Do snorkels really work?
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
gg1
TJ Enthusiast
I remember being in a flood and got caught in a bad place as my home was starting to flood. I had an xj with a 5.5” lift. Drove it through a flooded street and it was as deep as the hood. No snorkel and I got through. Looking back it was a very stupid moment. Will never do that again. I think you can make a snorkel work with other mods.
OP
Basically
Or you need to spend absurd amounts of money and time attempting to waterproof your 4.0
OP
Yes indeed they do!
Imagine the poor guy who believes he can bolt a snorkel on his Wrangler and then just take it through water higher than the engine.
They’ll be in for a real rude awakening once all the problems arise.
Educatemepls
TJ Enthusiast
I was one of those poor guys, I never thought a snorkel would turn my jeep into a Submarine, it was just an extra precaution, just move the intake a further than water, not because I was going to submerge it all the way to the tip of the snorkel, but maybe away from splashes and such, I mean, within people with cold intakes in s2000 it's pretty common knowledge that you have to be very careful even with the smallest of ponds or you'll be sucking in some water, not enough to get in the engine but enough to cause problems.
The thing is that Jeep already solved that problem with their air box. And then there is no performance benefit from changing to an open air filter or a cold air intake to begin with. There are no realistic problems to be solved with a snorkel. And anyone worth trying to impress with one already thinks they are dumb.
Bofa-Deez
TJ Enthusiast
Basically
Or you need to spend absurd amounts of money and time attempting to waterproof your 4.0
4BT swap sounds easier. It's one of those swaps I have read about and dreamed of for a long time. One day, maybe a 4BT will fall into my lap and I'll have a go.
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OP
I had a chance to ride on a 4BT swapped TJ a few years back. Definitely not for me, but the diehard diesel guys will like it!
Bofa-Deez
TJ Enthusiast
Chris, was it the noise? I know there are more modern alternatives, but I like the mechanical operation of the old school diesel.
Snorkels work fine as an accessory for playing Mopar Potatohead. And they are good if you want impressive trail damage when they tear off on trees and tree branches. All the other claims are bullshit.
OP
It was several things. The noise was literally unbearable. In addition, the engine weighs a metric shit ton, it sucks on the highway (lots of torque but little horsepower), and I personally just believe that a diesel has no place whatsoever in a TJ or any Wrangler for that matter.
I DO like diesels a lot, I just think that gasoline engines have come so far that the advantages of a diesel aren't really there anymore, unless put simplicity is what you're after, in which case an old 4BT diesel will be advantageous.
If I was going to swap in an engine, I'd put an LS engine in just because it's so well documented and the aftermarket support for LS engines is second to none.
There is only one realistic problem that an elevated intake helps to solve: the difficulty of fitting an easily-cleaned pre-filter in a location that's out of the near-ground dust stream. So...unless you're traveling at speed across ironically arid locations, a snorkel usually doesn't do much.
Educatemepls
TJ Enthusiast
I had a factory 5 cylinder diesel in an old XJ I had while working in Bosnia. I think the XJ was built in Mexico? It had gobs of power but the engine had to be replaced as it blew with less than 100K on the clock. It was a work vehicle and I did not pay much attention to its genealogy. I see lots of people putting snorkels on rigs in the desert. I understand the theory, just not the practice.
Theory is the air is cleaner three feet higher. Practice is that idea is complete fantasy.
I also think you have a better opportunity to throw sand high in the air verses under the hood where the stock air box lives.
No, you can not play sub commander because you have a snorkel.
I haven't seen a TJ suck water, but I have seen XJs and JKs suck water going through puddles that they would have made it through otherwise. Snorkel or other intake relocation(cowl/etc) is a hell of a lot cheaper than hydrolocking an engine.
I haven't seen a TJ suck water, but I have seen XJs and JKs suck water going through puddles that they would have made it through otherwise. Snorkel or other intake relocation(cowl/etc) is a hell of a lot cheaper than hydrolocking an engine.
Educatemepls
TJ Enthusiast
The 80series is in a completely different league vs a jeep. There's no comparison. I've owned both...
It was designed with the idea that if you didn't make it back home that night, you were probably going to die.
And next time you complain about how expensive a jeep is, look up aftermarket bits for a toyota... I bought front/rear bumpers and sliders for the TJ for what just the shipping charge was for the 80 series bumper I wanted.
It was designed with the idea that if you didn't make it back home that night, you were probably going to die.
And next time you complain about how expensive a jeep is, look up aftermarket bits for a toyota... I bought front/rear bumpers and sliders for the TJ for what just the shipping charge was for the 80 series bumper I wanted.