Snorkel in bull dust

Submitted: Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:28
ThreadID: 95775 Views:7079 Replies:11 FollowUps:19
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We are heading to the red centre this June/July with another vehicle, I am sure at times we will be the following vehicle in a lot of dust. What is the opinion of turning the snorkel head around to avoid the intake swallowing too much dust? Will this starve the engine of air by causing restricted airflow?

We have a 2009 Navara ST-X 2.5lt diesel

David
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Reply By: Crackles - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:39

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:39
From my observations turning the air ram around makes negliable difference to both performance & how much dust is "swallowed". Options are either drop back a bit more from the vehicle in front or if in a convoy you could consider fitting a cyclonic pre-cleaner. (They work very well)
Cheers Craig.............
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Follow Up By: David16 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:55

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:55
Thanks Craig,

Someone had mentioned the pre-cleaner to me, do you know where I can get one from, I'm in Melbourne.

David
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:22

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:22
Any truck spare parts outlet.

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Follow Up By: Crackles - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:27

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:27
Most companies that fit snorkels will have Donaldson pre-cleaners as an option. Can choose from the standard bowl or Top Spin models.
http://www.donaldson.com/en/engine/support/datalibrary/000207.pdf
Cheers Craig.............
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Follow Up By: David16 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:33

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:33
Thanks guys,

I just found some on eBay under "snorkel pre-filters" there are two types, a sock that fits down the intake tube and another the slips over the front of the head unit.

David
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 19:56

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 19:56
David the ram head pre-filters do a reasonable job if cleaned often. Have never seen the sock type before but doubt their claims it doesn't restrict air flow just a little. Best option for heavy dust are the bowl type.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PRE-CLEANER-DONALDSON-3-76mm-/150771806790?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item231ab33246
Cheers Craig........
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Follow Up By: splits - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:28

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:28
Craig

I wanted to fit a Donaldson to my car a few years ago and seeing their head office at Wyong is only an hour north of my home, I decided to call in while up there one day and discuss it with them. They told me the only pre cleaner they make for street use is for a semi. Their small bowl types are intended for stationary engines or things like tractors where there is no speed involved. They said the air has to change direction at 90 degrees to get up into them so the faster you go on the street, the less air the engine gets. I would imagine turning the snorkel head around would be even worse.
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Follow Up By: Gado - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:33

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:33
Agree with others saying it's best to drop back to minimise the dust intake.

We have a sock type precleaner, it is a fairly open sponge like material that is soaked in a light oil. Don't really know how effective, it certainly traps plenty of dirt and the car's paper filter lasts pretty well.

It's easy to blow through so doesn't appear to restrict air flow much. At least it's cheap, and can be easily fitted or removed.
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Follow Up By: David16 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:40

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:40
Thanks Gado,

I think that's the one I might buy and try. As we may only need it for a couple of times in real heavy dust (no intention to leave it on full time) .

David
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Follow Up By: member-PradoMad - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:41

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:41
Agree with Crackles as I use one of those and it works a treat; you will be surprised how much dust that thing collects.
JS.
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Follow Up By: Gado - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:48

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:48
Here is a link to the sock-type one we have. The opposition say the oil could affect the turbo but I can't see that anything significant would get through the paper filter

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Airflow-Snorkel-Kit-Pre-Cleaner-Filter-Sock-3-5-SP065B-/180862675330

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Reply By: RobAck - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:46

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 17:46
From our testing turing the snorkel around creates a low pressure area which means more dust gets sucked in rather than air rammed in. Not worth the effort in my view

Simply stay back from the front vehicle's dust cloud. This gives you better visibility so safer and a more comfortable travelling environment

Regard

RobA
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Follow Up By: Ozhumvee - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:13

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:13
Agree wholeheartedly, there is absolutely no reason to sit in dust when travelling, leave a k or more of space between each vehicle and use the CB.
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Follow Up By: David16 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:28

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:28
Thanks guys,

I have no intention of sitting in the lead cars dust trail, sometime though the finer dust lingers and hangs also wind can play havoc as well.

Is it worth the extra precaution with the finer red bull dust or just do the usual clean out of the filter each day? ( I have a spare element filter as well )

David
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Follow Up By: GT Campers - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 23:29

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 23:29
"Cleaning" a filter each day at a campsite is sooo Russel Coight: it introduces about 1000 percent more dust to the intake stream than a day's dusty driving...
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Reply By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:44

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 18:44
Hi David,

Just think about it logically.

The engine will take in as much air as it needs regardless of which way the snorkel faces. The so-called ram effect is likely to make little difference.

The air will carry a given amount of dust regardless of which way the snorkel faces. It is the same air at the front as at the back of the snorkel after all.

So minimise the dust by keeping well back, clean the air filter daily, and fit a pre-cleaner if you wish.

Cheers
Allan

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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 19:06

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 19:06
Good on you Allan, i was going to make the same points!!! Michael


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Retired 2016 and now Out and About!

Somewhere you want to explore ? There is no time like the present.

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Follow Up By: Off-track - Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 22:12

Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 22:12
Not entirely or necessarily true. Grains of dirt (dust) have greater mass than ambient air and therefore have more momentum. Simply put the grains of dirt cannot change direction as fast as air. The exact philosophy behind cyclonic air filtering systems.

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Follow Up By: PJR (NSW) - Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 07:52

Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 07:52
I will agree with Allan about keeping back. Don't travel so close. You have a radio and the lead can tell you if he is turning off track or even wait for at an intersection. All that convoy stuff.

Just keep back out of the major dust and you will be fine. Even safer and get the chance to see the countryside as you travel. You can also open the windows to get fresh air all the time.

Personally I wouldn't worry about a precleaner. We put a new filter in with each pre trip service and bung the cleaned old one in the spares. Give it a clean your air hose each day if you wish. So far the only trip we clean with it on was to Cape York and it was not really needed then either.

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Reply By: Member - RobnJane(VIC) - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:26

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:26
Hi Michael and others,

The thought that you may remove the air filter daily to remove dust is a little scary to me.

In the main you will still be in a dusty environment and the more often you unnecessarily remove the air filter the greater the risk of dust entry.

Remember as long as the air filter element is not damaged it will continue to work as a filter, all the way through till it is blocked. One of the best ways to damage a filter is to handle/clean it more often than is necessary.

My suggestion is to do what has been noted above, ie remain far enough back from other vehicles so you are travelling in 'clear' air and only clean the air filter out say once a week, or do invest in one of the cyclonic type of pre filters and clean it daily, but don't remove the main air filter daily.

PS. Even the 'ram air' snorkel provides some dust/water pre filtering as it should have holes at back wall of the snorkel which will direct the heavier particles( ie heavier than air) out of the snorkel.

Hope this is of interest.

Rob.
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Reply By: Rockape - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:42

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 20:42
David,
have a look at heavy machinery that operates most of it's life in heavy dust. Yes the machines have great dust filtration but your vehicle will never be subjected to 1% of what they cop. They get huge engine hours before they are due for a rebuild.

Even our cruisers with cheap paper filters (not genuine Tojo) are not destroyed due to dust at 8000 Hours +. These vehicles operate 90% of the time at 3000 revs and if you worked that out in 4 gear at those revs it would be around 600,000K and that is being on the very conservative side.


As others have said stay out of the dust if you can and all will be good. Plus stick to the original paper filter.

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Reply By: GT Campers - Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 22:29

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 22:29
..stay out of your mate's dust. Simple!

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Reply By: Ron N - Friday, May 25, 2012 at 01:09

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 01:09
Daily cleaning of an air filter should not be necessary, unless it's almost completely clogged. Air cleaners are best left alone, if they only have a portion of their dust collection capacity filled, because they filter better that way - and every time you disturb an air filter, it increases the chances of spilt dust getting into the engine. A precleaner is the way to go in heavy dust.

Cheers - Ron.
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Follow Up By: Member - eighty matey - Friday, May 25, 2012 at 06:22

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 06:22
Well I've learnt sometthing today.

I was always under the impression that the air cleaner should be cleaned but what I have read makes sense.

One less job I have in the morning now,

eighty
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Reply By: David16 - Friday, May 25, 2012 at 08:09

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 08:09
Well guys thanks to all the replies,

I have learnt something about this as well, don't touch the element filter unless totally blocked and perhaps use a pre filter over the snorkel head intake in extreme dust and stay well back from the lead vehicle!

That's why I posted, thanks again for the feedback
AnswerID: 486718

Reply By: Rangiephil - Friday, May 25, 2012 at 09:50

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 09:50
I have used a Unifilter sock system in teh snorkel on all my trips.
They are fantastic at collecting bulldust.
They come in a pack of three and each lasts about 2 days in dusty conditions. I then notice my petrol engine starting to be restricted.

They are then cleaned in turps which is a bit messy, as is the reoil.
My main aircleaner was still quite clean and servicable after a 20KK trip to the Kimberley.
They are worthwhile as you cannot always keep clear of dust , eg coming up behind a road train on the dirt and wanting to pass or say on the GRR there is a LOT of oncoming traffic. Don't just assume that it will only be you and your mate on the road.LOL.

Don't be like the bloke with a Disco I met at Mt Barnett Station, who showed me his completely blocked air cleaner element and asked if it could be cleaned! I blew it out with my compressor but there was not a new element within maybe 5KK>
So also take a spare element to be safe.
Regard sPhilip A

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Follow Up By: Rangiephil - Friday, May 25, 2012 at 09:52

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 09:52
BTW , there are 2 types of prefilter. The type I am referring to is a sock which fits inside the top of the snorkel.

These have a much larger surface area than the type which goes over the front grille of the snorkel top, and IMHO are far better.
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Reply By: Member - Bucky - Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 04:55

Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 04:55
David

You can sit back out of the dust, and that in itself will make a difference.
OR
Get a Donaldson Pre Cleaner.
But get a larger one..I think they are rated to the capacity of the engine. But if anything go up a size and not down a size.

Standard Nissan Snorkels are not angled correctly for the fitting of a Donaldson Pre-Cleaner, so you may have to get an adapter made up.

I should have done that ages ago, but I just buy a couple of extra Nissam Filters, when I go outback (most of the time).

CHeers
Bucky
AnswerID: 486793

Reply By: howesy - Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 15:26

Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 15:26
I use the Donaldson cyclonic pre cleaner and a washable K&N filter. I put a very small amount of light oil (any) in the pre cleaner and smaear the sides and it works unreal.
When selecting a pre cleaner get advice on size, so many are putting the smaller one on the 4.2 diesels and it has too high a velocity and doesnt filter as well. I ran the smaller on on a 2.8 Hilux and the bigger one on the 4.2 cruiser
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 17:00

Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 17:00
Be careful with oil or oiled filter elements with intake systems that have a MAF sensor!

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