[red88MJ]

This thread reminds me of when my xj was clean and wasnt all dented and scratched up lol. This is how it all starts.


THE DAY I BOUGHT HER


THE DAY AFTER I BOUGHT HER


A FEW MONTHS AND A LOT OF WORK AFTER THAT


PA JEEPS '09



You got a clean ride man keep up the good work, cant wait to see more.

[Kevin108]

Thanks for reading and the kind words you guys!

While we're talking beer, hoist one with me. I didn't think a whole lot about it until tonight, but my initial dream for this rig has come to be. When I bought it, all I'd planned to add was a tow hitch, a big transmission cooler and a rear locker. Friday night I finally got there.

Of course, being here and learning more about our rigs I have a few more plans, but I'm staying simple. Just some skids and sliders and that will be it until it needs tires.

[koolaid5]

cheers and congrats

[Kevin108]

We had around 7" of snow today, which is really rare for our area. Of course, I took the Jeep out to play and we took the ATVs out as well.

This was the first time I've had my Jeep in snow. I've always heard that a rear locker and ice were a bad combination but to me it felt like the locker making the wheels find traction and push together made things better than just one wheel looking to slip. Of course, when it breaks traction, it's twice as bad. In 4 High with the Aussie Locker in the rear it was the most sure-footed rig I've ever run through the white stuff with. Even my Michelin street tires seemed to find good grip out there.


The interstate on the way to my parents' place and what all the roads around looked like



Unloading our gear and getting ready to ride



Gratuitous JeepForum decal shot right before we left

[96fleXJ]

the snow was great. over here in yorktown virginia we got about 10 inches.

I was out all day in the jeep, and had a blast. I havent seen this much snow if Va for over a decade. Too bad the shoe creek run got canceled because of the snow.

[Kevin108]

I got to pull an Exploder out of the ditch in my parents' neighborhood and I bought my parts to make my cowl snorkel. I just scrubbed the air box down with Simple Green and it's sitting in my living room drying.

[Kevin108]

This is how I did my cowl snorkel, based very closely on srmitchell's thread http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/m...norkel-727684/

Frankly, I was intimidated by piecing together a solid tube out of PVC. My work with PVC is exceedingly limited and all the geometry seemed overly complicated, so I opted to use a universal intake tube based on a TV commercial I remember as a kid for a product which I think was called "Flex Jars." I got the tube from my local AutoZone for $20. AutoZone.com | Air Duct Hose | Black air ducting



I removed the air box, cleaned it up and used the tube to get a rough idea of where it would need to go. I marked and drilled a small hole in the center of where I wanted to place the tube.



I cut a strip of plastic and drilled two small holes in it 1½" apart as my template for the hole.



I used the drill bit as a hub and drew the circle I would cut with.



I have a pneumatic trim saw I'd planned to use but my compressor is at my parents' place so I used what I had on hand, which was a simple coping.



I drilled a ¼" hole as a starting point and reassembled the coping saw with the blade inside the hole.



I proceeded to cut out the air box with the coping saw. When done, I used a Dremel with a sanding wheel to smooth the edges.



I again used the tube to determine a rough placement and used my template to draw the circle which I would cut out.



This is the hole one everything was cut out. It turned out quite ragged as I used a Dremel with small cut off wheels. I smoothed it out with a grinding wheel before installing the tube but I was excited the hole was done and forgot to take a picture.



I mounted the tube up as high as a could so that the base of the cowl would act as a dam to keep water from entering the intake tube.



As srmitchell had warned me, this did result in the tube making contact with a rib on the hood but since I used a flexible plastic tube, I don't think it will be a problem.



And much of my reasoning behind adding this mod to my relatively stock rig is because a photo I saw of one of my fellow club members with a significantly bigger XJ than me in a water crossing I know I'll be facing soon.



I used OSI Quad, which is a heavy duty construction adhesive and a great caulk, to seal things up. I cut a block of Trex composite deck board 3"x2-1/8" to fill the factory intake hole. I painted the outside of it black for the sake of color uniformity.



I positioned the block and pre-drilled holes for 4 screws to hold it in place, not that they'll be needed once the Quad cures. I then removed the block, caulked along the opening, reinstalled the block and screwed in the screws. I then caulked in all the factory drain holes as well.



I inserted my tube and caulked the outside well and the inside as best I could.



I clamped it in place to work on it and left it sitting to dry overnight.



This is where the tube enters the cowl.



The tube came with two oversized sleeves to finish off the ends. I trimmed one today and put it inside the cowl as a retainer. The other will go inside the airbox.

[Muddeprived]

What's the diameter of that flex hose and how long is it?

That looks very neatly done.

[Kevin108]

Thanks! The tubing is 3" OD and it extends up to 28". It's available in black, blue, red and chrome. Spectre Performance - Official Site

[96fleXJ]

that cowl is nicely done, did you keep the air filter in the box or add a new one in the cowl?

-jason

[Kevin108]

Thanks! Still using the filter in the box. Doing so keeps the cost of this mod to $21 for the tube plus whatever you use for sealant.

[srmitchell]

Looks great man!

I was going to use that hose too, but I prefer the factory look of the pvc.

Not bad!

Block off the front, and you'll notice how loud the intake is.

[Kevin108]

Thanks! Yeah the PVC probably looks better but I'm not entering any car shows. I do wish I could still find some of those jars though. I'm going to try to finish it up today.

[BIG_J]

looks good man, how do you like the ausie on dry day's just driving arround?

[Kevin108]

Thanks! In long turns, like interstate on-ramps in a cloverleaf configuration, you can feel the rear trying to push. Other than that slight understeer, it's been completely invisible. Also I just spent the last 3 days or so out in what started as around 7" of snow and is now slush and ice and I think the locker helped traction a lot even in these conditions.