After careful consideration and discussion with other Toyota FJ Cruiser owners I decided to install a Safari Snorkel on DaToy. I do not anticipate deep water fords, rather, I installed the snorkel to provide a clean air intake. We use our Toyota FJ Cruiser as an expedition vehicle in the southwest. Many of the roads that we tour on are dry and dusty. The FJ cold air intake is at the front of the right wheel well and when traveling on dusty roads the intake is engulfed in dust so you can just imagine what the air in the intake looks like.

The Snorkel moves the air intake out of the wheel well and up to the roof line of the FJ which in most cases will be out of the dust. I don’t mind the added security knowing that if we end up in a deep water crossing the engine will be safe from hydraulic seize.

The Safari Snorkel is available from many of the ARB dealers in the USA.

Time Required for install: 3 hours
Difficulty:   Requires little mechanical knowledge. Need to be comfortable with cutting the intake hole in the fender.
Special Tools Required: 4 1/8″ Bi-metal Hole Saw, Stepping bit.

The installation is very straight forward, however, care must be taken when lining up the template and drilling the holes.

Installation steps:

Step 1:

Check the inventory sheet and be sure that you have all parts required for the install. You may also want to pick up 5 new retaining clips for the fender liner as these get damaged during removal.

STEP 2:

The instructions state that the inner fender liner must be removed, however, I was able to remove most of the bolts and a few of the clips to gain access to the back side of the fender and the factory air intake:

Step 3:

Remove the factory intake from inner fender:

Step 4:

Remove the factory pre-cleaner from fender and detach from the air intake:

Step 5:

This is the most critical step of the entire installation. Attach the template to the FJ fender following the detailed instructions. The template will dictate where the holes are to be drilled. If you do not get it placed in the correct location the whole install will be off. Once you are happy with the location of the template mark the holes.

Step 6:

Drill a small pilot hole in the center of each mark. The pilot hole will ensure that larger bits stay centered.

Step 7:

Get you drill and hole saw ready and drill/saw the large intake hole. BE SURE YOU ARE IN THE CORRECT LOCATION.

Once you have the hole saw you need to deburr the edges with some sand paper:

Then touch up the edges with some paint to prevent rust:

The completed hole:

Step 8:

Drill the rest of the holes using your stepping bit. I drilled to 11/32″ but you may need to go up one more size if the bolts do not quite line up.

Step 9:

Prep the snorkel by installing all the studs. Be sure to apply Loctite to all the studs to ensure they stay tight.

Step 10:

Install the mounting bracket on the snorkel.

The put masking tape on the A pillar as shown:

Now fit the Snorkel in place and mark the location of the bracket:

Remove the bracket from the snorkel and mark the location of the holes:

Drill the holes and install the white inserts:

Once the inserts are install use the self tapping screws to install the bracket:

Step 11:

Now that the bracket is installed we are ready to place the Snorkel and install the nuts. I used a little silicon around each stud to help prevent any rust:

Once all the nuts are started I found it easiest to 3rd set of nuts first then move towards the back and then forward. Then install the bolts to attach the snorkel to the bracket.

Step 12:

I my case I am installing the snorkel with the Vortex Off-Road filter. The Pre filter needs to be modified by removing the rubber fitting and grinding the lugs off:

Step 13:

We are now ready to install the rubber air entry hose. Take one of the silver clamps and put it on the hose. The hose is then attached to the intake from the snorkel:

Do not tighten the hose clamp yet. Take the other silver clamp and place it over the other end of the intake hose. The take in the prefilter and attach it to the hose. You will need to rotate the hose until you get the best alignment for the prefilter. Once you fill comfortable with the alignment bolt the prefilter back into place. You can then tighten the silver clamps at both ends of the intake hose.

Step 14:

Reattach the intake to the prefilter being sure to align the small tab:

Step 15:

Install the air ram to the top of the snorkel using the black clamp.

Step 16:

Reinstall the fender lining

NOTE: If you are planning on using the system for deep water fords be sure to deal with the small water drain holes mention in the Snorkel install document.
It is the installer’s responsibility to ensure that all connections are watertight.

Step 17: Check all connections and you are ready to roll.