What are these silly looking things supposed to be for, forging across a lake or something?
Snorkels (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TexasHusker
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Snorkels, generally raise the air intake above either dusty air or water.
Water drawn into the engine can hydro lock the engine since water basically won’t compress like air. That said lots of electronics and other things in the engine bay on modern LC don’t perform well in water.
Heavy dust on a dry trail particularly in a convoy of trucks will clog the air filter and starve the engine of air. Up near the roof of the vehicle, air is cleaner and it takes longer to clog the air filter.
Water drawn into the engine can hydro lock the engine since water basically won’t compress like air. That said lots of electronics and other things in the engine bay on modern LC don’t perform well in water.
Heavy dust on a dry trail particularly in a convoy of trucks will clog the air filter and starve the engine of air. Up near the roof of the vehicle, air is cleaner and it takes longer to clog the air filter.
bloc
SILVER Star
To put the “dork” in Dorkel.
They are personal preference. I get the cleaner air part but seriously how often are you in water that deep? If you live where there is swamp land it might be useful. I would have a hard time justifying cutting a hole in my fender though. Just my .02.
- Thread starter
- #5
I have seen some SUVs running around town with them and we don’t even have a lake for 60 miles. We do have some dust but I’ve never had an issue and I’ve driven everything from a Ferrari to a Ford.
Cheap insurance if you cross streams/ rivers, added bonus is cleaner air in dusty conditions.
- Thread starter
- #7
Ok so if you cross a deep river, if you are deep enough where water might be coming into your engine compartment, aren’t you pretty well screwed regardless of your snorkels? I guess I’m not understanding something. I mean, these are not amphibious vehicles are they ?
Markuson
SILVER Star
I resisted a snorkel for 18 years thinking it wasn’t needed...and for most, it isn’t.
But... Water is not always what it appears.
My pal Cole destroyed his 2016’s engine in Moab this last Spring in a benign-looking water crossing...
Not a big deal at all...until......
...he found a hidden deep spot on passenger.
$25,000 and an utterly-destroyed engine replacement later.....his truck is whole again.
Could have been me, as it was the only trail I didn’t do with Cole that week. I was going through muddy water that could have just as easily hidden a water trap like that on the same trip.
I added a snorkel simply because I now consider it insurance.
Last edited:
Markuson
SILVER Star
You can survive water in the engine bay...
...But not if it sucks water into the intake...which starts down near the wheel well.
You do NOT have to be engine-submerged to suck in water. Just your right-front corner. See my other response.
Beyond the water thing though....it’s helpful to pull cleaner air from your roofline than from your wheel well....so it has other benefits beyond water.
But meh... I fully understand the resistance to snorkels. I resisted for 18 years.
Last edited:
I was in the Yuba River and had water spots on the engine cover. Deep enough for a snorkel? Might be a rare thing though. Short section last year after flooding. I saw three others cross and took the line with a great bow wake.
If your going to cross rivers off-roading, camping, hunting, or exploring its smart to invest in a snorkel
What’s the most expensive LC snorkel? $1k?
what’s the cheapest engine replacement? $5k? $7k? Probably significantly more if you can’t do-it-yourself.
What’s the most expensive LC snorkel? $1k?
what’s the cheapest engine replacement? $5k? $7k? Probably significantly more if you can’t do-it-yourself.
bloc
SILVER Star
Every important electrical connector under the hood or outside the body has rubber gaskets where it matters. As long as the water isn’t too muddy your alternator will even survive short periods of sumbersion, though it isn’t great for it.
Diffs/transmission/transfer case would be a concern but the stock breathers are elevated and designed really well.
Basically, it’s not a big deal, and you can easily find water that will get to air intake level and cause huge engine damage with everything else being fine.
Water can be nowhere near deep enough to cause problems but your fan will spray it everywhere in the engine compartment. So spots on the cover wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
I’m not a huge fan of the looks of a dorkel. But I put one on because I’m dumb enough to drive into a shallow creek. And water holes exist. Plus they aren’t that expensive and get huge bro x 4 cred
nor_cal_cyclist
GOLD Star
Water crossings and the dry dusty trails out West are the reasons for me.
afgman786
SILVER Star
Serious water fording would require a lot more protection to keep water out of engine bay and cabin. However, I had it on my 80 cause i thought it looked cool. Positive outcome was better mpg gains from the snorkel. Pulls in cleaner air, and potentially better airflow as well.
Definitely doing it again on the 200 for the cleaner air
Definitely doing it again on the 200 for the cleaner air
Tommy Dwyer
SILVER Star
Never been a big fan of the look of snorkels, but understood the reasoning behind them. Still didn’t have one on my list until.....I read about Coles incident. We have a fair amount of water crossings on trails here in the Ozarks, I generally avoid the deep stuff. After reading about his surprise? Snorkel is on my spring to do list....
nwfl4runner
GOLD Star
Snorkel was an easy choice for me even on my LX because fenders are cheaper than engines.
People put bull bars on and I fancy most of us will encounter water crossings before we smack a deer.
Not true where I live, deer are everywhere, but as I stated it is personal preference and that is the beauty of owning one of these jewels, you can do whatever you want to it.
I think it hurts resale and looks stupid. 99% of people don't need it. That said, I did a long drive in waist deep water during the last hurricane, and a snorkel would have made me feel 100% better. cheap mod that is 100% effective when you need it.
PS- where is the thread on Cole's water adventure?
PS- where is the thread on Cole's water adventure?
Markuson
SILVER Star
On the topic of deer strikes....I think most folks would be astonished to learn the *huuuge* number of deer strikes that happen each year, and the remarkably m-strong likelihood of hitting them in certain regions.
In some states, it’s as high as 1 in 43 drivers *per year. * Crazy high. There are an estimated 30 million deer in the US. Far more in the US than Canada...which often surprises people too.
