snorkels

[hondahaulic]

Hey, is there anybody out there that has put snorkels on their trike? Im trying to turn my 200s beater into a submarine. I havent ever seen a snorkel setup on a trike and ive never really paid attention to how all the quads do it so the only things i know about snorkeling an atv is what ive read on here and what ive thought of myself.

I plan on both the intake and exhaust snorkels to be at the rear of the trike and im gonna run the intake snorkel directly from the air box. so far all i have done is sealed up the old intake on the airbox and put a new intake fitting at the rear of the airbox. I also butchered my gas cap so i can run a vent line from the cap to the airbox. I plan on running the crankcase breather, carb vent, and carb overflow into the airbox too. Then i plan on sealing up the recoil super good and greasing/sealing the light switch, sparkplug boot, and all the other electrical connections. Is there anything im leaving out? This is something I definately wanna do right the first time so any advice or suggestions are welcome! :)

[84honda200s]

sounds like you have it under control. be sure to post some action shots of it.

[honda_atc200es]

just remember, all the sealing inthe world wont stop your block from cracking

[ATC-Eric]

just remember, all the sealing inthe world wont stop your block from cracking



Have you cracked a block? I used to keep mine BURRIED!!!!!!!!! and the thing would just keep on kickin. :TrikesOwn

[honda_atc200es]

i havent cracked a block, but the previous owner of my trx did, it dosent always happen, but its a possibility everytime

[jeffatc250r]

I personally have never heard of anyone cracking anything from being in water,.

[honda_atc200es]

oh, i got the idea in my head when i was washing my bike after a ride and my dad said dont spray the engine it will crack, or the other time when i was starting the car in the winter and i revved it a little bit and i got yelled at case i couldve cracked the block

the science behind that idea would be that when an engine is hot it expends, driving through water that is cold causes it to rapidly contract, which possibly could cause a crack, harline or noticible, which could be exacerbated through repeated temperature fluctuations. but nice to know if it dosent happen

[jeffatc250r]

Anyways, i think thats a cool idea you got, keep us updated on how everything works! Only concern i can think of is the trike wanting to roll on its side from it wanting to float somewhat.

[hondahaulic]

yea, im kinda hoping that 20" tires and a 175lb rider will keep it from getting tippy, i might have to experiment with tire pressures.

It does kinda make sence that the block might want to crack when rapidly cooled, but for some reason it doesnt seem to pose a problem for most guys. I'll just try not to get the motor too hot before submerging it.

[kwbyfrmhell]

I used a flexible radiator hose and ran it out above the gas tank then put a k&n oil breather filter on it (my185s that is) I first tried a vacum hose but something about the ridges in it wouldnt allow proper air flow the longer the hose the harder it is to get air those lil carbs honda use dont suck to hard. IT works great I made my 185 into a floating mudbogger by puttin 25 inch carsliles on instead of the 22 inchers

[bassman]

I would actually put the intake near the front, maybe near the gas tank? Unles it is TALL, intake in the rear might not be to useful, as you most people put crank back on their atcs to get traction. And the front is much lighter, so while in the water/mud it is the most likley part to float. Just something to think about. I wanted to do the same thing, but time is my enemy.

[Dammit!]

There is a guy on here that has done this to a 250sx. I just can't think of his username.

[hondahaulic]

well i just came inside from getting the intake snorkel mounted and sealed up. Its made from 2 1/2" pvc and a couple elbows and fittings. Right now it just sticks straight up from beside the grab bar but if it looks like the top is too far back i might cut it shorter and put a 45* bend in it and use a longer piece of pvc. (sorry didnt have time to snap a couple pics)

[rally4x4racer]

i would think that under certain circumstances the intake would suck oil from the crankcase...

but with the lack of other options - you might as well!!

i know where a beat up old 125m is and your making me wanna go pick it up and do a super snorkel'r...

[hondahaulic]

well i have most of the intake done now. i just have to get a longer line for the carburator vent, set up a pre-filter and a couple fittings on the top of the snorkel, seal up a few things, and i think im gonna put some kind of filter on the crankcase vent tube so that no dirt particles are sucked in. I also have to make the exhaust snorkel.

If everything works as planned the gas tank vent, crankcase breather, carb vent, and carb overflow will all be sealed into the airbox so that none of them will take on any water. If any water or debris does make its way into the airbox, it should drain to a smaller resevoir below the airbox and then eventually out a one-way valve once i am out of deep water. If there is any mud that wont go through the valve i can easily pull off the tube and blow it out myself.

And back to the crankcase filter thing, does anybody know how fast the crankcase needs to breath? Like would a large in-line fuel filter restrict flow too much? I just dont want any dirt particles to enter the engine.

[RedRider_AK]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the crankcase breather is solely for the expansion of cold oil. If you had a completely sealed engine with no breather, it would have a lot of pressure in it when the cold oil expanded due to heating. I'm pretty sure you can put an inline fuel filter on it and it won't affect it much/at all.

[honda_atc200es]

:pics: :pics: :pics: :pics: :pics: :pics:

[hondahaulic]

the only other thing i can think that the breather would be needed for other than expanding oil, is to let air in when the piston goes up and out when the piston goes down. I kinda think that the piston moves too fast for the breather to have much effect, and plus the displacement of these smaller engines isnt really all that much compared to the entire volume of the crankcase. Ill probably go the fuel filter route and ill just make sure i use one of the larger ones (like the ones a little bigger than a shot glass)

[hondahaulic]

oh and as for pics, hopefully in a couple days ill have some but for right now the 3 wheeler is on hold for a day or two because i have quite a bit of work to do to a tractor to get it set up for a tractor pull on saturday (gotta shave off another couple hundred lbs. and switch a few tires around along with a long list of numerous things)

[honda250sx]

Like dammit said there is a user with a 250sx on here that has done it. Think he's from alaska as well.

[hondahaulic]

now that i think about it, i think i might remember seeing that. i think he made it removeable and stored it on the back rack. it seems like he set it up to connect to the factory inlet on the airbox, and if i remember right i think the tube was painted black lol. just cant find the thread....

[Name Brand]

There is a guy on here that has done this to a 250sx. I just can't think of his username.



It's probably me! I will be back in Alaska and reunited with my beloved trike in 7 days after being apart for about seven months!

The thread with a few of my mods on my 250SX is in my signature below. The tube is not painted, it's just ABS plastic pipe and related elbows. Mine is only 1.5 inch ABS and the engine gets plenty of air. That's about all the bigger the factory tube up the frame is anyway. While it doesn't look like it, it really doesn't get in my way at all. Cheapest and best mod ever; the car horn is a close second cuase I bought a pricey switch. The snorkel works great and totally changes how you will do water crossings. I look for the deep spots now!

[honda250sx]

Yes indeed it was you! That thing was a bad looking unit!!!

[hondahaulic]

yea that looks like a pretty well-prepared trail bike. Yea it was definately you that i was thinking of, i think i remember it from back when that thread was started. So how deep of water have you been in with the snorkel? Ever had any problems with leaks, oh and have you ever had any problems from taking in water through the carb drain, carb vent, or tank vent?

[Name Brand]

The snorkel has worked out very well, no leaks even from where the vent lines are run into the airbox (no sealant, just a very snug fit). I haven't had any water in my engine or rear diff either. I haven't had any trouble with water in the carb. I did rebuild it at the start of last summer so I know all the gaskets and little parts are good. If water is entering inside of it, it hasn't been enough to cause any trouble. If I remember to I will close the tank vent; I haven't had any trouble with getting water in my fuel tank even with the vent open.

At speed with the snorkel I have gone in water over the top of my gas tank. That's water level, not including all that splashes up. (not too fast moving water) Stationary in water my SX will sink until the water is almost to the top of the tank. I can roll along at idle speed and 2nd gear if the base is solid. The only problem is that at idle water gradually fills up my exhuast and eventually kills the engine. This has only been a problem on very long water sections (2-300 meters; belly button high flooded trails...) that had a soft bottom that would allow my tires to spin at higher rpm's. Keeping the rpm's low lets you go forward but also lets the exhuast fill up. With a little throttle my exhuast won't fill, but my tires want to start digging holes. I'd still like to build a better exhuast with a snorkel or check valve of sorts. At speed and tearing around in the water, I have no problem with the exhuast. I think doing wheelies help too.