Factory snorkel attachment

[Alxmcd]

Hey, my car came with came with a bit of a forget job with the attachment of the factory snorkel to the passenger side pillar. What should I use to make it secure and not as dodgey?

 

[Old.Tony]

As far as I know, that's standard practice. The "A" pillar is quite strong, and even though the thing's been drilled, it should still provide support in a roll-over.

We had one person who'd had their snorkel fitted to the passenger door, that was a royal mess!

 

[OldManBeard]

I'd be removing the bracket and installing rivnuts (AKA nutserts), preferably stainless steel, and using stainless steel bolts to reattach the bracket. Be sure to paint the holes with a rust protectant before installing the rivnuts. The result will be a very much strong attachment that will last the life of the car.

It's worth mentioning that these snorkels are not fitted at the factory, nor are they made by Nissan. They are a third-party product, with a Nissan label, that gets installed by either some moron at the dealership or by another third party. They are never installed correctly in regards to it actually functioning as a snorkel. As supplied, they're an ornament at best and should not be relied upon for water crossings.

 

[Foxtrot16]

Took my snorkel off yesterday to do some Raptor coating (see my post elsewhere) and found some damage that was caused by some idiot at the time fitting 11 years ago. We cleaned it up and resealed it.

BTW your photos are how mine has been installed.

Karl.

Here is the damage that we found.

 

[Alxmcd]

I'd be removing the bracket and installing rivnuts (AKA nutserts), preferably stainless steel, and using stainless steel bolts to reattach the bracket. Be sure to paint the holes with a rust protectant before installing the rivnuts. The result will be a very much strong attachment that will last the life of the car.

It's worth mentioning that these snorkels are not fitted at the factory, nor are they made by Nissan. They are a third-party product, with a Nissan label, that gets installed by either some moron at the dealership or by another third party. They are never installed correctly in regards to it actually functioning as a snorkel. As supplied, they're an ornament at best and should not be relied upon for water crossings.

Yes rivnuts would be the go.

Also how would I go about the snorkel being closer to correctly installed?

 

[OldManBeard]

Also how would I go about the snorkel being closer to correctly installed?

The problem with the way snorkels are normally installed is that, unless the job is done by someone who understands how it's supposed to function and takes the necessary steps, there are too many places air, and therefore water, can leak into the intake. The biggest culprit is normally the standard airbox itself, which is intentionally designed to allow water to drain out. The same drains allow water to get back in when the box is submerged.

What needs to be done is simple enough in principle, although it can take a bit of fart-arsing about. There are several posts on the subject in this forum, although I don't have direct links for you. What it boils down to is dismantling your airbox and reassembling it in such a way that all joints are completely airtight and watertight. This includes sealing any and all drain holes. My model had two drains but this may vary between models, I don't know for sure. Once the airbox is properly sealed up then you start reattaching the snorkel components, ensuring every joint is properly sealed. I don't trust the foam rubber "seals" that are used in some snorkel kits and replace them with something less porous and a lot of silicone.

It's really easy to test if the job is properly done: Remove the snorkel's hood and, with the engine running, block off the end of the snorkel. The engine should immediately start to lose revs and stall shortly after because you've completely deprived it of intake air. If that doesn't happen then there's an air leak that needs to be found and rectified. Every air leak is also a water leak. If it's sucking in air from below the top of the snorkel then it cannot be relied upon for water crossings.

It can be argued that under such test conditions there's an internal vacuum in the intake system that will not exist under normal circumstances. This may reveal a leak at a joint that otherwise would be adequately sealed, especially as the vacuum may distort some of the plastic components that will not be distorted normally. This is a perfectly valid and realistic argument. In the end, you need to decide for yourself whether you want that risk. I don't.