MLD
14th August 2011, 10:20 PM
I fitted a generic snorkel to my 99 TD5 defender yesterday. I think it was a Britpart. It has "defender" written on the base of the snorkel. It's a safari copy. They sell on Ebay for about $200. I'm offering fitting instructions for those, like me, believe that they are handier with the tools than an objective bystander may determine but want to play all the same.
The instructions say 2 hours. I took 4 hours with many errors and mistakes. I'm hoping that my comments save you time and frigging around.
Before you start, buy a tube of silicone sealant safe to use with the air flow meter and 2 x 50 - 70 mm round clamps. The kit I bought required 1 more clamp and I overstressed the clamp in the kit and broke it so for $2.80, saves you a second trip to the store.
Remove the external cover on the air filter intake on the quarter panel. That gives you access to the screws to remove the air intake funnel that sits inside the quarter panel. I then unscrewed the clamps on the fitting with the drain hole. You should be able to feed out the funnel and a flexible pipe from under the steering mechanism. The fitting with the drain is mounted to the body with a bolt and nut. I found that it was easier to get access to the nut and bolt from under the truck.
I recycled the funnel by cutting the straight section of the pipe just after the bend to leave a 6 inch straight section of pipe. I used that to replace the fitting with the drain. Some people silicone seal the drain pipe rubber flap. I figured if it is to be water tight best not leave it to luck that the drain is properly sealed. You will also reuse the flexible pipe from the factory system.
Here comes the time consuming part. The kit that I bought had a thick rubber hose that fit over the snorkel just inside the quarter panel. I mounted that rubber hose (as I will call it) on the snorkel and mounted the snorkel to the quarter panel in the same position it would when finally mounted. I kept rotating the rubber hose to find the best fit. The rubber hose, I found, was about 1 1/2 inches too long. No matter what orientation it fouled on something. I initially cut an inch off the narrow end and after fiddling I had to cut another 1/2 inch.
The kit comes with a brass connector. I removed the snorkel from the quarter panel and then, using the brass connector, connected the rubber hose to the flexible pipe with the clamps supplied. I used the recycled 6 inch straight piece of piping to connect to the flexible pipe. Don't over tighten the clamps because you will need to work out the orientation of the pipes to see how it all fits in the available space and to ensure that the pipes don't foul on the steering mechanism. I fed the piping (connected to the snorkel) back into the hole in the quarter panel under the steering mechanism so it was roughly in place. I found that it all worked (much to my surprise) and the length lines up with the piping that comes off the air filter box.
For a visual. The snorkel was connected to the rubber hose which was connected, via the brass connector, to the flexible piping which was connected to the recycled 6 inch length of piping.
After I was satisfied that it all fit and there was no fouling I removed it. I then silicone sealed the connections and tightened the clamps. I set aside the snorkel and piping length to attend to the power tools.
Using the template supplied mark your drill holes. I used a 12 mm drill bit even thought the instructions say 16 mm. A matter for you. I found that the 12 mm with a little adjustment was enough.
Screw the screws into the snorkel using the alen key. Some would advocate using loctite.
I then mounted the snorkel and piping length onto the quarter panel feeding the pipe under the steering mechanism so it sat in place. Don't forget the rubber protector piece that sits between the snorkel and quarter panel. Hand tighten the washer and nut. Don't tighten at this stage as you will need to move it around to mount the A pillar bracket.
Loosely tighten the screws for the A pillar bracket onto the snorkel and mark the holes to be drilled into the A pillar. Use a 4.5 mm drill bit for the A pillar. The bracket appears to be the wrong angle but it all sorts itself out when tightened. I removed the screws from the snorkel to properly mount the bracket to the A pillar. Then screw in the screws to the snorkel tight. Again, some would advocate loctite.
Now the fiddly bit. You have to tighten the nuts inside the quarter panel. I had the usual spanner set so it required the dexterity of a pick pocket and patience of a saint. Once you get it tightened to your satisfaction turn your attention to the clamp to connect the 6 inch piping to the pipe off the air filter box. I also zip tied the piping to the bracket to which the fitting with the drain was originally mounted. That was to ensure it didn't move around. That should complete the installation under the bonnet. Fit the head to the top of the snorkel and crack a beer.
Lessons learned. In an ideal world I would have sourced a piece of flexible piping to connect from the snorkel to the pipe off the air filter box. That would have saved a few hours of fiddling around getting 3 lengths of pipe to fit. The other thing to remedy in an ideal world. The piping off the snorkel is about 3 inches in diameter. The factory piping is about 2 inches but widens to 3 or more inches closer to the filter box. A length of piping that was constant in diameter would be improve air flow. The limitation is the steering mechanism. I think a diameter of 2 1/2 inches would be the compromise to avoid fouling.
If anyone has sourced a length of flexible piping that I described, I'd be interested to rip out the current mix match.
Since there is no drain in the length of pipe, a periodic disconnecting of the piping at it's lowest point will ensure there is no water in the system.
I hope this helps. cheers MLD
The instructions say 2 hours. I took 4 hours with many errors and mistakes. I'm hoping that my comments save you time and frigging around.
Before you start, buy a tube of silicone sealant safe to use with the air flow meter and 2 x 50 - 70 mm round clamps. The kit I bought required 1 more clamp and I overstressed the clamp in the kit and broke it so for $2.80, saves you a second trip to the store.
Remove the external cover on the air filter intake on the quarter panel. That gives you access to the screws to remove the air intake funnel that sits inside the quarter panel. I then unscrewed the clamps on the fitting with the drain hole. You should be able to feed out the funnel and a flexible pipe from under the steering mechanism. The fitting with the drain is mounted to the body with a bolt and nut. I found that it was easier to get access to the nut and bolt from under the truck.
I recycled the funnel by cutting the straight section of the pipe just after the bend to leave a 6 inch straight section of pipe. I used that to replace the fitting with the drain. Some people silicone seal the drain pipe rubber flap. I figured if it is to be water tight best not leave it to luck that the drain is properly sealed. You will also reuse the flexible pipe from the factory system.
Here comes the time consuming part. The kit that I bought had a thick rubber hose that fit over the snorkel just inside the quarter panel. I mounted that rubber hose (as I will call it) on the snorkel and mounted the snorkel to the quarter panel in the same position it would when finally mounted. I kept rotating the rubber hose to find the best fit. The rubber hose, I found, was about 1 1/2 inches too long. No matter what orientation it fouled on something. I initially cut an inch off the narrow end and after fiddling I had to cut another 1/2 inch.
The kit comes with a brass connector. I removed the snorkel from the quarter panel and then, using the brass connector, connected the rubber hose to the flexible pipe with the clamps supplied. I used the recycled 6 inch straight piece of piping to connect to the flexible pipe. Don't over tighten the clamps because you will need to work out the orientation of the pipes to see how it all fits in the available space and to ensure that the pipes don't foul on the steering mechanism. I fed the piping (connected to the snorkel) back into the hole in the quarter panel under the steering mechanism so it was roughly in place. I found that it all worked (much to my surprise) and the length lines up with the piping that comes off the air filter box.
For a visual. The snorkel was connected to the rubber hose which was connected, via the brass connector, to the flexible piping which was connected to the recycled 6 inch length of piping.
After I was satisfied that it all fit and there was no fouling I removed it. I then silicone sealed the connections and tightened the clamps. I set aside the snorkel and piping length to attend to the power tools.
Using the template supplied mark your drill holes. I used a 12 mm drill bit even thought the instructions say 16 mm. A matter for you. I found that the 12 mm with a little adjustment was enough.
Screw the screws into the snorkel using the alen key. Some would advocate using loctite.
I then mounted the snorkel and piping length onto the quarter panel feeding the pipe under the steering mechanism so it sat in place. Don't forget the rubber protector piece that sits between the snorkel and quarter panel. Hand tighten the washer and nut. Don't tighten at this stage as you will need to move it around to mount the A pillar bracket.
Loosely tighten the screws for the A pillar bracket onto the snorkel and mark the holes to be drilled into the A pillar. Use a 4.5 mm drill bit for the A pillar. The bracket appears to be the wrong angle but it all sorts itself out when tightened. I removed the screws from the snorkel to properly mount the bracket to the A pillar. Then screw in the screws to the snorkel tight. Again, some would advocate loctite.
Now the fiddly bit. You have to tighten the nuts inside the quarter panel. I had the usual spanner set so it required the dexterity of a pick pocket and patience of a saint. Once you get it tightened to your satisfaction turn your attention to the clamp to connect the 6 inch piping to the pipe off the air filter box. I also zip tied the piping to the bracket to which the fitting with the drain was originally mounted. That was to ensure it didn't move around. That should complete the installation under the bonnet. Fit the head to the top of the snorkel and crack a beer.
Lessons learned. In an ideal world I would have sourced a piece of flexible piping to connect from the snorkel to the pipe off the air filter box. That would have saved a few hours of fiddling around getting 3 lengths of pipe to fit. The other thing to remedy in an ideal world. The piping off the snorkel is about 3 inches in diameter. The factory piping is about 2 inches but widens to 3 or more inches closer to the filter box. A length of piping that was constant in diameter would be improve air flow. The limitation is the steering mechanism. I think a diameter of 2 1/2 inches would be the compromise to avoid fouling.
If anyone has sourced a length of flexible piping that I described, I'd be interested to rip out the current mix match.
Since there is no drain in the length of pipe, a periodic disconnecting of the piping at it's lowest point will ensure there is no water in the system.
I hope this helps. cheers MLD