OK, my Safari Snorkel arrived from Rocky Road yesterday (thanks Glenn). The installation instructions say I have to cut an 85mm hole in the fender. What's the CORRECT tool to do this job? I'm a wood worker, not a sheet-metal worker, so I just don't know the best way to do this (and I don't want to hose it up).

Thanks for your help folks!
Bob

I've had good luck using hole saws.Drilling a starter hole and using a jigsaw works well also just take your time and go slow,be carful there is nothing behind the panel that the saw might contact.

85mm = 3.5" appox should be about the right size if you use a hole saw. I have a sheet metal nibbler that works great for that stuff, or even a air jab saw.

Plasma cutter?

Plasma Cutter. HaHaHaHaHa!!!!!!!
Yeah Tim, or maybe a CO2 Laser, or an 88mm Mortar!

I would use masking tape over the area you wish to cut. Draw the hole with a felt tip marker, then use the dremmel tool to cut the hole. Not the fastest way, but it looks better than a hole saw, in my opinion.

There is a good write up on www.discoweb.org, tech section, mantec snorkel install.

May help you decide...

I fitted a safari snorkel to mine. I didn't have the right size so I used the largest I had and then chain drilled and filed to the correct size. If you have the correct size hole saw that would be the best option as the wing is profiled so its difficult to mark out. The Safari template is quite stiff cardboard you might want to trace out the shape onto some paper which will sit against the wing (fender?) better. Have a look at my website under mods-snorkel. Also the fixings through the wing are locking nuts but they go onto studs anyway. The nuts won't come off but the studs could fall out anyway! I used loctite. Use plenty of silicon sealant on the joints.

www.rhinoman.fsnet.co.uk

I have snorkel on all my rigs except our Liberty (when ARB releases one for it, I will install on e there too).

For all of my installations I have used a hole saw. It gives the cleanest hole. Just go slow on the speed so it doesn't 'catch' and spin off sideways.

And of course, double, triple, quadruple check the placement of the hole before you punch it thru. The actual install of the snorkel on my Sidekick only took about 15 minutes.... before that though it took a good 20 minutes for me to check and recheck the primary hole location.

Measure your mileage before and after too. We've always picked up better mileage after install the ram air Safari Snorkels on our rigs. You may find it pays for itself in less than a year in mileage savings alone, not to mention keeping engine temps down.