Snorkel install.
Before we start this install write up I have one concern regarding this process based on what I have seen and learned fro the other guys on this forum and elsewhere that have installed the 60 or 80 series snorkel on their GMT800 trucks. The 3" bottleneck in the snorkel output compared to the 4" mass airflow sensor and 4" throttle body input. I am concerned that that bottle neck will severely restrict airflow to the motor and I will have issues with it especially if I seal the factory air box.
I can not afford the luxury of a $350 custom sealed air box so my only other option is to seal the factory air box which is not a big deal. However the factory air box has two air vents: approximately 3"x1" and 8"x4", that brings us to 3+32= approximately 35 square inches of air intake holes in the factor air box, and the snorkel's 3" hole is only 7.07 square inches. That is five times less airflow under the same pressure than the factory setup. I know every member that has performed this mod and sealed the system claims that the airflow in the snorkel is sufficient and does not decrease the performance of the truck and actually improves performance, however based on the actual numbers I am willing to bet that they are completely delusional, do not have a sealed system or never take the trucks off road, because to get the same airflow at 5mph crawl in 4x4 low you now need to be moving 25mph to deliver the same volume of air as you had to before.
Let the butchering commence!
GMT800 trucks have 3 sets of metal to cut through in the fender, I started out with a hole saw to make the hole pretty, but quickly moved onto the sawzall to make this a quicker process.
Another angle of the triple metal cut from hell.
View of the inside of the fender to get an idea of how much metal needed to be cut out.
Inserted the snorkel into the hole, mocked it up with the clamps. Looks like a good spot for it.
Factory air box with all the attachments removed.
Cut out a piece of aluminum to cover the lower hole.
Gaffers tape is amazing as a temporary holder while i get everything mocked up for street trials.
Used aluminum duct to make a 9"x5" backing plate and a 4" diameter opening to which I will be attaching the snorkel.
Air box outlet attached to the air box with what else but more gaffers tape.
Gaffers tape seals pretty well and makes an excellent temporary seal before I mold and weld ABS plastic to the correct shape.
Inside of the air box, after the street trials the plan is to silicone all the gaps.
Gaffers tape is strong but not that strong, needed them structural drywall nails to keep everything in place.
Since I will be using the paper air filter the top dry wall screws needed to be cut off to avoid damaging the filter.
Template supplied was a little off on the location of the holes, so I punctured the correct hole locations and transferred the template onto the truck. Drilled the holes and bolted up the snorkel to the fender, I was only able to only attach 4 of the 6 bolts and only 2 of the supplied bolts were used, the other 2 needed to be much longer.
Windshield angle of 80-series Toyotas is a little different than that of the Sub. I spent around one hour with a heat gun slowly re-angling and bringing the snorkel closer to the a-pillar.
Last 15 minutes with the heat gun, the snorkel is just about lined up where I want it.
GMT800 trucks have 2 weather strips and a plastic windshield trim piece that hides the windshield glue, I pulled the trim piece off and cut a hole in it just large enough for the bracket to fit through, tapped three holes, screwed the bracket onto the a-pillar, reattached the trim piece and reattached the two weather strips. Looks like a factory fit.
I spent another 30 minutes with the heat gun to get a better angle and relieve some pressure points on the snorkel. I had a rubber 3" into 4" adapter laying around, connected the snorkel to the air box and fired it up. Looks, sounds and feels good. After a quick drive around the neighborhood the setup seems to be working so far. Maybe I was wrong about needing a larger air intake port.
I have a fun 500 mile field test in Death Valley coming up, will update once I get back back.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
