Volant / Donaldson Powercore Filter - 2010 JKU with Rugged Ridge XHD Snorkel

[mmaattppoo]

To free up a bit of space in the crowded engine bay of my 2010 JKU I replaced my stock air intake box with a 6" diameter Volant Powercore filter (Model #61518). The filter and associated silicone elbows are inline between my Rugged Ridge XHD snorkel and the throttle body on the intake side of the engine. Overall they fit quite well with only minor trimming of the silicone elbows needed to make the whole assembly clear the underside of the hood.

The PCV breather tube is installed on the outlet side of the filter through the side of the upper silicone elbow using a brass barb fitting with 1/2" pipe thread and a lock nut. The exposed brass of the barb is covered up (for aesthetics) with self-adhering silicone tape.

As a result of an earlier installation of a mechanical fan, and the associated fan shroud, the original air intake box did not seat properly in the 3 stock rubber mounting grommets molded into the forward part of the battery tray. The whole intake box was resting on the fan shroud and silicone elbow on the outlet side of the snorkel tube...not ideal or secure.

I many need to tweak this installation a little as time goes on, but the overall installation should work.

Living on the "Wet-coast" (Vancouver, BC), the first change I will be making is protecting the filter element from the elements. The filter is supposed to be "water resistant" (i.e. won't wick-up water from the external surface of the filter element), but repeated exposure to water spray and grime may reduce the lifespan of this supposed 100,000 km filter. I'm thinking of either wrapping the filter element with self-adhering silicone tape, a flexible plastic shield, or coating the outside surface of the filter with Rust-Oleum NeverWet liquid replant.

I'm not trying to make the system "dunk proof"...just more resistant to the water and grime that comes up off the road into this part of the engine bay.

See below for a few photos of the installation:

 

[Mitch502]

I had a K&N FIPK intake on a 99 Blazer.

My dad had a Volant Intake on his S10.


I wish I had saved the $150+ and bought a Volant.



As for your moisture worries, look into K&N filter bags. They're meant to be used while the vehicle is being used, and can be used to "bag" the filter. See "Dry Charger": http://www.knfilters.com/search/wrap.aspx

Not sure exact size, but here...http://www.amazon.com/RC-3680DK-DryCharger-Air-Filter-Wrap/dp/B0022ZQZMS

 

[mmaattppoo]

Thank you for the suggestion of the DryCharger bag Mitch502. I hadn't seen those in my online searches for a solution.

In looking through the available sizes and configurations I didn't see any that would suit my configuration as the Volant filter is inline between the outlet side of the aluminum tube of my Rugged Ridge XHD snorkel and the corrugated rubber air intake hose from the engine. See photo below for the snorkel setup that's not visible since it's buried deep under hoses and body panels:

I've replaced the black plastic lower half of the intake box with the Volant filter so water ingestion should not be a major issue. External contact with mist/water/grime from the road is what I'm looking to protect against.

Perhaps I could use one of the bags and cut/hem the closed end to make a jacket.

Again thank you for the suggestion! Glad to know the Volant is a quality product.

 

[Mitch502]

I can't vouch for long term use, as my dad sold the truck within a couple years, but I loved the way it looked/was set up vs. K&N. You could tell Volant actually looked at the vehicle and designed the intake vs. a tube and cone filter like k&n did.

I would think cutting and hemming would be easy. If you wanted to pay someone to do it I'm sure it would be cheap as well. It's nothing abnormal, really.

 

[mmaattppoo]

Ended up going with Rust-Oleum NeverWet Outdoor Fabric spray on water repellant. Goes on very easily from the hand spray bottle and is set in 30 minutes (no longer wet) and fully repellant in about 12 hrs.

Gave it a test at a spray and wash last night and the water beads right up and rolls off.

I may need to reapply from time to time, but that's okay as it will give me a chance to inspect the general condition of the filter and silicone hose connections.

Edit: new photo to show addition of t-bolt clamps for silicone hose connectors. Much more secure than the hose clamps that stripped out.

 

[mmaattppoo]

Added a Wix filter minder.

 

[Mitch502]

Nice.

 

[mmaattppoo]

After this morning's drive to work, including average Burnaby/Vancouver AM rush hour traffic and a full throttle hill climb up Boundary Rd (~17% grade), the pressure drop / restriction measured by the filter minder was 15 in of water (~0.54 psi). This is on a filter that has less than 400 km on it and draws air through a Rugged Ridge XHD snorkel and low intake hood.

Without a proper bench top test these results are crude, but give a reasonable indication of pressure drop across the filter element and the associated jungle of twists and turns associated with the snorkel. There are several changes in flow direction in my air intake system so I'm going to speculate that the majority of the restriction in my intake system is a result of the tortuous path air takes to reach the intake manifold rather than the installed filter (stock, Volant-Donaldson, or otherwise).

I may re-install the factory box and paper filter element (with the filter minder) this weekend to obtain some "before" comparison values.

 

[Mitch502]

Be sure to post the results. That is interesting.

 

[Yarjammer]

Have you drained your snorkel in a while? One thing to keep in mind is that small pebbles can enter through the periscope and settle in the drain tube causing a blockage. It may seem disgusting, but if I don't get any water out from my drain I will blow into the tube to clear any blocking debris. I know that I have at least three pebbles in mine that I will eventually need to remove. To prevent any new ones from entering I either run my pre-filter (fishbowl) or my periscope with some screen door mesh in it.

 

[mmaattppoo]

Indeed Yarjammer. I've put much worse things in my mouth than the drain tube of my snorkel I open the drain tube once every month or two and always get some water out. I fashioned a long narrow extension out of some scrap plastic tubing a while ago for my 18v cordless wet/dry vac. I'll give this a shot to clear out any debris. I was thinking that inspecting the interior of my snorkel would be a good excuse to buy a boroscope. I'd really like to see the interior of the pre-filter side of my air intake system, and the inside of each cylinder when I change out the spark plugs. Could be interesting.

Good suggestion. I'll have to consider fashioning a screen for the low inlet I have installed to keep the coarse sand and fine gravel out. So far no significant drain blocking debris yet.

 

[Mitch502]

Indeed Yarjammer. I've put much worse things in my mouth than the drain tube of my snorkel I open the drain tube once every month or two and always get some water out. I fashioned a long narrow extension out of some scrap plastic tubing a while ago for my 18v cordless wet/dry vac. I'll give this a shot to clear out any debris. I was thinking that inspecting the interior of my snorkel would be a good excuse to buy a boroscope. I'd really like to see the interior of the pre-filter side of my air intake system, and the inside of each cylinder when I change out the spark plugs. Could be interesting.

Good suggestion. I'll have to consider fashioning a screen for the low inlet I have installed to keep the coarse sand and fine gravel out. So far no significant drain blocking debris yet.

You can get a USB camera for your computer for under $30 on amazon if you have a laptop you can take out to your car. Not sure what application it uses to see the camera, but less than $30 for a camera to look into the cylinders is worth it.

EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-En...TF8&qid=1430536913&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+camera

Less than $20, or $31 for a fancy one.

 

[mmaattppoo]

Be sure to post the results. That is interesting.

Will do. I'll see how my day shapes up tomorrow. I'm very curious if these Volant Donaldson Powercore filters are as good as they claim...esp their free flowing nature.

 

[mmaattppoo]

Thanks Mitch502. Exactly the models I've been looking at. I'll probably attach one of these to my Surface Pro3. I may dig around a bit as I've read that some of these can even connect to Android devices through a USB OTG adaptor.

 

[Mitch502]

That'd be pretty slick! Imagine troubleshooting on the trail with the ability to snake one of those cameras and watch it on your phone/tablet!