest of the bare metal hardware seems to be stainless.
Yeah, the black hex/phillips ones. I'll be replacing those with stainless. The studs, nylock nuts and hose clamps are all stainless out of the box. Even the template was accurate.
A couple things that will make life easier on that install is a big tube of Lexel smeared over everything, ratcheting box end wrenches with adjustable heads, step bits and a pile of extra fender liner clips.
It's a waterproof adhesive that's easier to find than the Sikaflex that the genuine Safari snorkel instructions call for. I used it on all the threads, between the snorkel and the fender, the a-pillar and bracket and the joints where the snorkel and airbox slip into the rubber elbow.
- Thread starter
- #157
Interesting. I had planned on just using RTV silicon around the nutserts and the bolts that go into the nutserts to keep water out of the A-pillar. I don't really thing any waterproofing is necessary between the snorkel and the fender but maybe I'm missing something.
You're not, I just got a really big tube of the stuff and wanted to use it all! I did make sure to get around all the holes I drilled for the studs on the fender, in case I missed any raw edges with the touch up paint. It also helps to keep the washers stuck to the inside of the fenders while you're threading the nuts on.
I have a Milwaukee 4.5" hole saw. (Used once
). If you want to pay two way postage, you can borrow it. It'll probably be cheaper than buying a new one. The truth is the hole does not have to be that "clean"... The snorkel will cover it. The hole saw definitely makes the job a LOT easier, but I've cut it in the past with a jig saw. On my 100 I actually had to file it a little bigger so that the snorkel would position properly against the A-Pilar. Harbour -Freight-Quality will do the job with no problem, but they didn't have a 4.5" when I installed my snorkel. Don't sweat the size of the holes for the bolts either... All that will be covered by the snorkel. Once you have it all installed you'll understand.
Good luck with the install, if nothing else, the truck will look cool (to our eyes at least!)
