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Do snorkels really work? You be the judge.


BIGHEEP
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I saw in another thread that someone asked the question... Do snorkels really work?

Yes most people put them on strictly for looks but IMHO... yes they work... but just a snorkel is not going to let you ford rivers up to your door handles. Most people put on a snorkel but never remember things like, waterproofing their electrical, extending their breather tubes, making sure their dipsticks and fill covers are sealed, etc...

I think a snorkel can be more of a safety feature. For those "OOPS... I thought stream was only 2 feet deep!" moments

 

Here is a video of a for instance....

http://videos.streetfire.net/Player.aspx?fileid=0EC8316F-6D79-417D-86C4-8A1775FA8076&p=0

 

And this is just a Really cool snorkel video.

http://www.xjusa.com/vids/fording.wmv

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Snorkels require some serious work to be a fording tool. On my Mj I installed a safari snorkel (loved it,) water proofed my electrical connections, and drilled holes in the top and bottom of the cab thinking it'd be all I needed. First time out the radiator fan imploded the second it was submerged. Luckily it didn't do much damage.

 

For an Mj to truly be a water bug you'll need:

Electric stand alone cooling fan with remote cut-off.

Positive air pressure via compressor for transmission and differentials.

Full neutral airflow of cab

Functioning snorkel with air-tight intake

Waterproof fuse box and distributor

Relocation of computer on newer models

Waterproof battery

Waterproof fuel line and gas tank

Mildew resistant seats wouldn't hurt

 

I've had friends tell me the exhaust needs re-routing too, but never experienced issues first hand. Also you want comfortably small tires - the bigger the tire = less traction available.

 

I'm sure there's more, but the first sign of a Snorkel poseur is the attached rad fan and lack of compressor.

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what do you need a compressor for?

 

my bro's 90XJ runs a safari snorkel, and nothing is waterproofed,

yeah he can't park it underwater but its got him through water a couple inches up the windshielf on more than one occaision, radiator fan was fine too?

 

id get one but i don't like the look of them on manches that much.

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Sorry, I should clairfy that I built my Mj to handle emergency flooding. We're talking several hours, if not days, of 3ft+ deep salt water. I suspect that the next serious hurricane the east coast gets will turn my little corner of the universe into New Orleans Pt.2 so I build to be prepared.

 

Before I had to tear her down, my Mj could idle in water that came half way up the windshield. The only limiting factor was the ability of the driver to see/breath underwater. One of my greatest regrets is not getting video of my test-n-tune sessions.

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Hmmm, Chewy the offical NAXJA MWC 'U-boat' captain. That is an 'earned' snorkel.

 

That is from the Badlands. Pete didn't you guys run the tubes at ComancheFest?

 

GLJT's Summerbash- always a good time. :popcorn:

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Hmmm, Chewy the offical NAXJA MWC 'U-boat' captain. That is an 'earned' snorkel.

 

That is from the Badlands. Pete didn't you guys run the tubes at ComancheFest?

 

GLJT's Summerbash- always a good time. :popcorn:

 

I thought that was where that was, but I suffer from ACRS(Almost Can't Remember Sh*t)

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