Snorkel On!! - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®

Bruce-L · 03-18-2006, 12:50 AM

I used a Toyota Tacoma snorkel, heat gun for reshaping, an aluminum inlet bell from intenseperformance.com in the air filter housing, some wire reinforced rubber hose, a little aluminum intake tubing, a bunch of black silicone, and blocked off the stock inlet.[IMG]

[/IMG]

*rookieshooter* · 03-18-2006, 12:54 AM

That is sharp. How about pics inside of hood?

99stocksport · 03-18-2006, 12:56 AM

yea, do you have any pictures from the instalation

*Dre* · 03-18-2006, 01:14 AM

That is a nice looking snorkel... finally someone with balls to spend money to cut something up without assurance that it will ever work...

*lifeguard379* · 03-18-2006, 01:14 AM

nice. wher at in sac are you?

ExplorerDMB · 03-18-2006, 02:45 AM

looks good I like it

-Drew

*95exploderboy* · 03-18-2006, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dre

That is a nice looking snorkel... finally someone with balls to spend money to cut something up without assurance that it will ever work...

X2

Can't wait to see the pics under the hood, and maybe a closer shot of the fender fitment and the like.

Awesome job man

*bmxking5* · 03-18-2006, 10:47 AM

TTIWWOMP (this thread is worthless without more pics)

Looks really good. And unlike most people, you were able to retain the stock antenna location.

Bruce-L · 03-18-2006, 09:23 PM

In a few days I'll post some more pictures, My weekend is booked. I'm hoping to get to Prairie City next week to test it out in the mud. The hardest part of this job was putting a 3 1/2 inch hole up to the fender and going for it. Thanks for the compliments.
Bruce-L

*lifeguard379* · 03-18-2006, 11:02 PM

when do you plan on going i might be there next sunday.

edward1985 · 03-20-2006, 01:16 AM

love the modifications. Where did you get your TJM bullbar from? ive been trying to get one and i cant find it anywhere. Love your truck!

Bruce-L · 03-20-2006, 11:51 AM

I purchased the bumper through TJM's American distributor. http://www.tjmbullbars.com It's a T-13 steel bumper for the 93-96 Ford Ranger. It was on sale as a factory blemished item. I spent two weeks looking it over and never found a defect.

*Positive Vibes* · 03-20-2006, 12:50 PM

Thats one of the prettiest snorkle installs yet!

*SkanlaxJMO* · 03-20-2006, 01:53 PM

thats a sharp looking snorkle...wating on more pics...

Bruce-L · 03-20-2006, 03:24 PM

I sent a picture to ARB and they asked me to send more pictures and a description of the install. Who knows, maybe ARB will finally pick this up and run with it. I'll try to have more pic's posted by Saturday.

edward1985 · 03-22-2006, 07:21 AM

it would be great if you could do this. im from australia and have been trying to get arb to get me everything for my explorer.
I would really appreciate it when you post further details.
thanks mate

*bmxking5* · 03-26-2006, 12:16 PM

The pics don't work.

Bruce-L · 03-28-2006, 12:31 AM

Sorry this is post install but I was racing against the weather to get this on and didn't have time to take pictures.

Door clearance is only about 1/8 of an inch. This is due to the mounting position I chose and because I didn't have a step drill or 5/8 bit for the mounting boltholes which would have given more wiggle room. Also the hole in the fender for the snorkel outlet could have been moved straight up about 1/4 of an inch.

You'll find that the snorkel support bracket is not tall enough and you'll need to make one that's about 1 1/4" taller that the Safari bracket. I made mine from a piece of 1/8-inch thick material. You'll need to use a break or a vise to put about a 30-degree bend in the bracket.

The snorkel's support bracket is attached to the window pillar. I used a box knife to cut through the seals and later closed the cut with silicone. I wish that I'd had an angle head drill when drilling the pillar for the bracket. My 1/2 inch electric drill didn't fit well in the space available, which forced me to drill at an angle. This created a misalignment of about an 1/8 of an inch. When the bracket was pop riveted to the pillar I found that I had to enlarge the boltholes for the snorkel to compensate for this. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I'd had an electric dremel handy or a way to drill out the rivets and take the bracket to the workbench.

Here's where I filled a contour with silicone. I spent a couple hours working the snorkel over with a heat gun and some of the Toyota curves couldn't be removed. In one spot on the back side I had to make a stand off to fit over the mounting bolt in order to fill a 5/8 inch gap between the snorkel and the fender.

All the ductwork is tucked in the fender and out of site. Inside the fender there's a box-like structure spot-welded to the inner fender wall. I had to cut a triangle shaped piece of this out to accommodate the 3 1/2 inch O.D. ducting and the rubber elbow at the snorkel outlet. The piece I cut measured approximately 2 inches at the base and was seven to 8 inches long. If you decide to do this the position will become obvious during the install.

After drilling a 4 inch hole in the inner fender and lining with some rubber trim material (edging of some sort I had laying around) I cut a hole in the end of the air filter housing big enough to accommodate the 3 inch inlet bell and drilled, bolted and siliconed it in place.

the lip on the factory inlet was ground flat and I made a sheet metal disk that was used to seal the opening along with four number 8 screws and more silicone.

I hope that either ARB or the guy from Florida will make a nice clean kit for us so that others can simply drill and bolt, not require a ton of silicone to fill gaps and everything will fit like it's OEM.

Sunday I went to Prairie City and drove through a 100+ foot long mud pit with water above the headlights and the engine never faltered. See you at the deep end of the pool!!

Mcane6 · 03-28-2006, 12:55 AM

How does a snorkel affect mpg? or does it at all??

*'97 V8* · 03-28-2006, 01:15 AM

freakin eh, thats nice. i hope arb makes something like that.

03-18-2006, 12:50 AM	#1
Bruce-L Elite Grocery Getter Sacramento, CA 97 XLT Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 78 Vehicle Specs	Snorkel On!! I used a Toyota Tacoma snorkel, heat gun for reshaping, an aluminum inlet bell from intenseperformance.com in the air filter housing, some wire reinforced rubber hose, a little aluminum intake tubing, a bunch of black silicone, and blocked off the stock inlet.[IMG][/IMG]

03-18-2006, 12:56 AM	#3
99stocksport Wannabe Elite Explorer Clemson, South Carolina '99 Sport 4x4 Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 742 Vehicle Specs	yea, do you have any pictures from the instalation __________________ ExpoSport 4x4 4.0L SOHC K&N FIPK 2, 4-door leaf springs+a-a-l , rebuilt trans , flowsound muffler(knock off flowmaster 40 series)

03-18-2006, 01:14 AM	#4
Dre Elite Explorer Poland 94 Limited Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 4,743 Vehicle Specs	That is a nice looking snorkel... finally someone with balls to spend money to cut something up without assurance that it will ever work... __________________ 94 Un-Limited - lifted and locked My Gallery

03-18-2006, 01:14 AM	#5
lifeguard379 Elite Explorer sacremento,ca 93 eddie bauer 2 door Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,095 Vehicle Specs	nice. wher at in sac are you? __________________ 93 2 door eddy Bauer HP44 and Big bearing 9 and 4.88 My elite registry http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=153392 sas thread http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=165147 sas registry http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=244780

03-18-2006, 02:45 AM	#6
ExplorerDMB Moderator/Technician Mechanicsville, Virginia 2004 Acura TL Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,267 Vehicle Specs	looks good I like it -Drew __________________ My Useful Threads (38 Entries and Growing)

03-18-2006, 10:47 AM	#8
bmxking5 Rollover Posse Member Cumming, GA '93 Sport Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 4,768 Vehicle Specs	TTIWWOMP (this thread is worthless without more pics) Looks really good. And unlike most people, you were able to retain the stock antenna location. __________________ Bryan Mitchell Weekend Toy: '93 Explorer 2dr - Full-width D44/9" swap, disc f/r, 37" Nittos, 4.88s locked rear, hi steer Daily Driver: '96 Explorer 5.0 - Lowered, Magnaflow, K&N, x-pipe, B&M shiftplus

03-18-2006, 09:23 PM	#9
Bruce-L Elite Grocery Getter Sacramento, CA 97 XLT Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 78 Vehicle Specs	In a few days I'll post some more pictures, My weekend is booked. I'm hoping to get to Prairie City next week to test it out in the mud. The hardest part of this job was putting a 3 1/2 inch hole up to the fender and going for it. Thanks for the compliments. Bruce-L

03-18-2006, 11:02 PM	#10
lifeguard379 Elite Explorer sacremento,ca 93 eddie bauer 2 door Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,095 Vehicle Specs	when do you plan on going i might be there next sunday. __________________ 93 2 door eddy Bauer HP44 and Big bearing 9 and 4.88 My elite registry http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=153392 sas thread http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=165147 sas registry http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=244780

03-20-2006, 01:16 AM	#11
edward1985 Wannabe Elite Explorer Sydney, NSW, Australia 2000 XLT, 4x4 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 56 Vehicle Specs	love the modifications. Where did you get your TJM bullbar from? ive been trying to get one and i cant find it anywhere. Love your truck! __________________ 2000 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4, 4 door, SOHC, 5spd Auto- Oxford White Right hand drive Currently with: 2" Body lift IPF 900 spot and driving lights TJM Nudge bar Thule Xpedition roof rack basket GME TX4400 UHF radio with overhead console Cargo barrier Coming soon: Michelle's sacs water bra (AU$130) Tough Dog rear springs (AU$800) Rear storage drawers Extended diff breathers anything else once ive got the money...

03-20-2006, 11:51 AM	#12
Bruce-L Elite Grocery Getter Sacramento, CA 97 XLT Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 78 Vehicle Specs	I purchased the bumper through TJM's American distributor. http://www.tjmbullbars.com It's a T-13 steel bumper for the 93-96 Ford Ranger. It was on sale as a factory blemished item. I spent two weeks looking it over and never found a defect. __________________ BRUCE-L 97 XLT - OME leafs and shocks, TT, TJM T-13 winch bumper, safari snorkel, Ranger skid plate, 31's, PIAA fogs, Hi-lift in the back Last edited by Bruce-L; 03-20-2006 at 05:13 PM.

03-20-2006, 12:50 PM	#13
Positive Vibes Elite Explorer Santa Cruz, Ca '94 XLT Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 4,090 Vehicle Specs	Thats one of the prettiest snorkle installs yet! __________________ '94 XLT, 5.5" superlift, cat back flowmaster, KKM, custom rocksliders, 33X12.5 XTerrains, 4.10's, custom bumpers, Detroit in 8.8, on board air, ARB locker in front winch,etc. What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

03-20-2006, 01:53 PM	#14
SkanlaxJMO Elite Explorer Syracuse, New York 96 XLT Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,138 Vehicle Specs	thats a sharp looking snorkle...wating on more pics... __________________ 96' XLT 4wd My Explorer What Tony has to say about me and my truck Thats your firstborn child we all know your kids are gonna have to fight for attention with you and your fords.

03-20-2006, 03:24 PM	#15
Bruce-L Elite Grocery Getter Sacramento, CA 97 XLT Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 78 Vehicle Specs	I sent a picture to ARB and they asked me to send more pictures and a description of the install. Who knows, maybe ARB will finally pick this up and run with it. I'll try to have more pic's posted by Saturday. __________________ BRUCE-L 97 XLT - OME leafs and shocks, TT, TJM T-13 winch bumper, safari snorkel, Ranger skid plate, 31's, PIAA fogs, Hi-lift in the back Last edited by Bruce-L; 03-21-2006 at 11:36 AM.

03-22-2006, 07:21 AM	#16
edward1985 Wannabe Elite Explorer Sydney, NSW, Australia 2000 XLT, 4x4 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 56 Vehicle Specs	it would be great if you could do this. im from australia and have been trying to get arb to get me everything for my explorer. I would really appreciate it when you post further details. thanks mate __________________ 2000 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4, 4 door, SOHC, 5spd Auto- Oxford White Right hand drive Currently with: 2" Body lift IPF 900 spot and driving lights TJM Nudge bar Thule Xpedition roof rack basket GME TX4400 UHF radio with overhead console Cargo barrier Coming soon: Michelle's sacs water bra (AU$130) Tough Dog rear springs (AU$800) Rear storage drawers Extended diff breathers anything else once ive got the money...

03-26-2006, 12:16 PM	#17
bmxking5 Rollover Posse Member Cumming, GA '93 Sport Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 4,768 Vehicle Specs	The pics don't work. __________________ Bryan Mitchell Weekend Toy: '93 Explorer 2dr - Full-width D44/9" swap, disc f/r, 37" Nittos, 4.88s locked rear, hi steer Daily Driver: '96 Explorer 5.0 - Lowered, Magnaflow, K&N, x-pipe, B&M shiftplus

03-28-2006, 12:31 AM	#18
Bruce-L Elite Grocery Getter Sacramento, CA 97 XLT Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 78 Vehicle Specs	Sorry this is post install but I was racing against the weather to get this on and didn't have time to take pictures. Door clearance is only about 1/8 of an inch. This is due to the mounting position I chose and because I didn't have a step drill or 5/8 bit for the mounting boltholes which would have given more wiggle room. Also the hole in the fender for the snorkel outlet could have been moved straight up about 1/4 of an inch. You'll find that the snorkel support bracket is not tall enough and you'll need to make one that's about 1 1/4" taller that the Safari bracket. I made mine from a piece of 1/8-inch thick material. You'll need to use a break or a vise to put about a 30-degree bend in the bracket. The snorkel's support bracket is attached to the window pillar. I used a box knife to cut through the seals and later closed the cut with silicone. I wish that I'd had an angle head drill when drilling the pillar for the bracket. My 1/2 inch electric drill didn't fit well in the space available, which forced me to drill at an angle. This created a misalignment of about an 1/8 of an inch. When the bracket was pop riveted to the pillar I found that I had to enlarge the boltholes for the snorkel to compensate for this. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I'd had an electric dremel handy or a way to drill out the rivets and take the bracket to the workbench. Here's where I filled a contour with silicone. I spent a couple hours working the snorkel over with a heat gun and some of the Toyota curves couldn't be removed. In one spot on the back side I had to make a stand off to fit over the mounting bolt in order to fill a 5/8 inch gap between the snorkel and the fender. All the ductwork is tucked in the fender and out of site. Inside the fender there's a box-like structure spot-welded to the inner fender wall. I had to cut a triangle shaped piece of this out to accommodate the 3 1/2 inch O.D. ducting and the rubber elbow at the snorkel outlet. The piece I cut measured approximately 2 inches at the base and was seven to 8 inches long. If you decide to do this the position will become obvious during the install. After drilling a 4 inch hole in the inner fender and lining with some rubber trim material (edging of some sort I had laying around) I cut a hole in the end of the air filter housing big enough to accommodate the 3 inch inlet bell and drilled, bolted and siliconed it in place. the lip on the factory inlet was ground flat and I made a sheet metal disk that was used to seal the opening along with four number 8 screws and more silicone. I hope that either ARB or the guy from Florida will make a nice clean kit for us so that others can simply drill and bolt, not require a ton of silicone to fill gaps and everything will fit like it's OEM. Sunday I went to Prairie City and drove through a 100+ foot long mud pit with water above the headlights and the engine never faltered. See you at the deep end of the pool!! __________________ BRUCE-L 97 XLT - OME leafs and shocks, TT, TJM T-13 winch bumper, safari snorkel, Ranger skid plate, 31's, PIAA fogs, Hi-lift in the back

03-28-2006, 12:55 AM	#19
Mcane6 Wannabe Elite Explorer Carrollton, GA '96 sport 4x4 Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 351 Vehicle Specs	How does a snorkel affect mpg? or does it at all?? __________________ 4.0 v6 OHV, 32x11.50x15 BFG M/T, 3" BL, KKM intake, 5% tint, Pioneer DEH-P3600, 4 Kicker Comp 10", 1200.1 JBL amp- SOLD!!! 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Quadcab

03-28-2006, 01:15 AM	#20
'97 V8 Elite Mountaineer Lima, Ohio '97 mounty 5.0 4x4 baby!! Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,698 Vehicle Specs	freakin eh, thats nice. i hope arb makes something like that. __________________ 1997 Mercury Mountaineer 4x4 V8 3" bl, manual t-case. Dana 60/14 bolt combo with 36x13.5x17 iroks on H2 rims. 5.13's. Future plan: 3.9 or 5.9 Turbo diesel cummins