Fender holes!

[p1michaud]

Seal it up.

I probably stood there with the drill in hand for about an hour before making the first hole. The ones along side the windshield were the scariest!

I didn't use silicone around the fender holes. It really seemed pointless because water gets behind the fender liner anyways. The silicone won't stop the rust there, in reality it might even contribute to it if water and salt collect around it. But I did fill up the windshield mounts with silicone.

The process involves drilling three holes and snapping in plastic grommets into the holes. I first painted the holes and then slathered in there a ton of silicone before putting in the grommets. Then I put another coat of silicone between the grommets and bracket and then screwed it on. It appears to be completely water tight so rust shouldn't be an issue.

Pete

Time for some :snorkel: action!

Excellent, I'll have to keep that in mind for a future install! By the way, did you use a regular drill for the smaller holes or did you use a step bit?

Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[mountainpete]

Time for some :snorkel: action!

Excellent, I'll have to keep that in mind for a future install! By the way, did you use a regular drill for the smaller holes or did you use a step bit?

Cheers :beer:,
P

Started small with a cordless Dewalt and worked up using a set of good quality bits. For the 3 1/4" hole, I used my trusty Mastercraft 1/2 drill with a Dewalt combination hole saw. Even pressure, medium speed and it made a nice clean hole.

Pete

 

[p1michaud]

Rocket launcher vs. Snorkel, what gets more attention?

By the way, did you use a regular drill for the smaller holes or did you use a step bit?

Messed that question up, meant to ask about drill bits vs drill. You answered in your previous post anyhow. Thanks for the info.

Cheers,
P

 

[FourByLand]

So clean is your truck!

 

[mountainpete]

So clean is your truck!

Thanks - I try hard to keep it that way

I should have taken pictures of when I took the fender flare off. It was packed full of mud between the fender and flare!

 

[flyingwil]

Looks great Pete!

Messed that question up, meant to ask about drill bits vs drill. You answered in your previous post anyhow. Thanks for the info.

Cheers,
P

I used a step bit when I did mine. Just punch the hole first and the rest is easy.

 

[Nonprophet]

Hey Pete,

Snorkel looks great--I've been thinking about one myself. I'm wondering, do you notice any change in performance or gas mileage?

Seems the forced air intake might improve acceleration, but the drag/wind resistance of the snorkel intake might effect gas mileage some too.

Is it possible to turn the top snorkel vent backwards (would this create a vacuum as you drove at higher speeds???) or just take it off to lower wind resistance?

I've noticed that my yakima racks cost me 2-3 mpg in wind resistance--at $3.50 a gallon these days it starts to add up.......lol

NP

 

[mountainpete]

Hey Pete,

Snorkel looks great--I've been thinking about one myself. I'm wondering, do you notice any change in performance or gas mileage?

Seems the forced air intake might improve acceleration, but the drag/wind resistance of the snorkel intake might effect gas mileage some too.

Is it possible to turn the top snorkel vent backwards (would this create a vacuum as you drove at higher speeds???) or just take it off to lower wind resistance?

I've noticed that my yakima racks cost me 2-3 mpg in wind resistance--at $3.50 a gallon these days it starts to add up.......lol

NP

Absolutely no difference in mileage or performance that I can see. Even with the ScanGauge tool I see no difference there. I thought there might be, but there isn't so far.

Yes, you can easily turn the top vent backwards and it's a good idea to do so in heavy snow and possibly really heavy rain. It does create a vacuum though that isn't always a good idea - there were a few really good threads on snorkels over the past year where members with lots of experience spoke up, be sure to search for it. I would not recommend taking the intake off though - the design well thought out to prevent water from rain or other debris from entering the airbox.

I can understand what you are saying about the wind resistance though - when I add my third crossbar over the cab I drop at least 1 MPG. Put the canoe on top and it's often terrible.

Pete

 

[gearbox]

Lets see the truck ford a stream! :jumping:

 

[Willman]

Looking good Pete!!!

Our rigs look alike!!!!

Whens your mod thread being posted up eh???

I can't wait to see that!!!

:wings:

PS...

Where did you get the snorkel??

 

[Willman]

Looking good Pete!!!

Our rigs look alike!!!!

Whens your mod thread being posted up eh???

I can't wait to see that!!!

:wings:

PS...

Where did you get the snorkel??

Bump for Pete........You are giving me the snorkel bug again......

Hows the snorkel so far?

:shakin:

 

[mountainpete]

Bump for Pete........You are giving me the snorkel bug again......

Hows the snorkel so far?

:shakin:

Snorkel is great! No strange noises, no whistles. I've done a few mud holes over the hood with no issues - but nothing that I would consider more extreme then I did before I had the snorkel. You do have had to watch the cleanliness of my filter more though...

Last night I went out to a nice little creek full of Cutties. It's a 20 km gravel road that is very dusty. The conditions were perfect, but there was no wind at all. The fine dust just sits in the air. Compared to trips prior to the snorkel, I would say that I had about the same or maybe more fine dust trapped in the filter.

The stares in traffic are fun too... but since we have lots of JDM Cruisers around with snorkles I'm getting less then I expected.

Pete

 

[flyingwil]

Snorkel is great! No strange noises, no whistles. I've done a few mud holes over the hood with no issues - but nothing that I would consider more extreme then I did before I had the snorkel. You do have had to watch the cleanliness of my filter more though...

Last night I went out to a nice little creek full of Cutties. It's a 20 km gravel road that is very dusty. The conditions were perfect, but there was no wind at all. The fine dust just sits in the air. Compared to trips prior to the snorkel, I would say that I had about the same or maybe more fine dust trapped in the filter.

The stares in traffic are fun too... but since we have lots of JDM Cruisers around with snorkles I'm getting less then I expected.

Pete

Gas stations are the worst.... I tell everyone it is a bubble machine, and blows bubbles when i put it in reverse.

 

[mountainpete]

Gas stations are the worst.... I tell everyone it is a bubble machine, and blows bubbles when i put it in reverse.

I told a person it was a parascope once. That was fun :sombrero:

 

[p1michaud]

The "Fender hole disease" has spread!

Well,
I'm sad to report that the "Fender Hole" disease has spread to Eastern Canada as well. Fellow Tacoma owners beware!

It started as this:

Progressed to this:

Stopped at this :wings:

Honestly I think a snorkel attracts more attention :shakin:

On the first outing, I got some good stares. One guy nearly got into an accident because he was not looking where he was driving.

I told a person that I know to day that I accidentally dropped some little blue pills in the gas tank on Sunday and this is what happened! :jump:

P.S. Thanks Sierra Expeditions for the Snorkel and excellent customer service!​