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Rugged Ridge JL/JT Snorkel kit installed

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MNWrangx2

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Wow, i was so hyped when I seen it and about to order.

Now reading all this I guess I won't. How can the quality of a 600 bucks plastics part be so bad?
It’s relatively easy to install vs others and looks nice, but if you’re going for water tight performance without cutting the actual hood, I would buy Hauk if I did it again. But made the Rugged Ridge work with epoxy, strip caulk, and the 3D printed parts.
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RubiconIsland

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It’s relatively easy to install vs others and looks nice, but if you’re going for water tight performance without cutting the actual hood, I would buy Hauk if I did it again. But made the Rugged Ridge work with epoxy, strip caulk, and the 3D printed parts.
I'm looking for a cyclone snorkel. I life on a small island 50 miles from Sahara desert. So supply with parts and stuff is not too easy. If import something it should be solid and it seems sad, that a part from a well known brand for 600 bucks need to be fixed cause of design fails.
Also thats its not precisely manufactured and they don't even care. Don't like that..
 

alkapin

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I'm looking for a cyclone snorkel. I life on a small island 50 miles from Sahara desert. So supply with parts and stuff is not too easy. If import something it should be solid and it seems sad, that a part from a well known brand for 600 bucks need to be fixed cause of design fails.
Also thats its not precisely manufactured and they don't even care. Don't like that..
Slight off-topic :) I was on the Gran Canaria once for a week. What an incredible place to live and explore are these islands. The sad part is that they are soo small! You probably had it all driven thru in the first week? :) can you maybe post some photos in a separate thread? I would love to see Wrangler on top of those wild hills! Also can you easily ferry your Jeep between islands and perhaps to the coast?

👍👍👍
 

RubiconIsland

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Slight off-topic :) I was on the Gran Canaria once for a week. What an incredible place to live and explore are these islands. The sad part is that they are soo small! You probably had it all driven thru in the first week? :) can you maybe post some photos in a separate thread? I would love to see Wrangler on top of those wild hills! Also can you easily ferry your Jeep between islands and perhaps to the coast?
👍👍👍
Was in Gran Canaria last winter, it's very different to Fuerte. Theres high and steep Mountains, also lot of green, Fuerte is the oldest Island of the canarys. Its very dry, desert like.
There are endless possibilities for off-roading. Uncountable amount of ravines and volcano mountains + it's legal to go everywhere. So far I only discovered the surrounding area of my home, will take me a while to discover the whole island.
Theres ferry connection to the other islands of cause but governments is just setting up a ferry to Marokko, which brings you to Sahara desert in around 3 hours.
So yeah, is really a great place for a Rubicon. Only sad part is it takes forever to to get any parts for tuning and also as its European area, every tiny change at the jeep needs to be approved by government... That sucks a bit when seeing all your customized US Jeeps all day
Will open a photo thread soon!
 

alkapin

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Parts shipping must be super expensive there. I would suggest to bundle bunch of staff you want to get at one of the big aftermarket online stores who can ship to your location. This way you will pay once for a big box. And keep those pictures coming! :) Please tag me or post it here when you have it up :like:
 

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RubiconIsland

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Yeah, wanted to order Rock Sliders from ACE, shipping would have been 645$+ Import Fees of cause. Together thats more as the Sliders itself. Also I would take the risk that ITV not approves it.. Sending back is no option..
Even RAM Mount took 98$ for shipping... Thats real pain.
Guess will go to Spanish Mainland by ferry in Summer, there are a few jeep garages, they also know how to deal with ITV to get it approved. There's only very few combinations for steel bumpers with winch that can be used legally in Europe.
 

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I ordered my snorkel back in April 2020. and installed it shortly after.

In August of 2020 I took it apart so I could run the axle, transfer case, and transmission breather hoses to the air box using Hauk Offroad's Breather hose extension kit. I was disappointed with what I saw.

The injection moulded parts of the snorkel kit had deformed where the rubber hose connectors and hose clamps were used. I'm not sure if it was a defect in the design of the injection moulded plastic parts, that I just tightened the pipe clamps too much, or both.

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The seal look compromised, which could let water in. Plus it seemed likely that it could deform further. Rather than taking up the matter with Rugged Ridge, which would have been a hassle since I'm in Canada, I resolved to fix it on my own.

I designed and 3D printed spacers that fit into these parts and hold the openings close to their original size while also providing support to prevent them from being deformed. This allows the pipe clamps to be tightened very snugly without deforming or compromising the seal. I used four of these spacers, one each end of the long tube that crosses the engine bay, and one in each part that the tube mates to.

I am happy with the result, and have had them installed since late September. Since I haven't had any problems with them yet I thought I may as well share them. The STL file has been uploaded to Cults so that anyone who wants to can print their own now.

You can get the printable 3D model here:
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/spacers-for-the-rugged-ridge-jeep-jl-jt-snorkel-kit

If you don't have a 3D printer yourself you can probably get it printed for $15-$20 a piece from service (there are lots online, just Google it). Or better yet, if you have a buddy who has a printer just buy them a 1kg spool of ABS for $25-$30 and have them do it for you. One spool is more than enough to to do all four parts, with well over half the spool left over.

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A few notes:

* There is a lattice work/grill that is used to provide the support that makes the part hold it's shape. It likely will reduce airflow slightly, however I haven't noticed any change in performance.

* I strongly recommend 3D printing using a high temperature plastic like ABS. The air intake is not a hot part, but it is still in the engine bay, so on a hot day the whole assembly will be hot to touch.



P.S. With the Rugged Ridge snorkel I am also concerned about the connection between the Rugged Ridge JL/JT Snorkel kit and the airbox. The gasket is basically useless and the whole thing is is loose AF.

Check this video out to see what I mean:

It literally won't hold water, and is the lowest point in the entire snorkel system. If water is going to reach anything it will be this first. I haven't decided what to do about it yet but am considering siliconing the hell out of it and/or wrapping it in rubber from an old inner tube and pipe clamping it.


P.P.S. I never did get the damned Hauk Offroad's Breather hose extension kit installed. The breather on the transfer case is just about to impossible to get at, at least with my big hands (see the photo below). I also ended up melting and deforming one of the plastic fittings with a heat gun trying to get it into the hose (I was trying to soften the hose not the fitting). After a couple hours rolling around on the ground under my Jeep up on ramps I ran out of daylight and had to put it back to stock.

IMG_0858.jpg


The whole kit is just standard plastic fittings, fuel line, and zip ties. So I plan to get replacement fitting, and give it another shot next summer. I appreciate of the convenience of getting it as a kit, but it would be nice if there was more documentation or videos to show how to get it installed. I'm sure it would be much more pleasant to install if the Jeep was up on a hoist as well.

P.P.P.S. If you get work done at a dealership, it doesn't hurt to check their work. I got my Jeep serviced the day before I installed the spacers and while working on the snorkel I noticed the dealership had left the engine vent hose disconnected. An innocent mistake I'm sure but something they should be embarrassed about. I sure am glad I caught it the next day, rather than 5000 miles down the road.

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Just to keep people updated. I told Rugged Ridge about this problem as I have had it happen in the first 2 weeks of ownership. I also sent this thread and they really liked the above "fix" and it was passed onto engineering. They also said that the clamp screws go on the side of the piece as opposed to the top and it will mitigate the issue. I personally don't think that but I'll give it a go after I install the pieces I got a friend to 3D print for me.
I don't have the loose air box problem Partclay has either.
 

MNWrangx2

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Just to keep people updated. I told Rugged Ridge about this problem as I have had it happen in the first 2 weeks of ownership. I also sent this thread and they really liked the above "fix" and it was passed onto engineering. They also said that the clamp screws go on the side of the piece as opposed to the top and it will mitigate the issue. I personally don't think that but I'll give it a go after I install the pieces I got a friend to 3D print for me.
I don't have the loose air box problem Partclay has either.
Thank you for contacting them. My 3D printed inserts have kept mine rigid after a month (although had to take it off to change the battery and fuses with my unrelated radio error code 20). My air box was extremely loose, but a lot of JB Weld epoxy fixed that permanently.
 

Dyolfknip74

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Thank you for contacting them. My 3D printed inserts have kept mine rigid after a month (although had to take it off to change the battery and fuses with my unrelated radio error code 20). My air box was extremely loose, but a lot of JB Weld epoxy fixed that permanently.
JB Weld on the plastic? I was thinking RTV if required.....lol....
 

MNWrangx2

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JB Weld on the plastic? I was thinking RTV if required.....lol....
RTV for sealing, sure, but it was very flexible/loose like that video early. It does NOT move now with JB Weld (which I applied over the RTV)!
 

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joegrasse

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Has the material change been confirmed? Also would this provide a benefit to the 2L Turbo on a 4xe. I think it would provide a nice symmetry to the plug on the other side.
 

Dyolfknip74

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Has the material change been confirmed? Also would this provide a benefit to the 2L Turbo on a 4xe. I think it would provide a nice symmetry to the plug on the other side.
Not as far as I can tell.
It's a great mod, I don't know if it fits in the 4Xe though. If it does, it would help the 2.0 as it's the same 2.0 in other jeeps.
 

jwilson2899

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Just to keep people updated. I told Rugged Ridge about this problem as I have had it happen in the first 2 weeks of ownership. I also sent this thread and they really liked the above "fix" and it was passed onto engineering. They also said that the clamp screws go on the side of the piece as opposed to the top and it will mitigate the issue. I personally don't think that but I'll give it a go after I install the pieces I got a friend to 3D print for me.
I don't have the loose air box problem Partclay has either.
Apparently there is a material change happening with these. I installed my 3d printed pieces and so far no issues.
Rugged Ridge is aware of it and they are replacing the inlet and adding a metal brace that snaps on to keep it from doing this again. He also mentioned that they are looking into redesigning the inlet to have the brace built in. Once I reached out to them they just needed a picture of the inlet and then they sent me the new inlet and brace right away.

Here’s a side by side of the old deformed one and the new setup. I think the heat may have gotten it since it was fine as of last May when I checked it, but after summer it was like this.

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