5th Gen 4Runner Snorkel Installation & General Overview
Dobinsons 5th Generation Toyota 4Runner Snorkel Install Overview
When it comes to off-roading, one piece of equipment people choose to install is a snorkel. This not only helps with airflow, but also to help prevent water from causing damage to the engine.
We were lucky enough to get our hands on a newly released Dobinson 5th Gen 4Runner Snorkel released earlier last month and install it on HighSierraOverland’s 4Runner.
Big thanks to 559 Motorsports for the Installation. Check them out on the gram.
Where to buy?
- Dobinsons USA: Check Today’s Price
The Dobinsons Snorkel Details:
- Provides cooler/cleaner air
- Less chance of water entering the engine
- Requires drilling multiple holes
- Made in China
- No HP gains
- Requires original air-box (not TRD)
- Almost half the price of competitor snorkels
What is a snorkel?
A snorkel is a piece of equipment which extends the air intake from the lower section in which it sits on a vehicle to a higher, more desirable location to help feed the motor clean and cooler air.
When would you want a snorkel?
If you are mainly a driver on pavement, a snorkel is more than likely not going to be necessary unless you want the look and nothing more. It will provide cooler air, but this ultimately has no real benefit for the price of a snorkel.
If you off-road on the other hand you may find a snorkel to be extremely beneficial for a number of reasons. One example of this is cleaner air.
While the 5th Gen 4Runner sits high, the intake sits in an extremely vulnerable location while off-roading, which is right above the passenger wheel well. Even though the fender liner sits below it, dirt, dust and debris happen to get sucked into the intake quite a bit, causing for filters needing to be replaced more frequently.
Additionally, if you happen to off-road where fording creeks, rivers, and other bodies of water is necessary, the intake can suck in water causing internal damage and hydrolock of the motor, resulting in your vehicle being useless.
Do snorkels increase power?
The snorkel does not increase power on any level, but rather allows cleaner cooler air to be fed to the motor. It has been said by many snorkel users that they have seen smaller increases in MPG.
Installation
The first thing to do when installing the snorkel is to make sure you have all the correct parts. Per the instructions from Dobinson, the following tools are necessary to complete this roughly three-hour upgrade to your 5th Gen 4Runner:
- Large Hole Saw (optional) Step Drill
- Drill Bits and Drill
- Masking Tape
- Sensor Safe Sealant (Sikaflex 227 Recommend)
- Touch Up Paint and Small Brush or Cotton Bud
- Allen Keys and Spanners
- Pop Rivet Gun
- Screw Drivers and Torx Bits
- Center Punch and Hammer
Remove fender liners & factory airbox
You begin by removing your fender liner, mud flap, flare, plastic clips, etc to give you a clean view behind the fender as well as the airbox. You additionally want to remove the airbox from its factory location. The entry to the airbox which sits underneath the fender can be tossed away as it is not needed for the install.
The Snorkel Template
After you have done the above, you want to take the template which comes with the snorkel and line it up correctly with the body and proceed to mark with the center punch tool so you know where to begin your drilling. This is an extremely important step so make sure everything is lined up correctly before you begin to make your marks.
Drilling
Once you have completed this step, you then want to drill each hole to 16mm, as well as cut out the larger hole with your saw for the snorkel to fit flush against the body. During this step there were adjustments necessary to make to the two holes closest to the A pillar as they were not in the exact location necessary. However this is considered to be normal as adjustments are always necessary.
Align Snorkel
You then want to line up the snorkel and make sure it fits properly with the fender. Once this was done, we went ahead and smoothed out each hole, and then proceeded to touch them up with Barcelona Red paint to ensure there would be no issues with rusting.
After allowing the paint to dry, you want to cover the lower A pillar section with masking tape and realign the snorkel again. This time however you want to align the upper bracket with the A-pillar, and once in the desired location make markings and proceed to drill the holes.
A layer of silicone around each hole
Before installing the rivets we put a layer of silicone around each hole, as well as on top of each rivet, and around the bracket to ensure no leaks would occur. We also touched up the outer left side (closest to windshield) as you can see the silicone otherwise.
Gaps in the snorkel and the body
While you may see gaps in the snorkel and the body, as you tighten the snorkel down it will continue to form to the body of the 4Runner each time and fit more flush. You then want to connect the top section of the snorkel.
After all of the above is done you want to connect the snorkel to the hose, as well as connect the airbox to the hose.
We shaved the smaller grooves on the airbox connector to help connect to the hose smoother. Tighten both clamps, bolt down the airbox, and put the filter back in.
An optional choice to make before reinstalling the airbox and connecting the snorkel is to silicone shut the one small drain tube, as this is no longer needed, and if fording through deep water you will want closed as water can enter through it.
The snorkel itself has multiple drainage holes to prevent water from entering the airbox. If you are not fording water this is not a necessary step, but it may be one you want to do in the case that day ever comes.
Before
After
A quick word of advice. Make sure you verify hole placement from the template to the actual snorkel before making any holes in your fender. 🙂 At least half of the holes in the template didn’t align perfectly with the holes in the snorkel. I overlaid the pattern on the snorkel while it was off the vehicle and inserted screws into the holes that lined up. Then I laid some masking tape over the other holes and punched new holes for the other ones. Once that was done I taped it to the fender as the instructions indicated and drilled the holes perfectly the first time.
can you share the cutting template
Would you say it is as good of quality to the more expensive ones like ARB? Did you notice any areas they may have cut corners that bothered you?
What about the snorkel in the automatic car wash? Is it an issue? I noticed that the new Tacomas with the Desert Air Intake state that you can’t go through the automatic car wash.
I found that an automatic brushed car wash would pop the intake of the snorkel off depending on the car wash. But if I were to just turn the intake facing the rear, the smooth rounded surface of the back of the intake allowed the brushes to just skim right over it. Also keeps water from going down the tube as well if you were to take the intake off.
It will damage your intake boot. If you decide to go anyway, you can remove the boot but make sure you seal the opening with tape or plastic. For me, it’s just easier to do it myself at home or at a coin operated carwash/powerwasher… plus i dont have to worry about all the other crap on my truck that may get damaged by the rotating rugs…
Will this kit work with a TRD cold air intake?
Yes it will. Just completed the install
Waste of money and looks stupid, in my opinion. Really, if the water is halfway up your door you already really screwed up. Unless you meant to trash your rig.
Just my opinion.
Hammer
You can go through a foot of water at a high enough speed, the water can travel through your wheel well grill where the air intake is exactly sticking out from and you just hydrolocked a 10k engine. The air intake box isn’t sealed. You can literally do this on a basic rainy day with enough water on the road.
Just happened to mine. $15,000 to fix it. Luckily I have good insurance that covered it
Obviously you haven’t researched what snorkels are made to do…yes they are for water but also raise the intake where air comes in. Before snorkel it comes from your wheel well, after from the top of the vehicle
Any discount codes for one of these?
agree, actually snorkel is not mainly for water crossing, but for dust and dirt driving. It provides cleaner and cooler air to engine, make the run better.
Really?