cheap xj snokel

here is how i'm making my cheap xj snorkel. all prices are Aussie dollars. 70cents US to each aussie dollar so should be even cheaper for you yanks.

items needed
qty description
1 90 deg rubber elbow
2 45 deg rubber elbow
1 3" snorkel head
1 1.5m section of 3" Al tube ( this will be cut in to sections)
2 m6 nutserts
2 m6 x25 screws
1 40x3x60 mm AL flat bar
1 flexible hose
1 3" coupling adaptor for air box
1 length of rubber trim/ edging
6 hose clamps
Tools used
screw driver
100mm hole saw ( if you can find a 90mm hole saw this would be better but i already had the 100mm)
75mm hole saw
drill
drop saw
friend with a tig welder
nutsert gun
angle grinder
If you can't tig weld i'd suggest just using self tappers to get the flat bar on to the long section. I can't tig weld and dont have AL mig wire so i got a mate to do the tig welding for me
if you dont have a nutsert gun, again just use self tappers to the A pillar or rivets
I picked up the 3" tube for a 6 pack of beer
had the nutserts and screws at home
had the flat bar at home
the rubber elbows and snorkel head cost me $125 at a truck bits shop.
the flexible hose was $20 and the adaptor was like $8 or $10
Anyway the hole thing will cost me around $155

just going to put up pics of it fully assembled as it's pretty self explanitory, on and only half way through with it.
Tube lengths so far, this is approximates as you can be a bit off and it dosnt really matter
18" for long bit (along the A pillar)
13" for horizontal bit
4.5" for the vertical bit (attaching to snorkel head)
I suggest you assemble the snorkel first then put it up to the guard to decided where to drill.
you have to drill through 3 sheet metal layers. First one is super easy as it's flat. Second layer is a nightmare. i suggest drilling all the way through with a pilot drill so you can locate the hole saw for all 3 layers.
once all the holes are drilled, go over with paint so they dont rust.
and fit the edging on the outermost hole.
good luck with the drilling. I had to do some cutting with the angle grinder as the second layer was too much for the hole saw.





i'll tackle the inside to the air box soon as i can be stuffed.

view from further away

give it a go it's really not that hard and much cheaper than getting an airflow or safari one.

Looks good, anymore pics of the full thing from the side, and inside after done?

~Scott

Cool, you should paint it black though.

Who makes that bumper too btw?

thats my home made bumper.

more pics will follow,

and yeah, think i might paint it all black, or should i polish the al?

thats one crazy spot for the antenna

I run my antennas on the front as well, better SWR and ground plane from the hood and I can keep an eye on it in the trees. I suspect thats a 2 meter or 10 meter anntenna on there and they are not cheap! I like the snorkle, looks good. I really like the winch,(8274 I think).

wow, that looks REALLY good! I am very impressed, i never liked the PVC snorkels that people make because they look hideous, always thought if you were to do a snorkel it should be an ARB but that one looks fantastic, very nice man. You should sell these to ppl as cheaper ARBs that dont look like hack job redneck home brew snorkels haha

Hammered said:

thats one crazy spot for the antenna

Click to expand...

looks like its a RHD, so it wouldnt be directly in front of the driver like it'd be on a LHD.

Looks good. For some reason, I think it would look worse if you painted it all black. I like it the way it is.

dont need to sell them, they're super easy to build just make it yourself.

the hardest part is drilling the hole which you'd have to do with any snorkel.

and yes it's a RHD jeep so the antenna is not infront of me and is only 5 ft tall so really isnt a problem

i like it, like the other guy said it doesnt look like a redneck hack job. makes me what to build one.

looks cool how the steering is reversed and whatnot

continuation of the build
This next part is the hard part and takes the longest, took me about 3-4 hours today to do
First things first
extra tools that i used and didnt mention in the 1st post.
rivets and rivet gun
silicone sealent
spare sheet metal tab to cover existing hole

this will be all about air box mods and connecting the snorkel to the air box. I took way more photos this time as this part is much more difficult than actually making and fitting the snorkel.

Step 1.
remove air box, 2 bolts and one nut on inside of air box
after these are undone the whole thing should lift out.
Step 2.
Cut up the 3" adaptor flange to suit the air box.
this first pic shows the flange after the first cut.

more cutting to suit

placing the flange against the air box to check fitment

Step 3.
marking out for the hole in the air box

some measurements to help any who need it. (from the side)

from the top

step 4.
drilling out the hole

finished hole, go over edges with a file to clean them up

Step 5.
fit cut up flange to check it all lines up


Step 6.
Use silicone sealent and pop rivets to secure the flange to the air box


Step 7.
time to block up the factory inlet hole
i decided to cut off the squared off edges so i could seal it easier with a flat plate and use rivets to hole it on.
Cutting off the excess plastic

the trimmed and flattened edge (i used a flap disc on the grinder to get it this nice)

Step 8.
Cut up a plate to cover the hole, rivet it in place and seal all edges

Step 9.
Cover any small holes in airbox with silicone, I had a few factory holes that needed to be closed up
Step 10.
refit air box to jeep
Step 11.
Fit the flexible hose that you bought with hose clamps


and you're done

I really like that. The only part I question is up at the top at the windshield. Is there a way to make it a bit more aerodynamic? It just sticks out a little further than I would want. I drive on the highway quite a bit so that is why I need it a bit closer.

you do nice work. I dont think the snorkel head is easy to get here in the states. Give a link where to get one please.

mbogosia said:

I really like that. The only part I question is up at the top at the windshield. Is there a way to make it a bit more aerodynamic? It just sticks out a little further than I would want. I drive on the highway quite a bit so that is why I need it a bit closer.

Click to expand...

you're driving a brick on wheels and you're worried about aerodynamics of a snorkel? just buggin ya, but if your building it yourself, you can angle it anyway you like.
I would think getting better airflow into the snorkel would be better than making it more aerodynamic.

beakie said:

you're driving a brick on wheels and you're worried about aerodynamics of a snorkel? just buggin ya, but if your building it yourself, you can angle it anyway you like.
I would think getting better airflow into the snorkel would be better than making it more aerodynamic.

Click to expand...

x2
haha, i was thinking the same thing.

cleanest homemade snorkel ive seen, nice!

mbogosia said:

I really like that. The only part I question is up at the top at the windshield. Is there a way to make it a bit more aerodynamic? It just sticks out a little further than I would want. I drive on the highway quite a bit so that is why I need it a bit closer.

Click to expand...

I have the ARB, and if anything it acts like a ram-air intake on the highway, I haven't checked my mileage with the 35's yet but I was getting 22 mpg with 32's and 4.10's at 65 mph.

Back to topic, I like the way the air enters the back of the box. The ARB that I have goes in the front and the hose is routed under the headlight bucket on the drivers side which is in the way when stuffing the left front.

Note my antenna is the same location as the OP, but it is right in front of me and really isn't a problem.