Snorkel or no snorkel?

Watched a buddy of mine nearly hydrolock his 2nd gen because of this...he cut the fender liners to fit 35's and didn't cover it up, we all went through a big puddle on one of the trails we did after a rain and he sucked up a bunch of water and stalled. I thought for sure he locked up the motor but luckily after we removed his air filter (which was soaking wet) and let the truck sit for a bit, it fired up after cranking for awhile. He bought a snorkel the next day lol.

 

At Red River Gorge

 

Does a filter not clean the air?

Primary function imo is deep water crossings
Even then I'm sure there's a lot more work getting truck capable of water crossings than attaching a plastic snorkel to your intake!

 

That's why the primary function of a snorkel is clean, cool air; not water.

 

The main reason you get cleaner air is your intake is no longer in the wheel well. The tire kicks up a ton of dust which will clog up your filter faster. Additionally, the higher intake location prevents larger particles from entering the intake; they are too large to make it up that high.

As for water crossings, I did one that was deeper than expected, and I ended up with water/mud halfway up my air filter. That and the dust reduction made it a no brainer for me with how cheap the hilux snorkel is.

 

Snorkels weren't designed for that reason, you said it yourself - there's a lot more that goes into making a truck capable of water crossings. Snorkels pull cleaner air from higher above the ground rather than all the dirt and debris that the stock intake pulls from the wheel well.

 

just seems like the term "snorkel" indicates there is water

 

That's why Toyota calls it the "Desert Air Intake".

 

That was a name given to them after the fact I believe and it stuck. They weren't originally designed for that purpose but if you build the truck to cross deep water regularly then a snorkel is a must. But even if you don't do water crossings, a snorkel is a great tool for pulling cleaner and colder air for the engine.

I monitor my air intake temps regularly since I'm supercharged and since putting the snorkel on I see a good 10° difference in lower intake temps. Every little bit helps especially on a 1st gen since our superchargers aren't intercooled. Intake temps can skyrocket especially in the summer.

 

Ayyyy necropost!

Does anyone have input about snorkel performance during extremely heavy rainfall, say a hurricane or something similar? I managed to stall my old F150 during Matthew a few years back, and that was driving on non-flooded highway.

 

I don't live where there are hurricanes but in the last couple years I have taken my snorkel through some torrential downpours. At most I've seen a tiny bit of water make it's way to the filter but nothing that would go past it. And that's only happened during a huge storm when I was cruising on the highway for miles.

The snorkel is designed to evacuate water through the drain slots built into it under the snorkel head and it works well, I don't think it's something to need to worry about. ARB only recommends turning the head around during heavy snowfall so that it doesn't accumulate on the face of the snorkel and block the airflow. Otherwise there's no need to worry about turning it

 

You gotta understand that if you just throw a snorkel on it doesnt mean you can just submarine deep crazy theres more that goes into it, I have one and tbh its just for looks let be honest, but it was a pita to put on, heres a tip for anyone trying to put one on, when you attach the oem tune to the snorkel tube spray some wd40 for it can just slip right in, also the drawing they give to make the holes just make them a tad bit bigger and if you want put some sealant on the snorkel nase where it touches to hole to seal good

 

Thanks for the feedback. Ya know, I wouldn't have thought that a hurricane could make a vehicle stall out without some extenuating circumstances (like trying to ford a flooded street). Matthew proved me wrong, hence my line of questioning.

Oh I know, with breather tube extensions/relocations for your tranny and differential and whatnot. Since my application would be solely for ensuring engine function during extreme rainfall coupled with extreme wind, I think I can probably do without the extra mods.

I'll look into this a bit further. I know it's probably excessive installing a snorkel for this application, but I can't think of another fix. Plus, there's no kill like overkill.

 

If that is the only reason you would be installing a snorkel, I think you would be wasting your money. I think the stock intake would be as good, maybe even better, for that specific scenario than a snorkel.

 

It is truley is just for looks why not skip cutting a hole through your fender, and just surface mount it?

 

If your gonna have it might as well have it functional.

 

It's entirely possible that I'm misdiagnosing the problem my old F150 experienced. It seems that it could have been due to a sensor getting wet rather than water intrusion through my air intake. This means the addition of a snorkel will functionally do nothing for me.

Does anyone else have input?

 

Who managed the group buy the last time?

 

I see. Would like to see another group buy for this soon.