water proofing your CUCV. snorkel project started

[maritimer]

in light of a previous thread i seen about a drowned CUCV figure this might be a good thread to start

now i know i am sinning in a MV sorta way that will likely end me up in MV hell.
but my M1009 is gonna be used for mudding, general off road work around my familys property. and given that before the wet season started i was crossing puddles and streams above the tires i figure i better get everything kinda high and dry.i got the diff breathers extended above the hood line , pulled all the rubber off the floor, re placed the bearings and regreased the hubs with HD marine grease. now i figure all thats left that i can think of is the air intake.

so yesterday i stared measureing and planing a snorkel for the green meanie.
now after looking online about snorkels seems everyone uses ABS or PVC pipe, and to me that justs looks way to "bubba in the trailer park" to be placed on my baby. so i have marked and cut 3" hole in the passengerside fender just ahead of where the battery sits. now i will be using a single solid piece of 3" exhaust pipe to go from the roof line down the a pillar across the top of the fender and into the engine bay so much cleaner and classier then the bubba'd ABS pipe. the top of the pipe will ether have a donaldson style precleaner or a custom made scoop simialer to the safari scoops but metal not plastic. once the pipe is in engine bay 6" it will be joineed to the air cleaner can with a piece of 3" ID rubber hose and hose clamps * still devolping the actual air can to snorkel joint process*. once the that joint is done the air can will be sealed using RTV black silicone on the can top to base *run a bead along the inside of the lid and let dry to make a rubber gasket before re-attaching* and on the intake to can joint using same process.
the metal in the assembly/snorkel will be done in krylon camo OD paint * i know CARC should be used but aint nowhere around knows what it is let alone carries it* to try and keep with the MV look.

once i fix my camera that got dropped on the nice bare steel floor of the green meanie by my girlfriend i wil ltake some pictures of the whole process and do a more thorough write up.

so any thoughts on other areas to look at water proofing, any tips pointers etc?

 

[Starlight]

snorkle

Wow, can't wait to see that Maritimer. Ours is being painted now. Will show pics when out of the paint shed. Don't forget pics of that set up. Will see you after the baby comes in Nova Scotia , T and family

 

[maritimer]

RE: snorkle

looking forward to seeing you guys up here. i'll make sure to get a bunch of pics of the build and setup when its all finished. cant wait to see yours when its painted man that will look good.

 

[86M10086.2L]

RE: snorkle

I'm also planning to do a similar snorkel setup as well. I pulled a few fenders off a civi blazer that I junked so I can hack away guilt free. However I was thinking of either using the ARB Safari snorkel top as ithas a dirt/water trap built into it or possibly use duece style snorkel parts. for the air cleaner I'll either seal up the factory air cleaner or if i can find one in reasonable shape for a decent price I was also thinking of using a HMMWV air cleaner assembly. I saw a really good write up from a guy in spain who did his own snorkel setup on a Toyota Tacoma and ran it through and out the top of the fender soit was inline with the a pillar for extra clearance/damage protection but being as our mirrors stick out at least 2-3 inches when folded its a bit of a moot point. I'm going to start mine soon but it looks as if your a little bit ahead of me. Would love to see pics of the process so make sure you get then up.

 

[Recovry4x4]

RE: snorkle

Since once you have the snorkel and feel invincible, I'd bet you take risks you've never took. I would suggest that if you cant add a Hartford loop, at least find the lowest part of the assy and put in a drain of sorts. ATVs have a valve in the airbox that when working correctly, allows water to drain out but not enter.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

RE: snorkle

If someone wants a more finished look there is a Safari Snorkel for a Toyota Landcruiser that can be adapted to fit our trucks.

maritimer, do a search over on www.ColoradoK5.com as some guys over there have come up with some ingenious solutions and parts for doing this. Might save you some time and headaches.

 

[uh60]

RE: snorkle

Anyone Know how deep of water it takes to wash away a 1009 or 1008? In Az we have alot of flash floods and we always see people who try to cross a wash. Most of the time they dont make it. Any way I was just wondering how deep is too deep?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

RE: snorkle

It's not the depth but the speed of the water. The "footing" of the bottom of the river plays an important part too.

I've seen guys in Chevy's go through water over hood deep. The water wasn't moving very fast though.

 

[CARNAC]

RE: snorkle

Not sure if you've seen these photos:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?module=photoshare&func=showimages&fid=311

 

[BillIdaho]

I saw a rig that had the intake funneled into the cab. The reasoning was the water level would never get higher than the drivers face area. The guy didn't really want an overtly visible "snorkel" or intake tube, so he ran the intake flex hose off the carb into the cab, and had it end where the defroster vents were. You couldn't really tell what was going on. Another advantage was the air there was somewhat cleaner when in a dirty enviroment.
He then (later) cut a hole in the roof, and installed a couple of air filters for a home heating unit (a furnace). That way the air was clean enough for the engine (and him) to breathe. Some of the "Baja" style racers have gone to this method. I have seen them remove the glass out of the sliding rear windows and replace them with filters. The air behind the cab was/is usually the cleanest in the area surrounding the rig.

 

[uh60]

Very nice truck Medlog!! I plan to lift mt 1008 if the EUC ever clears.

 

[maritimer]

medlohg anychance you got some under hood pics of the air intake with the snorkel on? especialy the conection between the factory air cleaner can and the piping?

 

[86M10086.2L]

there are pictures of it there. view the slideshow it's about 26 pictures in total. and you'll see a picture of a sheetmetal? adapter hooked up to some rubber/silicone tubbing. Not the best picture but you get the idea. I was looking it at it yesterday, very slick setup. Looks like a duece exhaust pipe for the snorkel?

 

[CCATLETT1984]

might i remind you that unless you raise your exhaust height as well, your asking for a blown engine. the first time you let off of the gas while the tail pipes are under water, you will suck water into the engine and hydrolock it.

 

[86M10086.2L]

I was considering putting stacks in the bed to solve that, but even duece stacks might look a little dumb on a CUCV pickup. I guess to each their own. I've seen guys run their exhausts right up along the tailgate. Simple, ugly, but effective none the less.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Something like the HMMWV setup might work. In fact I've seen the exhaust kits on ebay before.

 

[maritimer]

i was thinkin about that as well. i might make a quick slip on set of stacks that can be attached to the exhuast pipes and secured to the body where the cap bolts on. that if i am gonna be going deep i can slide them on over the pipes and have them fit snug enough to not need clamps then use a wing nut and carrage bolt to secure them to fabed mounts that tie into the cap mounts somehow. after the air intake is set up i will have to start on that project lol

 

[Elwenil]

On my Ramcharger based MV-ish conversion, I will be running a HMMWV style stack that will be frenched into the quarter panel to reduce the overall width. The stack will be permanently attached. The matching snorkel will enter the firewall above the heater box on the passenger side, snake around the hood hinge and exit the cowl at the A pillar. It will follow the line of the A pillar up and be capped off at the top of the windshield. I haven't decided on if it will use a hat cover like a HMMWV, or a forward facing scoop design. Might end up with both and swap them out based on the weather. The intake tubing will be 3" exhaust tubing that can be bought in pre-bent sections and I'll weld them up to fit. The bends around the cowl and A pillar will be tighter than what the pre-bent tubing will allow, so I will have to cut and rotate the bends to fit better and minimize the flow obstruction. The holes in the fire wall with be cut large enough for clearance to prevent rattles and the lip will be reinforced to prevent weakening of the firewall. I will decide after the install if foam seals will be needed around the tubing. I don't think it will, but since the cowl is the air intake for the heater, it may suck in some unwanted fumes from the engine compartment if left unsealed, but that remains to be seen. That's the plan anyway.

 

[Disciple]

I'm interested in doing the same thing here (snorkel and some type of exhaust help) too. Some have mentioned waterproofing the electrics, but no one has posted any suggestions on how to actually do this. I've talked briefly with a guy I met that has mud trucks, he said they use silicone spray and just soak everything down, but his are not daily drivers, dedicated mud pit trucks.

Any other ideas? What should be protected? My first thought was the fuse panel. It's low enough to worry about and could cause some major malfunctions if submerged. Also, how would you protect the batteries? Bad news if they arc underwater.

My goal here is to be able to have water up to my waist in the cab! Shouldn't have any issues draining that water back out! Plenty of holes in the cab!

 

[jdeoliveira74]

I am in the process of redoing my snorkel set up now as well I am going to install the Hmwwv air horn intake into a sealed air box from a tractor should be good when its done I will post some pics tomorrow night. Here is my original setup !