Fitting a snorkel

I'm thinking about fitting a snorkel to my 300tdi 90.

I realise that this has been discussed before but it would help me and I hope others to have this topic discussed again with the latest experiences.

There are generally two major types of snorkel, the moulded plastic type and the round tube type. Is one type better than the other? opinions and experiences please.

Once the pipework is fitted there are two styles of top, the mushroom and scoop, are there advantages with one style or the other? again experiences and opinions please.

It occurs to me that the scoop type might scoop up rain and wet the filter element, is this the case?

Is there any evidence of a "ram air" effect with the scoop type?

Do snorkels of any type cause airflow issues due to the extra length of inlet pipework?

When fitting a snorkel are there any pitfalls to be aware of? please share your experiences.

Finally, does anyone have any other advice, funny stories, anecdotes, experiences or other information on suppliers etc that could be useful or amusing to the prospective snorkel fitter.

i will get back to this later

It depends what you are using it for. The ram effect may have some tiny gains but only at high speed, the mushroom top on the other hand works as a prefilter by spinning the air in a cyclone fashion, removing dirt and water through the small holes on the top. The safari should be turned around if you are in a lot of water/snow.

With regard to pipe routing, you shouldn't have any negative effects but try to keep the pipe as short as possible and ensure the bends are as smooth as possible. So long as there are no tights kinks then it should all be fine.

My prefered type is a southdown snorkel, which i'm in the process of fitting to mine. It's stainless so won't rust like a metal one or crack like some plastic versions. Also it sits more inboard on the vehicle and enters through the top of the wing, so there is less chance of ripping it off on a tree. It does require cutting a hole in the top of your wing but it's a very simple design to make water-tight.

And make sure you check it is fully sealed before going through deep water...my profile pic demonstrates what happens if you dont!

Harry

Boris113 said:

It depends what you are using it for. The ram effect may have some tiny gains but only at high speed, the mushroom top on the other hand works as a prefilter by spinning the air in a cyclone fashion, removing dirt and water through the small holes on the top. The safari should be turned around if you are in a lot of water/snow.

With regard to pipe routing, you shouldn't have any negative effects but try to keep the pipe as short as possible and ensure the bends are as smooth as possible. So long as there are no tights kinks then it should all be fine.

My prefered type is a southdown snorkel, which i'm in the process of fitting to mine. It's stainless so won't rust like a metal one or crack like some plastic versions. Also it sits more inboard on the vehicle and enters through the top of the wing, so there is less chance of ripping it off on a tree. It does require cutting a hole in the top of your wing but it's a very simple design to make water-tight.

And make sure you check it is fully sealed before going through deep water...my profile pic demonstrates what happens if you dont!

Harry

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well i think that says it all
use tiger seal to seal the pipe

I fitted a cheap Paddock special which cost round £65. Easy to fit, does the job but the plastic has discoloured. I often go through the forest and tight bushy green lanes. It has stood up well. I bought a cheap one as I thought if it did get knocked off or damaged I would not loose much.
If I was doing it again I would probably go for the Mantec one. My friend has one which he fitted about the same time as mine but his still looks like new. Plus the fact that when I fitted mine the wife looked at it and asked what was the chimney for?

i fitted a paddock special to my tdi because it was cheap and looked ok for the price. My only complaint was that the bolts supplied to join the snorkel through the wing to the airbox were not long enough so once I had it all covered in sealant I struggled to get the bolts to bite into the nuts inside the vehicle. I ended up buying a bag of longer hex bolts which fixed that issue! Otherwise it was easy to fit and has taken all the abuse I have chucked at it. I would buy one again.

What about the ex military stock ones Blanchards have to offer, anyone used one of those?

My Mantec is sweet, aerodynamic and cost effective. I've also fitted axle breathers and it looks great. The price was good too. This is far too big a subject and so open to opinion so just look around, visit shows and see for yourself.

aerodynamic?

Drookit Dug said:

My Mantec is sweet, aerodynamic and cost effective. I've also fitted axle breathers and it looks great. The price was good too. This is far too big a subject and so open to opinion so just look around, visit shows and see for yourself.

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i'll second that, mantec 1 does look sweet but i was dissapointed with the bulkhead interface -that cheap foam gasket aint as waterproof as some iv seen.
to stop the pikies 'aving it away i sourced my own stainless tamper proof torx fittings as the supplied fittings and rivnuts were pump (in my opinion ).

I had the same dilemma as you maybe a year or so ago.

For me, the reason I wanted a snorkel was for wading. I’m not a big off-roader, but where I live is prone to flooding (over the bonnet type levels) so I needed it to work and be water tight. Cosmetic appearance had no part in my decision.

In the end I went for the Safari, even though it was the most expensive. Don’t get me wrong, in most other cases I very rarely go for the most expensive option or for the top brands (I.e. just because they are supposed to be the best), I’m much more a ‘make one myself’ type of person. But having looked at the options (bearing in mind there are very few pictures of unfitted snorkels from all angles) I realised that there were basically two types of snorkel, one that makes a seal to the wing (relying on the existing air intake also being sealed to the other side of the wing), and the Safari snorkel (that replaces some of the existing air intake and makes a seal via a spigot that goes through the wing).

I have no idea about the relative advantage of either a mushroom or scoop type top. I’m sure you’d only ever notice a difference if you were a serious overlander trekking across Africa or some other wilderness. But I am pretty sure you’ll get no noticeable advantage whatsoever from a ram air effect. Firstly the snorkel to air-box journey is a long one, then there’s huge air filter, then a turbo (which on its own will completely determine the actual air intake/boost that your engine gets), secondly it’s a diesel. The combustion is very different to a petrol engine.

Again I have no idea about the water intake of each type. Safari have mucho bumph about how it filters out rain somehow, but I have to admit I am sceptical about its claims. I cannot believe that no rain gets down that pipe. That said, I cannot conceive that it would ever reach your air filter. The spigot attaches to a flexi pipe (supplied with the kit) to the existing water trap (a Y bend pipe designed to filter water out of the inlet at the lowest point of the existing system). Even though you are supposed to seal the existing water trap with silicone sealant, there will still be some space in it to trap some water until it gets a chance to evaporate. The Air-box is high up at the top of the engine. Any water would have to flow upward about a foot from your water trap to reach your air-box.

I’ve seen no performance difference with my 300Tdi since fitting the snorkel. Although there have been threads on here complaining of issues on the 200Tdi. I have no idea about that. I’ve only ever own the one Landy (300Tdi D90).

When fitting it, don’t rush. The Safari one requires drilling holes in your precious Landy. You don’t want to get this wrong or drill/screw through the interior light wires (behind the trim next to the windscreen). A template is supplied for the holes in the wing, and the holes don’t have to be as big as the instructions say provided they are in the right place.

I’m sure I took a few pictures I can post if need be.