Installed a Snorkel (sort of)

[RoadBoss]

To elaborate...

I did the High Water Mark Trail in Arkansas with some friends last December. It was a lot of fun, but it was raining/sleeting/snowing the entire time. We did a bunch of water crossings without issue. I did my best to avoid any significant mud because I was worried about the alternator. It getting wet, however, was not something I was super afraid of.

The last evening we ended up on a dead-end trail (due to more debris than we could move) and had to backtrack. In the process, we had what I can only describe as a water crossing that was a pinch of sand away from being a mud pit. I believe I was consistently hitting the water too fast and forcing a lot of it up in front of the motor. Once enough silt and mud got in there, I think that's what killed my alternator. I am HOPING the ARB plates and a slower (less stupid) approach speed will be enough to prevent future failure. I will also be greasing the connector.

The picture I have attached is not the deepest we went, so I am linking a video one of the guys put together of the trip. It's fairly boring, but if you skip through, you can see some of the water crossings.

Hope this helps explain.

Awesome, I really appreciate the info, and that trip looks super fun. One of those crossings near the end it looks like your truck was right on the verge of starting to float. Definitely some pretty deep water.

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[103]

Finally an update. Had a lot going on, but we finally made the box. Got a 4x4 sheet of aluminum, bent, welded. Used 3 inch and 3 1/8 inch tube, and here you go. Didn’t have the nutserts for the cover, so that isn’t installed yet.

Pics in apparently mostly random order...

 

[Stangman570]

Finally an update. Had a lot going on, but we finally made the box. Got a 4x4 sheet of aluminum, bent, welded. Used 3 inch and 3 1/8 inch tube, and here you go. Didn’t have the nutserts for the cover, so that isn’t installed yet.

Pics in apparently mostly random order...

Looks Awesome!! I wonder how much heat soak you will get from this? Hopefully it doesn't build too much temp sitting in traffic on a hot summer day. However, I do know about high water forging. Have to clean my stock box every time.

 

[103]

Heat shouldn’t be too bad. The idea is to leave the box top off unless I’m going off road.

 

[103]

So driving around without the cover on I noticed no real change in MPG or anything else. Hearing the wastegate (or whatever it's called) has been pretty neat.

We sorta finished last night. Used smallish self-tappers and RTV just get it done before I leave for HWM Weds, but we are going to use better fasteners after I get back. Seems to work well. No adverse issues noted. No loss in power (though we didn't have time to throw it on the dyno--maybe after I get back and we do the fasteners right).

It is crazy hearing the turbo through the snork.

 

[VoodooRanger]

Excellent craftsmanship!

 

[103]

Excellent craftsmanship!

I am very impressed with my friend's work! He wants to pull it out and check the welds and bends after my trip. We also thought of ways we could have probably made it a little smaller, but this still works great. I THINK it's hitting the blanket right now, so I may cut some of that away. That may be a bush repair, so to speak, haha.

I will pass along your comment!

 

[Trigganometry]

Just out of curiosity, how did you kill your alternator? I was looking at it the other day, and it's about at the same height as the top of my tires, so ~32" up, which is some pretty damn deep water.
Also, considering moving through water creates a bow wave in front, and the water around the sides (and in the engine bay) will not be as high....

I'm not trying to call you out or anything, just curious how bad/deep it got that your alternator got destroyed, and wandering if you had any other issues at the same time, like water coming in the cab or the bed of the truck, or with the diff/trans breathers (I'm still not sure where those actually are on these trucks).

It’s not the water so much as the mud that gets in. Water for short periods doesn’t have any lasting effects that can be seen. Heavy mud is another story altogether. Even with skid plates can’t help you with that.

 

[103]

So we made it through High Water Mark. Helped that the water was crazy low. But the snorkel helped with all the dust!

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