I don’t really want to drive through deep water but sometimes the situation calls for it. I don’t want a snorkel… I’m bot wanting to do a traditional snorkel but I do want to protect the air intake from water ingestion now that the fender liners have lost some of their integrity to fit tires.

Is there a good way/place to relocate the intake that would make it less prone to sucking in water if the front end gets briefly submerged? I’ve heard of cowl snorkels but they don’t seem to be a thing with the 4Runners.

Or I’d even be interested in a good way to seal up the fender liner without hurting tire clearance. the pinch weld mod and pretty significant trimming.

I didn’t know if anyone here has any thoughts/recommendations. Thanks everyone

There aren't really options that are viable outside of a snorkel. The main reason I put one on is because I removed my inner fender liners to fit larger tires. There was no other option especially since I do the occasional deep water crossing intentionally and accidentally from time to time. They look dorky but they are functional

A great way to avoid hydro locking your 4runner is to not do a viper cut, there's also some theory with the speed that you pass through the water.

I'd be super weary of going further than the wheel well even with a snorkel.

The issue is the fact that its open to the wheel well area, stock are usually okay because they're protected by the liner but as soon as that's gone, large puddles can easily cause it to hydrolock. If you can do something to prevent water splashing in the inlet then that might be all you need.

Most of the hydrolocked 4runners that I'm aware of are due to water splashing in the inlet and not necessarily that the front end was submerged.

Ya too bad we dont have a functional hood scoop, that would be a big help with water crossings

Without removing the connection to the fenderwell or modifying the intake I'm not sure there's much of a solution

Not sure if it'll work or not, but it popped up on my youtube feed. It was a DIY hidden snorkel for a tacoma. Basically rerouting the inlet with another flex tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=elCF0ZHSiv3T8H_m&v=ajfM6FBqs_8&feature=youtu.be

Anything deeper than the allowable 27.5" and you are likely to float away. Nothing you can do about that sort of loading up with bricks.

I have the same issue because my custom front bumper leaves an opening under the headlight. Somehow water and mud get splashed back there. I think snorkels look crappy so that's not an option for me. I've never driven through water that deep but I have to change my air filter all the the time, much more than normal. Not really a good option to fix it. The air inlet is positioned in a specific way to take advantage of Bernoulli's principle so you don't really want to mess with it. There's actually quite a bit of fluid physics involved with the air intake system and the PCM is programmed to the OEM setup. I guess you could get a new hood with a scoop through an insurance claim 😉😉 if somehow the hood is damaged. I would like to have a snorkel that is sleek and not noticable.. one day in the distant future I may get crazy and do this project. My idea is to run the snorkel through the windshield pillar where the curtain airbag is. I don't care about airbags and they don't even work anyways. Trust me my face found that out after a meeting with the steering wheel. To do it correctly within OEM specs regarding the physics involved is the tricky part.. also another reason I wouldn't want an aftermarket snorkel unless it's specifically engineered to flow air the same as OEM

Yea... I'm not really wanting overly sensitive airbags tho since the truck does get banged around a little. I have a friend who ran his intake into the cabin but it was a trailered rig and he still said it was too loud so he replaced it with a traditional snorkel. Well if there isn't anywhere to relocate the intake, is there a good way to seal up those wheel wells a little better?

Get metal liners fabricated.

Maybe some sort of spray or roll on rhino liner type product. That would be a huge improvement over that ugly plastic. Probably cleans up nice too.

If ya'll plan to plow through water deeper than about a foot, you might also want to consider the rear diff breather mod. It relocates the breather outlet up to the fuel door. There is a writeup in the sitckeys.

Yup already got the diff breather.

I wonder if you would like a sleek snorkel like the one on the 2024 Tacoma Trailhunter. Would be awesome to see if we could use that same design for the 5G 4Runner

I like the looks of the TJM snorkle.
I would get one, but other things have taken priority.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk