Same here, if someone does a good how to on one I would use it, sure if you could unhook it so you don't take a hit on performance that would be great, but I will take the hit on performance over exspensive engine repair.

Edit: i really like the custome piece on the explorer

 

Gil - YOU ARE WRONG

The air box is mounted low and easily takes in water
Now I know in the conditions that you drive off road in water crossings are not that common
Over here we operate in deciduous forests in low lying areas with lots of water crossings and blockages that form very large puddles
A nice snorke kit would not only be functional - it would be a great asset
Even going slowly through water only 2.5 feet deep can be dangerous as a push wake builds up in front of the truck
keep the right speed and it will stay ahead of you
speed up or slow down too quickly and it sucks right up into the engine compartment
of course the fan does not help and one deep water MOD is to disconnect your electric fan for water crossings
if the wake is at the bottom of the headlights you are already in danger of sucking water as the stock intake is right there
a quick snorke fitment would be great - out of the box it is just not available for newer Rangers
and OF COURSE John is right in that all that tubing/piping is going to cost you power

 

dont you have to drill like a 4" hole? ahh!! i dont think thats removable....but maybe they make a big plug or something

 

make quick disconnects for the hood and then use a MAC intake or simular and twist it so it points strait up.

this way u get performance and a "snorkle" lol

idk about those... when i hit a puddle alot of that water hits the windshield... whats stopping it from just going into that intake?

as for driving without a snorkle and the fear of hydro locking... dont go so fast, the last time i did it i creapped through and everything was fine. granted the air filter was soaking wet when i was done but i didnt hydro lock the engine. maybe it was luck

 

sometimes its not the speed that kills, its the deepth of the water and or the ruts you could not see, even if you stop get out and check the depth their can always be ruts you don't see.

 

oh i agree to that in some ways... my hood has disapeared before. it scares ya when it does.

 

Yeah, and us 2WD guys sometimes have to charge puddles to get through. I'm TOTALLY down with creeping -- it just doesn't always work for me!

 

Wouldn't you loose your air filter in that case? What we need is a snorkel that attaches to the air intake on the airbox/filter.. or possibly bypasses the airbox but incorporates a filter.

I'm a pretty mild off-roader myself.. but even I've had a few close calls. Like Neil has said, as soon as you start to see a bow wake off your bumper, you start to wonder, how soon until that airbox is underwater?! And at that point it's probably almost too late anyhow!

I've been tossing around the idea of trying to fabricate something removable myself. I think an ideal situation would be a detachable snorkel. This would attach to a fitting on the air box and run back, under the hood to the firewall. This would mean you wouldn't have to cut up your fenders or hood, yet provide additional protection. Also it would be removable to regain the power and efficiency for normal road use.

That adapted ARB is a step in that direction. Looks like he attaches to the factory air box. I'd like to see more detail of that, but surely it could be made w/ some sort of threaded or quick connector. This way you could detach the snorkel and have a nearly-stock intake..

 

no u shouldnt... you would just mount the cone filter on the end. the only problem i see is the MAF, which u could prolly extend the wires

 

Couldnt you just remove the part between the hood and the windshield so you dont have to cut a hole in anything or is that too hard to remove.

 

the wiper cowl?

thats welded in


Im still trying to find it but someone here did a Air box mod and added a huge drain plug to allow more air, or close it up to seal it better, that would be pratical with a snorkel since you can open the air box or seal it

 

duh, helped if i was searching for that post on the right board

here it is from ORR
http://www.offroadrangers.com/forums...hlight=air+box

When I first started out with this idea I was going to make the snorkle my primary air intake. I have changed my line of thinking on this due to this site. You guys rock as far as info and setting myths straight. I have learned quite a bit. I still wanted to raise my air pick up for when I am off-roading but wanted to keep the factory set up for on-road driving. Reading the threads about filters, mileage and factory settings I have come to the conclusion that without a ton of other mods the best way is still the factory way. So I came up with a way to turn on the snorkle when i am going to go off-roading (in effect sealing the front intake) and then turning on the factory intake(sealing the snorkle) when on the road. It takes about 30 seconds to do this. Well worth it in my mind! This is how I did it:


I took the air box out of the truck and took the silencer tube out of the box.


Next I cut about 2 1/2 inches off of the back side of the tube and installed a 2" abs plastic coupler to it. Then installed a cap off to the other side of the coupler. This made the tube about the same length before the mod but now the inside end is threaded to receive a cap.


Next I took a 2 1/2 inch hole saw and cut a hole in the in the air box. I set the box into the truck and found the best position for my elbow to come
out. For my truck, the best spot was (looking from the front of the truck to the back) on the right side of the box.


Then I took another abs plastic cap off piece and inserted through the hole and cemented a 90* elbow on the other side. You don't need a coupler with these two pieces.



The last thing I did tonight was seal the new parts with a waterproof sealant and adhesive.

This is what it looks like now. I am letting the sealant cure for the night. Tomarrow I will be installing the box into the truck and routing the air conduit. I will post the finished photos then.

I have discovered a small problem...about four layers of my filter contact the snorkle tube...so I shaved a small portion of the filter to fit properly and sealed the open points, Problem solved for me...might want to take a look at that if you do this.


Ok...ready for critics. :stick:

 

so my thinking is, add the ARB snorkel, and then on the front of the airbox have that style pipe where the stock opening is, so you can switch between the two but jsut plugging up the stock hole


any thoughts?

 

Good deal. I never thought of putting a hole in the side and running it maybe somewhere where all the water/mud cant get in. Cant wait to see the finished setup.

 

LOL, Im wrong am I?

the airbox or cone filter or whatever you may use can be shielded if youre that worried. shielded well and youre shouldnt have much to worry about. I bet I couldnt count on two hands how many people here go through water crossings 3 feet or deeper. Now, if you are going through water 3 feet or deeper, and it Has a muddy floor that youde need momentum for, then youre just asking for trouble with a stock height ranger. not just with the air intake, with many things. If its a creek or river (small river) with stones all around, then creeping can easily be done by 2wd and 4wds which wouldnt warrant a snorkel.

But if its actually used, Im all for it It just really bothers me when someone will be like "I want a snorkel for my street queen". thats BS...



Also if you watch peterson's 4wd annual truck competitions (forgot the official name)... wait Ultmate truck challenge I think it is, then you'll see those guys use like gutter accrodian tubes, run it up to the roof and tie it down as their makeshift snorkels...

 

LOL! Yeah, like dryer vent tubing and what not. I LOVE those improvised snorkels: Function over Form!

Too often, it's Form over Function -- that is, it's what it looks like rather than what it DOES. Your street queen example is right on there.

 

It doesn't even necessarily take 3' of water. Nose down into a deep puddle or other water crossing at a high rate of speed and I'm willing to bet you're already at risk. At least at risk of cloging the intake and stalling out, if not hydro-locking the engine.

Seems like decent insurance in the least. Especially if it can be rigged to be detachable or part-time.

Scott, I remember that post on ORR. A few concerns were: to be sure and use non-silicon sealant, to try to lower the inlet hole (to not obstruct the air filter). Other interesting ideas were to run the inlet of the snorkel into the passenger compartment or at least the wiper cowl. I've seen an all-under the hood type snorkel like that somewhere on one of these boards, probably on TRS. A guy tapped the air-box on the in-board side and ran a straight shot of PVC right back to the firewall/wiper cowl. He said it worked very well. Unfortunately I'm not sure that would fly w/ later model trucks. Especially well equipped ones. We've got a lot of stuff under that hood. Flexible ducting might be your only option.

 

I don't have a street queen and neither to the others that venture off road with me.
Gil you are wrong when you say it is not needed - because often times it would be.
You can't always drive around water obsticals.
The only reason there were not more hydrolocks this summer is because of the dry season we had.
Walking through thigh high water looking for holes or obstructions and then scraping leeches off my shins was not fun.
I would rather stay in the cab with the knowledge that if I loose a front tire in a hole I might be able to back out - provided I am not already sucking water through the oh too low intake.

 

well we have different opinions and it doesnt really matter. I dont need one at all and even in the days of me loving to run PMI (local mud spot) after a huge rain and barge all the water standings, I have never hydrolocked my engine.


Seems you kinda have it out for me lately, neil, but the oh too low intake (which is one of the highest possible spots in the engine bay) might be because of the oh too low stock ranger (which I also have bun dont try to run through Lakes)...

 

I don't have it out for you Gil - drop the complex it does not suit you
there are other opinions and places that people wheel that are a bit different than yours

we make due with what we have and right now my truck is not lifted
even if it was 3-6 inches higher the way the stock intake is designed it is a scoop for water - plain and simple
I have the K&N cone filter on now and after measuring it's intake point against the stock box I gained 2-3 inches

I do not race through puddles for effect but have already had to pull the plugs to unlock the motor (user error)
if there was a simple method to route the intake to a point higher in the engine compartment I would go for it
as it is the hood is so tight against the components there is little if any room and certainly not enough for round 3-4 inch OD piping
it will take major surgery or cutting through the outside skin of the passenger fender to put in a snorkle
if a company comes out with a decent model designed for modern Rangers I would certainly consider it

 

I dont know what yure talking about here...

 

I know you do not proof read, but do you read what you type Gil

 

why of course, fine sir, and you are proving my point to me...

carry on...

 

Does the factory air box have drain holes in the bottom of it? I thought it did.. If so, those would have to be sealed too. That's probably not hard though.

What's the worst that would happen if the snorkel were to clog and prevent air from getting to the engine? I've heard some say it would damage the engine. That isn't true, is it?! I would figure the worst would happen is the engine would stall..

 

u guys must go through some deep freakin water and sit in it

i went through 40-50 inches of water(hood disapeared) and i didnt have any trouble, granted i think i was just lucky becuase when i was done my K&N was completly drenched.

just pulling this from the air... but doesnt aem make something for ricers that run CAI that go way to the ground and they have water issues. well it seems like aem has some kind of bypass to block water... but idk for sure :shurg: