K9's TJ Homebuilt Snorkel Page 2

Now it was obvious where the system would need to go outside. This is more painful than it looks and reminds you that you’re committed to the project. (Fig 6) If you have second thoughts, a Club sticker could cover this. Using Masking tape minimized paint damage.


(Fig 6 – Hole Saw Carnage)

I found Roof Flashing in Home depot makes a perfect Bevel cover. Objective 3 was looking good.


(Fig 7- Rubber Flashing)

Routing it up the side wasn’t a problem, securing it might have been. Again, looked around and found a product called Zip-Stick. It’s a vinyl zip-tie and is used to hang pipes, it was heavy-duty and had bolt holes already in place. Fastened to the windshield hinge, it showed no movement or rattle. (Fig 8)


(Fig 8 – Secured and running high)

Finally, my intake is high. But now there were more serious problems… How to keep it dry on rainy days, what sort of water separation method? What about ingesting tree leaves on the trail? What about Air restrictions, should it be a ram or risk it being vacuum? I looked elsewhere at working solutions. Hummer desert versions had a clever Sand/Air Separator. The water Separator was good too. But both bulky. ARB’s ram method was a concern too. On a rainy highway, you can ingest a good amount of water, it’s also allot of drag, like we need more of that. I’ve seen some people simply put their entire filter up there to do the work.. bad choice too because of water exposure and filter deterioration. I looked at my local trash truck and saw the solution. Simply cap the intake, and put it in a favorable area. A 4” ABS end-cap worked well. Securing it to the pipe wasn’t difficult either. In this configuration, I’ve easily added pre-filters and socks over the intake in less than favorable conditions. 4 Large notches ensures a good unrestricted surface area for air (Fig 9) As an added bonus, it’s aero-dynamic. Further more, it is getting a ram-air effect off the windshield, but not close enough to sip water from it. What more could I want?


(Fig 9 - Intake)

The system was installed. And it worked! (Fig 10) A situation like this was a perfect example of why it was a good idea.. our stick test only showed this pool to be 3” of standing water. Although not shown, the entire hood was submerged later.


(Fig 10 – Tank-Trap, Hollister Park, California)

I’ve gotten a lot of comments on it. But one thing still concerned me… what about a rollover? Well, that was answered over a year later Nov’02. (Fig 11) I Fell right on it, and I was shocked to see what had happened. The Zip-tie had simply broken and the entire system shifted out of harm's way from the windshield. The area that had direct contact with the ground had shown no damage, not even a scratch. A one inch section showed a scuff mark that was wiped off at the next car wash.


(Fig 11 – Roll Tested)

After thoughts about this system includes rebuilding it in Custom Aluminum tube. Additionally, maybe adding some resonance baffle box. The sound is awesome, you can easily hear any engine hiccup or malfunction when it happens. However, it does get sorta loud on the highway with the continuous engine drone.

Conclusion - The performance is great and it looks awesome. But you can’t stop there. Since using the system, I’ve discovered long term effects and damage from water exposure. Greatest damage was the Transmission which I’m still running. Smaller items include a whole distributor worn beyond service, and a thrust bearing which died long before it’s time. As stated above, the snorkel is engine insurance, but not a license to cross bottomless rivers. Electrical systems are still exposed and a Clutch can still saturate to become useless among other things.

Hope this gives you some insight on what it takes to build a functional snorkel system. Please give me credit if you choose to post this elsewhere. Thanks!

Please check Rokmen.com for my future project write-ups.

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