I extended my breathers to a safer location. I know some simply run them higher and some run them up a snorkel. I decided to run mine to the air box. I bought some 6mm elbows with push fittings on one end and threads on the other. In the lower air box I drilled three holes then installed the fittings with sealant. I don't have pics of the filter, but I also installed a small filter system onto the openings inside the box. I considered going on the upper side of the filter which would make more sense. Cleaner air. But I am pretty sure that side will have some vacuum since the filter has some restriction. I don't think constant vacuum on the transmission, transfer box and front diff would be a good idea. Intake before the filter would have the least amount of vacuum unless there is an obstruction upstream. Future project would be to install a port so I could actually test vacuum on either side of the filter. If its low on the clean side, I may switch things around.

 

Seem like it would work like the vacuum lines for the valve covers (only no PCV valve) do with the intake manifold.
Not sure how much vacuum would be required to pull diff fluid up the line, but I would guess not as much as you think.

Truth is I have no idea if it will hurt the diffs and transfer case or not, but after you run this a while, we will all know won't we?
Looks like a clean install just a bit curious of the location, but as my disclaimer often says....... I could be wrong

Just like Motor Trend........ Please give us a long term report, as this may be good for those of us who go swimming in 1-3 feet of water on a regularly basis as many of us here in Houston often do. (by the way , we got 24 inches of rain for the month of September 2018)

Jeff

 

There is no vacuum draw before the filter, at least not measurable. Post filter, at least when dirty, I suspect some is possible. Large diesel trucks generally have a small clear indicator on filter dirtiness, this is just a vacuum gauge post filter. So like I said, I did not put these after the filter. Consider the surface area of the filter versus the opening diameter of the throttle body. So your greatest vacuum point will always be after the throttle body itself - a point of restriction again the engine which is basically a large air pump. Before the TB there is always ample flow because you do not want restrictions before the TB. If you have restrictions, the engine can not breath to its maximum potential. With the 4.4, the inlet tube housing the MAF is the same as the diameter of the TB for that reason.

You can not pull up fluids from the breathers unless the vehicle is in some very precarious positions, at which point I think fluids into the air box would be the least of the worries. So the only way to get fluid up would be if the components, like the front diff, actually filled up with a displacement fluid (water for example) to the point where it could reach the top of the unit and thus into the breather tubes.

 

DakotaTraveler,

I concede. You are right, and this setup may never draw fluid into the airbox. (a quick look at the school books on physics swayed me to your side).

Now, onto other things.

What are your plans for the rest of the snorkel to seal it up?
What tube do you use to get the air from the fender to the airbox?
What are your plans for the modules behind the battery? (this one scares me more that hitting underwater objects while swimming for rendering the car literally “dead in the water”)

Jeff

 

The snorkel is already installed and came with a tube which I sealed up to an elbow attachment to the air filter box. But I do not care for the seal one bit. I have some ideas, just looking for the right part to do the job. The modules I plan to open up, coat with conformal coating, then seal up with Renzoil. The connectors will just be aided by dielectric grease. The internal rubber bits already work very well. I never plan to get that deep, but not everything goes according to plan. I also looking into relocating them. I've made engine harnesses and more, so its something I think I can tackle - but a project like that is far from the top of the list.