Dobinsons snorkle design flaw

So I took off my Dobinson snorkle for some new fenders and noticed a pretty bad design flaw.



This was a perfect oval when I first put it on. Over time the hose clamp holding the tubing on the snorkel worped the plastic molding. The result is a 1/2in gap between the tube and the snorkel.


Unfortunately its also on the top side so water will run down.

This doesn't seem like too big of a problem compared to the stock intake, but if you are unaware of this issue (because you won't see it unless you take the snorkel off) you might brick your truck unexpectedly.

Don't know if this is also a problem with Safari snorkels. The two look identical. I fixed the problem with a small 1/4in bar I cut to length and wedged in the middle of the oval.

Just a heads up to people if you don't know about this.

 

interesting. I'm going to have to take mines off now and see. In big rain storms I've been having issues with a wet air filter...

 

Looks like cheaper plastic. Is the plastic around the studs also melted a bit? Seems like a heat tolerance issue of the material than anything else.

Not surprising for an ARB clone. Curious what dobinsons response would be.

 

Two bolts and a threaded insert/sleeve/spacer could be constructed to create a sort of jack to spread it back out to normal shape. Epoxy it in place and reinstall with the clamp tight which should hold it tight.

-J

 

Actually the melting around the bolts was me. I made a bracket to support the snorkel and taked small plate to a bar. So cant fault them one that one. But the meterial on the male end of the tube was really flimsy. I was able to bend it pretty with a wrench to get a bar in place to support the deformation.

 

I ended up just using a quarter inch rod I had and made a bit of a point on each end to seat it in place.