Hilux 4x4 Forum

Howdy

Who will be able to help in fitting a snorkel to my 120 Prado.

I thought that I'd be brave enough to do it myself, but on second thoughts, I'm not too sure when doing the "HUGE" hole in the fender.

I don't mind paying for the work done, just want someone who knows what they're doing to help out.

Dingo wrote:Howdy

Who will be able to help in fitting a snorkel to my 120 Prado.

I thought that I'd be brave enough to do it myself, but on second thoughts, I'm not too sure when doing the "HUGE" hole in the fender.

I don't mind paying for the work done, just want someone who knows what they're doing to help out.

I have done it twice on my hiluxes..... I'll let you hold the drill

Wayne I could never take the "glory of holding the drill" away from you - as they say never interfere in a Professional while he's hard at work.

Have you got the 95mm hole saw??

Dingo wrote:Wayne I could never take the "glory of holding the drill" away from you - as they say never interfere in a Professional while he's hard at work.

Have you got the 95mm hole saw??

I have 2 but I'll measure up and see if one of them is 95mm, I'll let you know.

Richard (Tokkelos) in Krugersdorp did a perfect fit with mine at a good price.

You're a brave man, Scott! ........much more brave than I am.

I'll check back with you in a few months time to hear if it was worth the scars... maybe you can talk me into it ;)

Dingo wrote:Wayne I could never take the "glory of holding the drill" away from you - as they say never interfere in a Professional while he's hard at work.

Have you got the 95mm hole saw??

I have a 89mm and 102mm.

Did mine with the 102mm hole saw, works best when fitting the connector pipe.

the BuTch3R wrote:You're a brave man, Scott! ........much more brave than I am.

I'll check back with you in a few months time to hear if it was worth the scars... maybe you can talk me into it ;)

Haha Shaun, that's why I'd prefer somebody who knows what they're doing to do it for me.

Thanx Wayne, if I really get brave and can't find any suitable help, I'll give you a shout for the 102mm one.

Come in, Scott! Where are the pics of the fitted snorkel? :shifty:

Time waits for no man

I haven't don't it yet - you Guys scared the #%$@# outta me so I've now got cold feet.

Spoke to a couple of "4x4 fitment centres" and they want to charge me between R1000 - R1300 to fit. So I'm toying with that and trying to motivate that that's the right way to go.

Lol. And I'm waiting for you before I do mine

I did mine myself its very easy . Just a tip "masking tape is your friend".

I'm probably gonna have mine done professionally. Was quoted R800 (small price for a BIG responsibility).

I understand all the benefits to the snorkel, besides the good looks. What I'm more interested in however are the "side-effects".... Is it noisy at high speed travelling? Is there a risk of rust? Added stress on the motor?

Anyone out there have regrets after having fitted a snorkel.

Sorry Dingo for hijacking your thread

the BuTch3R wrote:
Sorry Dingo for hijacking your thread

No you're not, you adding valid questions.

Is there anyone out there that can take pics of their fitment and specifically on the inside and on the pillar where the bracket is attached.

We can fit it for you at Opposite Lock Centurion....
All holes drilled are treated with an anti-rust and the entire snorkel is sikaflexed so no leaking....
I takes around 2 to 3 hours at R385 per hour and looks gr8 when its done......
I have sent you our contact details via pm.....
Hope to see you soon...

Okay, so some PMP (Pimp My Prado) happened over the weekend and I took the plunge and fitted the snorkel. Johno (MOFASA) gave me some advice and convinced me that it wasn't all that scary and it was that bad.

It took me around 4hrs to do, but I was in no real hurry. There were a few challenges that takes time and frustration, but a little patience does help.

I don't think I did too bad a job Unfortunately I was too focused on doing the job that I forgot to take any pics and only of the final product, so I do apologies.
Main tips from Johno (MOFASA) that proved invaluable:
- Only use the template to mark where the BIG hole must be. (the stud holes do not line up according to the template)

- once you have made the big hole line the snorkel up on the fender and the bracket on the A pillar.
- make 2-3 studs, sharpen them. These will be used to mark the holes for the mounting bolts/studs.

- it one sharpened stud into one of the mounting bolt/stud holes

- once you are happy that the snorkel and A pillar bracket all lines up, mark the body work with the sharpened stud for the first bolt hole.

- drill one bolt hole at a time using the sharpened stud to mark as you go. What I did was to fit the studs that come with the snorkel as you go to keep things lined up.

- Although the holes are 8mm, you'll end up using a 10-11mm drill bit, don't stress over this as it's better to be able to line the snorkel nicely. The studs actually bend slightly inwards towards each other once fitted and that's why you need bigger holes. I go away with using a 10.5mm drill.

Some more tips:

- where the bracket goes on the A pillar, protect with masking tape while you are doing the fitting and lining up. Also helps when you mark up to fit the bracket.

- when fitting / pop riveting the A pillar bracket, use silicon to seal the bracket / holes and pop rivets.

- with some of the nuts and body washers on the mounting studs, I struggled a bit to fit as there's not much room for a hand and the washers kept falling off, so put a little prestik on the washers to keep them in place while you fit the nuts. This is more so for the one nut that sits right up near the top of the fender, there's no space there and I struggle for quite a while to fit the nut and washer.

- take off the front wheel, just allows some extra space to work in.

- the plastic goodies that hold the fender lining in are a bl*****m to get out without breaking them, I have no advice there, sorry. I did manage to get away with only breaking one.

The frustrations that I had:
- getting the fender lining plastic goodies out
- getting the back nut on, there really is NO space
- fitting the hose clamps and rubber on the inside of the fender, again not much space.

And that's my story.

Great job Scott !!!

Looks really nice, definitely worth the effort from an aesthetics perspective.

What make snorkel did you fit?

Looking forward to the report back on how well it performs....

Looking good

Thanx

It's not that scary, provided you don't have 2 left hands.

For R800 it's probably worth the frustration, providing that you're confident that they know what they're doing.

Shaun - go for it, it makes the Prado look so sweet. My rocksliders have also arrived, so I'll do that fitment over the next weekend or so.

Dingo wrote:Okay, so some PMP (Pimp My Prado) happened over the weekend and I took the plunge and fitted the snorkel. Johno (MOFASA) gave me some advice and convinced me that it wasn't all that scary and it was that bad.

It took me around 4hrs to do, but I was in no real hurry. There were a few challenges that takes time and frustration, but a little patience does help.

I don't think I did too bad a job Unfortunately I was too focused on doing the job that I forgot to take any pics and only of the final product, so I do apologies.

20150328_085954.jpg

Main tips from Johno (MOFASA) that proved invaluable:
- Only use the template to mark where the BIG hole must be. (the stud holes do not line up according to the template)

- once you have made the big hole line the snorkel up on the fender and the bracket on the A pillar.
- make 2-3 studs, sharpen them. These will be used to mark the holes for the mounting bolts/studs.

- it one sharpened stud into one of the mounting bolt/stud holes

- once you are happy that the snorkel and A pillar bracket all lines up, mark the body work with the sharpened stud for the first bolt hole.

- drill one bolt hole at a time using the sharpened stud to mark as you go. What I did was to fit the studs that come with the snorkel as you go to keep things lined up.

- Although the holes are 8mm, you'll end up using a 10-11mm drill bit, don't stress over this as it's better to be able to line the snorkel nicely. The studs actually bend slightly inwards towards each other once fitted and that's why you need bigger holes. I go away with using a 10.5mm drill.

Some more tips:

- where the bracket goes on the A pillar, protect with masking tape while you are doing the fitting and lining up. Also helps when you mark up to fit the bracket.

- when fitting / pop riveting the A pillar bracket, use silicon to seal the bracket / holes and pop rivets.
- with some of the nuts and body washers on the mounting studs, I struggled a bit to fit as there's not much room for a hand and the washers kept falling off, so put a little prestik on the washers to keep them in place while you fit the nuts. This is more so for the one nut that sits right up near the top of the fender, there's no space there and I struggle for quite a while to fit the nut and washer.

- take off the front wheel, just allows some extra space to work in.

- the plastic goodies that hold the fender lining in are a bl*****m to get out without breaking them, I have no advice there, sorry. I did manage to get away with only breaking one.

The frustrations that I had:
- getting the fender lining plastic goodies out
- getting the back nut on, there really is NO space
- fitting the hose clamps and rubber on the inside of the fender, again not much space.

And that's my story.

20150328_090015.jpg

And now the trade secrets are out there for all to fit their own snorkels.....
Glad I could help and it looks GR8...
There is something about standing back and admiring the work that you have done yourself..... WAY MORE SATISFYING....

To any one else fitting their own snorkels PLEASE follow the highlited section It could save you BIG headaches