Page created: 12-Mar-04

Re-published: 1-Nov-09

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Snorkel

Fitting Instructions

The first operation is to mark out and cut the holes in the wing for mounting the snorkel tube. The kit includes this cardboard template, which is lined up with the rear and top edges of the wing before being taped in position.
This is the 89mm diameter hole cutter that's needed for the main tube. There's no turning back once this has been used!
With all the holes drilled and cut the template can be removed. The main hole through the outer wing is an odd shape and I used a jig saw fitted with an aluminium cutting blade to open it out. It doesn't have to be desperately neat as it all gets hidden by the snorkel.
The hole through the inner wing is much more critical and it's important to check the measurements for this before committing the drill. The kit includes a rubber sleeve that's fixed around this hole to mask any sharp edges.
With the snorkel tube in place, the upper mounting bracket can be fitted. This is secured to the A pillar with pop rivets.
The air filter housing gets modified in two ways: the trumpet duct is cut off the front and the hole is plugged with a supplied bung. This is secured with a bead of silicone and self-tapping screws. Then, the new poly duct is bolted to the side of the housing.
A new opening needs to be cut in the side of the housing, using another supplied template, and the poly duct sealed in place with silicone and bolts.
The drain holes in the bottom of the housing need to be sealed. I opted for duct tape on the outside, with a blob of silicone in each hole from the inside.
With the air filter box back in place, a short length of rubber tube is used to join the poly duct to the snorkel tube which projects through the inner wing.
The finishing touch is to fit the air ram on top of the snorkel tube. This is held on with a large jubilee clip but, as these are expensive to replace, it's worthwhile also using a couple of cross-head self-tapping screws to make it that much more difficult to remove.
The finished article!

Since fitting the snorkel I've had to make a few repairs...

Update No. 1

The only slightly disappointing aspect of the Safari kit has been the quality of the powder coating on the bracket that fixes the snorkel to the windscreen pillar. The coating has flaked off and the steel bracket has consequently gone rusty. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find a magazine advert for replacement stainless steel brackets being fabricated by a company called Mud UK, and so I duly sent off my cheque for £12.00.

The package that arrived contained the new bracket, three 6mm button head bolts with washers and five self-tapping screws, all made from stainless steel. The bracket itself, although slightly thinner, faithfully replicates the pattern of the original, including a slight crease along its' long axis.

I set about removing the old bracket, which involved drilling out the five pop rivets that were supplied with the original kit to fix it to the windscreen pillar, and it was at this point that I suspected a slight problem. A trial fit revealed that the holes drilled in the windscreen pillar for the original rivets were too big for the new self-tapping screws. I got around this by using some correctly sized rivets that I had to hand but, as these were alloy rather than stainless, I isolated them from the new bracket with some 5mm nylon washers to avoid corrosion.

The button head bolts and washers replaced the original flanged bolts. These were fine and give a neat appearance.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the result, but it would have been nice if the supplied screws were the correct size for the holes that were formed during the original installation. Still, at least it won't rust.

Update No. 2

During a slight altercation with a tree on a green lane I managed to break the plastic grill over the front of the snorkel intake. I was then shocked to discover that it's not possible to buy this as a separate part  - only as part of a complete replacement air ram at a cost of £60-odd! I duly ignored the broken part for quite a while until I found this stainless steel replacement for sale at Billing. In fact, I'd seen these the year before at a vastly inflated price but this time around the price, at £16.00, was more realistic so I handed over the cash.

Fitting was, as you might expect, very easy, although I did replace the original screws with some nice stainless steel ones. 

After fitting, my first impression was that it was a bit, well, shiny, and I did contemplate painting it black to match the original. However, it's grown on me since so I haven't bothered.