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Buy a Jeep JK Snorkel online for only R1,990.00 each. Go to www.4x4direct.co.za
Published with the permission of Johan de Waal
Hi guys,
scraped together the guts to do a DIY Snorkel installation on my JK, so here's a little write-up of the nerve racking process - not fun to cut holes in your bonnet!
Friend and myself ordered the snorkels together to save on the shipping (he also has a JK) and we tossed a coin to see who's Jeep will be the guinea pig
My Jeep was done first.....
We received the two kits without instruction and managed to get hold of the AEV instruction manual form the net, which seemed to have good enough info to do the installation (the snorkels we got ended up being exact replicas of the AEV)
The Kit:
Note the nice embossed "WRANGLER JK" on the Snorkel
The bracketing and trim that came with the Snorkels however was only painted satin black finish and we decided to rather wait a couple of day before we install and get them powder coated, which turned out to be a fantastic idea - finished product looked great:
Before:
After:
We used the AEV template from the installation manual as the snorkel didn't come with a template to cut the hood, and the AEV one looked like a good enough fit.
First off we taped off the hood nice and thick with 4 layers of masking tape - didn't want to scratch the hood in the process - nice big area:
We next removed the airfilter, then airbox (couple of clips, 2 bolts and a electrical plug) and removed the stock air intake be unclipping it and clipping the snorkel into it. Used silcon to seal off the snorkel inside the airbox, and all the small holes inside the airbox, and let it dry in the mean time
Next up, installed the snorkel with the hood open - 4 existing bolts , two on fender/ side panel in the engine bay and two on the side of the windshield. Clip the box back into place (using silicon spray for easing in the box into the rubber mountings)
Next up we aligned the template and the snorkel and stuck the template on the bonnet using the AEV measurments and some adjustment to center it over the snorkel:
Then the hair raising part - using center punch punch the marks for the two 50mm holes with hole saw and then using motor oil as lube drilled the 50mm holes with the holesaw on the template, through both layers in the hood (outer surface and hood support)
Then using a jigsaw with a long metal blade (fine tooth) we cut out the rest from the edge to the first hole, then between holes. At the same time cutting through the support layer as well.
Using some scotch-bright we removed the burrs on both cut edges and used some touch up paint to cover the bare metal surfaces after cutting. next up we closed the hood, and lined up the metal trim, and marked and punched the markings for the holes to fasten the rim to the hood. The kit comes with aluminium pop-rivets but we decided to get stainless allen-cap screws and nylon lock nuts.
After drilling the 4mm holes for the allen caps, we removed the masking tape, and using black silicon we sealed the trim and hood and fastened the caps screws and lock nuts.
Next up was to install the scoop or Ram head - slip on and using the supplied black hose clamp tightened it to the snorkel main body
and the end product:
Took us around 4 hours to do the installation of the first one and 3 hours on the second one due to double checking everything - can always remove some more metal, but can't put anything back....
As for costs:
- Snorkel kit - R1990
- Hole saw, jig saw blades and allen cap screws - R180
- Powder coating brackets - R180
- Chuffed feeling when you close the hood and all fits perfectly? - Priceless
Original text from here and published on this site with the permission of the author.
If you did not get a template with your kit, click here to download one. Please note that you must print this template on an A3 printer. The paper size must be set to A3 and the "scale to fit" function must be DISABLED.
To buy one of these snorkels at only R1,990, click here |
