custom snorkel fitting...

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Hi all,

Would anyone be able to post a photo or 2 of the wing fittings for their custom snorkels on an F78 'Trak?
I'm looking into this at the moment as I have the option of having a stainless snorkel made, however I obviously need to work out the fitment through the wing to make it water-tight.

I'm assuming people move the windscreen washer bottle and chop a hole in the inner and outer wings, but a few good pics would help me no end!

Cheers in advance!

I'm not sure if it's relevant

I'm not sure if it's relevant but there used to be a website that advertised snorkels for Fourtraks as well as other parts such as winch bumpers. The site was http://www.daihatsucustomparts.co.uk/index.html but it doesn't appear to work at the moment. It's amazing that you can get just about any aftermarket part you could think of for a Land Rover but there's next to nothing for Fourtraks.

the battery

would the battery need to be moved as well or would the water not affect it,or would you not go that deep,also could water get in through the heater vent?

All torque no tr-action

Many existing ones for Toyota

Many existing ones for Toyota models as well as a number of others can be fitted to Fourtraks and Sporties. It is a case of getting a supplier to match one with similar angles to fit snugly, always get one with a pre-filter at the top if you buy one.

To make one you need to profile the plate to the shape of the outer wing, do the same on the inside plate. Once this is made it is a matter of forming and tig welding the tube to this plate, purchase a pre-filter for the top.

On the inner plate you need to form this into a circle to attach a convoluted flexible rubber air hose, these are plentiful at breakers yards. Cut a hole in the inner wing to accept the pipe and line with rubber beading to prevent chafing, make this a reasonably tight fit with the rubber beading installed.

Drill the mounting holes between them and make gaskets from 2mm thick butyl gasket rubber available from engineering suppliers. Fit these to each mounting plate and glue them to each plate with a rubber based adhesive such as Bostick or Evo Stik. Drill the holes oversize and insert thin plastic sleeves to prevent the stainless steel components touching the mild steel body panels and bolt together to form a sealed sandwich.

Make the connections to the filter with the rubber convoluted hose, if space permits then turn the filter housing round so the inlet lines face the incoming pipe.

Sorry no pictures, but the essentials are to ensure a good seal between the sandwich and other hoses, and do not let stainless parts come into contact with mild steel. Electrolytic reaction will soon rot away the mild steel components.

thanks...

once again assassin, you seem to be answering all my questions at present! (Cooper Discoverer ATR's now fitted...)

I have a friend who can cad design a snorkel for me once I know the dimensions and his workshop will make it from a4 stainless e.t.c. so all top notch stuff and I still have an old Green Cotton car air filter from my track-car days kicking around in the garage that should do well for a pre-filter.

Have you moved the windscreen washer bottle? or fitted the plates and pipework around / under it?

And as far as I can tell that custom daihatsu parts website has never worked. Several times I have tried to call & e-mail with no answers to either.

You will need to retain the

You will need to retain the vehicles standard air filter and housing as it is a very effective swirl filter. Rotate this and fit to the bulkhead with spacers if necessary, this will mean removing the washer bottle and relocating it.

Any good air filter will serve as a pre-filter, but it needs the air flow capacity to allow sufficient flow for a diesel engine. Diesels require a surplus of air to operate correctly so i manufacture a housing to fit a cleanable type such as a K&N. These can be accommodated in a one off housing and periodically removed, cleaned, and replaced as your vehicle use dictates, and are not at the mercy of becoming out of date in 5 years.

Pre-filters are only designed to remove larger particles from the air intake, the standard filter does the rest, but they make the standard air filter last longer.

I'm sure I can find somwhere

I'm sure I can find somwhere to put it. Just found out I sold that cottaon air filter...would have been ideal, but the cheap stainless mesh boy racer filters would work well I feel...not good enough for a full filtering effect, but perfect for stopping the bigger stuff.

Thanks again assassin, hopefully I can get something going on this soon and post up some progress pics.

Yes a boy racer filter is an

Yes a boy racer filter is an ideal pre-filter as it is only filtering out the larger particles. Fabricate the top of the pipe to house it and cover it so water is not directly fired at it. These can be cleaned and oiled for reuse, so get one of these.

One thing to watch is the airflow capacity of the filter, remember diesels suck in much more air than petrols. factor this in so you do not create a restriction in the airlines inlet flow.