Finally - The Snorkel is on the Avalanche

Stryder106

Explorer
Hi All,

I had posted on here awhile ago that I was interested in putting a snorkel on my 2002 Avalanche to improve it's capability and air intake. Well, I'm happy to say that it is finally done. The parts I chose are:
  • S&B Cold Air Intake with Performance Filter (75-5036)
  • Safari Snorkel SS81HF(80 series Toyota Land Cruiser)

To my surprise - the Cold Air Intake box is more open than I thought it would be - completely open on the fender side AND the bottom. I will say, the Avalanche ran great getting that much air when I only installed the CAI. Concerned about drawing air from the bottom, S&B also gave me an additional airbox with the bottom enclosed to swap in when I went on the trail (seriously kind of them). Once I started the snorkel investigation, I contacted S&B and they were intrigued at the idea so they provided me a completely enclosed airbox (except for the intake tube and lid openings).

Note: With the air box with the enclosed bottom, my Av ran like stock - which was a noticeable downgrade from what the open bottom had provided - it really does like the increased airflow.

With that, some much appreciated advice from 02TahoeMD and others on this board and a few others, and not so much advice from ARB USA and Safari (if they don't make it for your vehicle, they provide no advice - or specs) - and after reviewing literally thousands of pictures with rigs with snorkels trying to find something that had a similar fender line and air requirement as my Avalanche, I finally decided on the Safari SS81HF snorkel.

After receiving everything and laying the parts against my truck - then getting a look at the inner fender design of the Avalanche (overkill much?) and with serious consideration of my skillset and the fact that I don't like things to look hacked on my rig - I came to the sad conclusion that this was going to be beyond my skillset and would need to find someone who could attempt this. After literally going to multiple places who advertise as "fabrication" shops - yet were not willing to take this on once they got a look at everything involved, I ended up with Larry Lange - owner of Lange Collision Repair in Riverside Ca. Not only does Larry do outstanding collision repair work, he also builds custom hot rods and show cars. He agreed to do it - and away we go.

I would be remiss to not acknowledge 02TahoeMDs achievement with personally fabbing on a snorkel to his Tahoe - serious kudos to that guy - because trying to fit a Toyota part to a full size Chevy rig is daunting to say the least.

To shorten this up a bit, Larry and his crew had to remove the second battery and reservoir tank to get to the inner fender - they drilled all of the bolt holes from the inside out to make sure they were right and then the big hole through the outer fender for the snorkel fitting to go through. To seal up the airbox, they used 1/4" silicone gaskets around the intake adapter and the lid (so I can clean the filter), and cut a hole into the airbox for the snorkel tube to enter - and sealed that with RTV. The snorkel had to be heated and the angle opened some to make it fit the pillar line a bit better. They also sealed behind the main snorkel body and had to fabricate a bigger pillar bracket because my pillars slant farther in than the Toyota.



I'm happy with the fit and finish, it's a little farther away from my pillar than I had hoped, but really couldn't risk heating any more than it was. Driving it on the street, it is now getting far more air than before and is running better than it did with the enclosed bottom airbox - I'm guessing the ram air effect. No service lights have come on. It's summer and hot, so we are in trip planning mode, but I now have much less fear of water crossings and a hydro-locked motor.

Pics below and again - many many thanks to those who were kind enough to offer me advice - I have been researching this for over a year.
 

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ExplorerTom

Explorer
I also have an 80-series snorkel on my rig. Mine sits even farther forward than yours but to move it back to the A-pillar would make connecting the snorkel to the airbox pretty challenging: there is no room to make a couple of bends in the air pipe between the fender and engine bay in that short of a distance.

I don't plan on going through any water that's even nearly that deep- but it serves best as dust mitigation on the filter. My filter used to get dirty very quickly and now it stays almost as clean as a streetonly driven vehicle.
 

Stryder106

Explorer
I also have an 80-series snorkel on my rig. Mine sits even farther forward than yours but to move it back to the A-pillar would make connecting the snorkel to the airbox pretty challenging: there is no room to make a couple of bends in the air pipe between the fender and engine bay in that short of a distance.

I don't plan on going through any water that's even nearly that deep- but it serves best as dust mitigation on the filter. My filter used to get dirty very quickly and now it stays almost as clean as a streetonly driven vehicle.

Absolutely - I was surprised at how tight it really was. Hopefully I won't be going through mud and water that deep either, but I have been through silt that deep.
 

escadventure

Adventurer
Very nice. All around good looking Avalanche. And nice placement of your CB antenna.

Any chance you can share some closer pics of how you attached it to the A-pillar?
 

Stryder106

Explorer
Interested in how you worked out the bracket attaching the snorkel to the A pillar.

Sorry for the delayed response - was in Bonneville for Speed Week. Here are a few pics. The Safari supplied bracket was too short (snorkel kit is for a Toyota) - so fabbed a longer one and attached it to the two bolt holes in the snorkel and then used 3 body screws coated with siliconeinside of the rain channel behind the seal. It's pretty stout against the wind and normal stuff. The bracket will flex if I catch my snorkel on anything (I figured it's easier to replace a bent bracket than a snapped snorkel.Snorkel A Pillar1.jpgSnorkel A Pillar2.jpg
 
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