To Snorkel Or Not To Snorkel?

[bloc]

I prefer the term Dorkel. (Edit: and I had one on my 80, for my use case it was necessary.)

And the goal isn't to have the vehicle be hermetically sealed against water intrusion.. it's to protect the engine from dust generally, and water acutely, in instances where that's a risk. I don't think many people are planning on installing a snorkel so they can slowly idle through window-deep water. But the insurance against a $15k engine replacement bill.. as others have noted.. can be powerful motivation.

Personally? The drawbacks outweigh the benefits for me.

Broadly? Probably half of the dorkels I see installed on various vehicles were more for attention than function. But sometimes that works out well for whoever buys the vehicle after that owner seeks something else more attention-grabbing.

 

[Docwyte]

Maybe the PO liked the look or attention and that was worth $1500 to him?

Yep the ARB snorkels are double the cost. And shop labor, for sure. Going rate for the Dobinson's which is a knock-off of the ARB design is $330.

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I'm not saying everyone should do it. Just that having done it myself as that type of insurance policy, and then reading about someone seizing an engine reinforced my prior decision. For sure every mod should be some sort of cost-benefit analysis (even if the benefit is your smile every time you look at the truck)

Well, you're right. Clearly the previous owner thought it was worth whatever he paid to install it. IMO, it was money that could've been better spent elsewhere first.

 

[linuxgod]

Well, you're right. Clearly the previous owner thought it was worth whatever he paid to install it. IMO, it was money that could've been better spent elsewhere first.

Thankfully for you he had more money than sense!

 

[scanavera]

Thanks, everyone for your thoughts and experiences. I had already been leaning toward not getting one, just wanted to throw this out there to see if there was something I was missing. For my use and location (Seattle-area mostly and Eastern WA partially) just don't think I will get the same benefit as some others.

 

[nwfl4runner]

By the time you need a snorkel for the high water level youre crossing, youve already trashed the truck.

Gonna have to ask you to explain that some more…

 

[Fisher23]

Gonna have to ask you to explain that some more…

Water in the axels, transmission, a/c unit and starter motor.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Water in the axels, transmission, a/c unit and starter motor.

Hardly going to “trash” anything - I’ve been in water well above the old intake location countless times without so much as a hiccup. Snorkel is good insurance, just like skid plates and the like.

 

[bloc]

Water in the axels, transmission, a/c unit and starter motor.

Extended breathers accompany many snorkel installs
The starter has a vent/drain at the bottom with a kink in it specifically to avoid water ingress
By A/C unit do you mean the fresh air intake in the cowl or the compressor? Proper bow-wake technique will avoid water in the cowl. The compressor is a non-issue. With the engine continuing to operate specifically because of the snorkel install, people can actually get the vehicle out of the water to stop the water getting into the cowl intake if things get that bad. And your repair bill will certainly be less than the $15k needed for a new motor. As @nwfl4runner and many said, it's insurance. I'll add, it's not a landing craft, and most people aren't hoping it will be.

My biggest concern with deep water would be if it's very sandy or muddy.. alternator brushes can be a problem then.

 

[Fisher23]

Extended breathers accompany many snorkel installs
The starter has a vent/drain at the bottom with a kink in it specifically to avoid water ingress
By A/C unit do you mean the fresh air intake in the cowl or the compressor? Proper bow-wake technique will avoid water in the cowl. The compressor is a non-issue. With the engine continuing to operate specifically because of the snorkel install, people can actually get the vehicle out of the water to stop the water getting into the cowl intake if things get that bad. And your repair bill will certainly be less than the $15k needed for a new motor. As @nwfl4runner and many said, it's insurance. I'll add, it's not a landing craft, and most people aren't hoping it will be.

My biggest concern with deep water would be if it's very sandy or muddy.. alternator brushes can be a problem then.

The other guy asked what would happen if you have water up to the level of he snorkel intake, so that is what I was answering.

 

[ElJayBird]

I had one on my 80 build but decided to skip it on the 200. Seems completely unnecessary for 99.999% of the trails I run. I’m in dusty deserts a lot but replacing the air filter regularly is a better option than drilling holes in the sheet metal. If the water is deep enough to require a snorkel, I’m turning around anyway.

The only use case I see is they look cool and are great for IG cred - or you’re a true offroad hero taking big risks. I’m not all that interested in either…

 

[Rigster]

#1 - You have a use case for it
#2 - You have a preference for the way it looks -- I think most people fall into this category

Personally - living where I do, if I need to cross water that is deep enough to require a snorkel, I will have bigger problems. All water crossings where I live have water moving at a decent clip, especially this time of year. By the time the water reaches the depth that I need a snorkel, my Cruiser is likely being washed downstream at this point. I used to teach swiftwater rescue, as well as being a swiftwater rescue team leader locally here.

Take for example some fairly innocuous facts:
- 1 square cubic foot of water weighs a little over 60 lbs.
- that same cubic foot of water running at a swift walk (4mph) will exert about 65lbs/sq ft pressure against an object in the water. Spring time conditions create faster moving water. That same cubic foot of water running at 8mph will create an astounding 265lbs/sq ft pressure.

The best favor we can do ourselves when crossing water - especially on a trail we are unfamiliar with is to stop, get out and observe, check depth, speed, etc. Then get your friend to go first... lol - Just Kidding!!

 

[chilibit]

Five cruisers arrive at a river bank. Four have no snorkels. Somebody has to go first. You have a snorkel.

 

[AnyMal]

It really depends on the water quality. There is also corrosion involved in a lot of cases.

Snorkels are really best for dust and while they are good insurance policy for water, theres a lot more to address in regards to water permeability and intrusion breathers aside.

I would put one on since they are cool but i want to supercharge in the future and i dont trust any of the engineering.

The main point is that flowing water over the hood/air box is just a dangerous situation for you and the vehicle. Great to have for an emergency, but by no means makes anything impervious to water other than the intake.

 

[Dunbar]

I purchased my 2020 TLC with less than 10k miles on the clock and inherited a Safari snorkel already installed. I would not have done it on my own but don't mind that it's there. It's done correctly, probably by the shop that installed the ICON Stage 1 suspension and the fugly candy apple red Fuel wheels that sit in my shed unsold. I have a Harrop SC I am about to install and was worried about compatibility with the snorkel after reading of issues. Eric at Ed Martin Toyota told me that his personal 200 series has a snorkel and is supercharged without issues. What I do like about the snorkel is the intake air temp reading that is cooler than under-hood temp.

 

[Docwyte]

How are you going to handle tuning the Harrop supercharger? I thought those of us with 2018+ 200's were screwed tuning wise, that there were literally no options for us

 

[Dunbar]

Stage 1 works without tune. When someone cracks the 2016+ ECU I'll consider Stage 2 with tunes and larger injectors. There are 3rd party workaround solutions according to ProSpeed, the shop I purchased through. Regardless, once installed I can blame the SC for the snorkel. When neighbors ask why I have that thing attached to my fender I tell them it's for the supercharger and they nod like that makes sense.

 

[CharlieS]

I purchased my 2020 TLC with less than 10k miles on the clock and inherited a Safari snorkel already installed. I would not have done it on my own but don't mind that it's there. It's done correctly, probably by the shop that installed the ICON Stage 1 suspension and the fugly candy apple red Fuel wheels that sit in my shed unsold. I have a Harrop SC I am about to install and was worried about compatibility with the snorkel after reading of issues. Eric at Ed Martin Toyota told me that his personal 200 series has a snorkel and is supercharged without issues. What I do like about the snorkel is the intake air temp reading that is cooler than under-hood temp.

Pretty sure Eric posted that he has the Fabulous Fabrications snorkel. I wonder how that flows as compared to the Safari snorkel?

I had a fabulous fabrications snorkel from the group buy, but sold it before installing. I think they're the highest quality and least obtrusive solution.

All the posts about dealing with day to day water intrusion make me leery of putting one on.

My vehicle looks too instagram overlandy looking as it is. Adding a snorkel was bound to generate more conversations with random strangers than I want to deal with.

 

[Fisher23]

It really depends on the water quality. There is also corrosion involved in a lot of cases.

Snorkels are really best for dust and while they are good insurance policy for water, theres a lot more to address in regards to water permeability and intrusion breathers aside.

I would put one on since they are cool but i want to supercharge in the future and i dont trust any of the engineering.

The main point is that flowing water over the hood/air box is just a dangerous situation for you and the vehicle. Great to have for an emergency, but by no means makes anything impervious to water other than the intake.

Do you have or know of a List of all mod's needed for protecting against water crossings?

There are the breathers, axel, transfer case, transmission, starter motor... etc but what are ALL the other items?

On my Jeep Grand Cherokee one of the guys from AU made a list that also included items like plugs for the breather holes in the Cargo area than most people forget about.

Is there a list for the LC200 around?

 

[Docwyte]

Stage 1 works without tune. When someone cracks the 2016+ ECU I'll consider Stage 2 with tunes and larger injectors. There are 3rd party workaround solutions according to ProSpeed, the shop I purchased through. Regardless, once installed I can blame the SC for the snorkel. When neighbors ask why I have that thing attached to my fender I tell them it's for the supercharger and they nod like that makes sense.

There's absolutely NO way I'd ever boost a motor and leave the stock tune. After dealing with forced induction for over 2 decades I can tell you that's a recipe for disaster.

 

[Dunbar]

I love tunes too. My 7.3 powerstroke has a larger turbo and a DP tuner with 6 tunes. Harrop engineered the unit for the stock tune and I bet they have more experience than you, otherwise I would have compared Docwyte superchargers when shopping.