snorkel
ah, the snorkel. deep water crossing, just a small mod away... the snorkel was on our list of mods because (aside from looking super awesome...) we've been to costa rica in the rainy season, and crossed a few rivers. that being said, we'll probably try and stay away from sinking bagheera 4ft under water, but the idea of a relocated air intake was nice for the idea of taking in less dust in dusty environments and being able to cross a bit deeper water than with the stock air intake position low in the fender.
though this mod seemed like it would be a half day job, it ended up taking about 3 days (6hrs a day maybe) to get it exactly how i wanted it. the snorkel kit is a custom one from Delica L400 Offroad (facebook link). it was designed for the series 1 L400, and we have a series 2, but ideally, the fit should be the same... the basics of cutting another giant hole in the body have less sting than the first time, but i did go through 2 hole saws to get the job done -- and ended up having to drill holes every half centimeter and connect the dots to finally get through the fender. though i lined up the center point of the original intake pipe hole pretty perfectly, there was still a bit of offset issue, and i ended up fabricating a bit of extra pipe with some elaborate silicone bends to get everything in properly.
after driving around for a day with the new setup, i decided that i would continue to adjust some things. the uni filter used in the kit didn't give me too much confidence since it was billed as a "pre-filter" on their website. this setup has been tested in the rough NZ environment, but since we are going to be traveling all of the Americas, i just can't gamble that the pre-filter will be enough to keep junk out of the engine. i decided to lose the uni filter and put the stock airbox back in with a K&N filter to replace the factory paper filter. this required a bit more creative pipe and silicone bend selection and some extrta hole sealing, but overall, i am much more confident that the air filter will keep all of the bad stuff out and still breathe much more freely than stock. the hiss from the intake is still noticeable, but much less deafening than without the K&N. After using this setup for awhile and talking to a few people online and in shops, i’ve decided to go back to the stock paper air filter. i’ve heard stories of the K&N not letting the engine breath enough and causing major problems, so i’d say use at your own risk…
