bknudtsen
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Issaquah, WA
The Mission: Installation of an Airflow Snorkel on a 2001 XJ
The Target:
The Area of Operation:
Synopsis:
I recently installed a dual battery system, and this created a challenge in the area of air filtration. As you can see from the above picture, there is not much room left under the hood for a filter box. I did an exhaustive search of the Internet and Jeep forums and discovered the Apollo canister from http://knfilters.com/universal/apollo.htm. I thought that this was pretty slick and the dimensions seemed to be "right" for my needs. I ordered one from Summit Racing and waited about a month because it was on backorder. When I got it, I mocked it up in place and decided that the mission was a go. So, one more internet purchase later, I had a snorkel on my doorstep.
After action report:
First thing I did was to tape up the fender and locate the template, checking that everything lined up as best as it could.
After I was satisfied that the template was lined up, I marked the four different locations that I would need to drill with a center punch. I made reference notes to remind me what holes went where.
I then started the disassembly of my fender flare and inner fender guard.
Note the windshield washer bottle in the above picture. The instructions say to remove this for better access, and to protect the bottle. I left it in because in order for me to take it out, I would have to remove my secondary battery, and that is a total PITA. If you don't have a second battery, then definitely take the bottle out. It will give you better access to the forward most bolt that holds the snorkel on.
Next....The moment of truth. Aww, fawk it. It's only a fender.
I drilled out all the mounting holes with a 5/16" drill bit. I later decided that I wanted more wiggle room, and used my step-up bit to open all the mounting holes up.
Then came the 76mm hole for the snorkel tube. Now, like any well educated American male, I had no idea how much 76mm was, so I converted it to inches which came out to just under 3". Having read some other write-ups on this install, I decided to go with their recommendation, and used a 3 1/4" hole saw to make the cut.
The fender went pretty quickly, but when I hit the inner fender, the blade caught and almost broke my wrist. If you look closely at the 12 o'clock position of the second hole, you will see a spot weld. This proved to be a little challenging, as it needed to be broken so that the second layer could be removed prior to cutting through the third layer.
After that it was a piece of cake.
After fitting the mounting bolts with the supplied fender washers, I mounted the snorkel to the vehicle. I highly recommend just opening up the mounting holes a size or two, as it will make it way easier to get all the bolts in the first time.
The Target:
The Area of Operation:
Synopsis:
I recently installed a dual battery system, and this created a challenge in the area of air filtration. As you can see from the above picture, there is not much room left under the hood for a filter box. I did an exhaustive search of the Internet and Jeep forums and discovered the Apollo canister from http://knfilters.com/universal/apollo.htm. I thought that this was pretty slick and the dimensions seemed to be "right" for my needs. I ordered one from Summit Racing and waited about a month because it was on backorder. When I got it, I mocked it up in place and decided that the mission was a go. So, one more internet purchase later, I had a snorkel on my doorstep.
After action report:
First thing I did was to tape up the fender and locate the template, checking that everything lined up as best as it could.
After I was satisfied that the template was lined up, I marked the four different locations that I would need to drill with a center punch. I made reference notes to remind me what holes went where.
I then started the disassembly of my fender flare and inner fender guard.
Note the windshield washer bottle in the above picture. The instructions say to remove this for better access, and to protect the bottle. I left it in because in order for me to take it out, I would have to remove my secondary battery, and that is a total PITA. If you don't have a second battery, then definitely take the bottle out. It will give you better access to the forward most bolt that holds the snorkel on.
Next....The moment of truth. Aww, fawk it. It's only a fender.
I drilled out all the mounting holes with a 5/16" drill bit. I later decided that I wanted more wiggle room, and used my step-up bit to open all the mounting holes up.
Then came the 76mm hole for the snorkel tube. Now, like any well educated American male, I had no idea how much 76mm was, so I converted it to inches which came out to just under 3". Having read some other write-ups on this install, I decided to go with their recommendation, and used a 3 1/4" hole saw to make the cut.
The fender went pretty quickly, but when I hit the inner fender, the blade caught and almost broke my wrist. If you look closely at the 12 o'clock position of the second hole, you will see a spot weld. This proved to be a little challenging, as it needed to be broken so that the second layer could be removed prior to cutting through the third layer.
After that it was a piece of cake.
After fitting the mounting bolts with the supplied fender washers, I mounted the snorkel to the vehicle. I highly recommend just opening up the mounting holes a size or two, as it will make it way easier to get all the bolts in the first time.
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