Beware or cheap eBay snorkel kits

[rickgq]

I recently purchased an eBay snorkel kit and installed it onto my patrol, went thru a deep river and the car started to miss, even though I made sure it was all sealed, anyways got home and pulled the intake off the front of the turbo and blocked it off and filled the whole snorkel with water to try and find the leak, I was shocked to find that water was leaking out of the plastic, the plastic is that poor that if you look closely it's covered in little holes and the whole snorkel started to seep out water from all over and with in about 5 seconds it was starting to drop on the ground. Pls beware iam not going to name and shame but this is a perfect example of I got what I payed for.

 

[croozza]

I recently purchased an eBay snorkel kit and installed it onto my patrol, went thru a deep river and the car started to miss, even though I made sure it was all sealed, anyways got home and pulled the intake off the front of the turbo and blocked it off and filled the whole snorkel with water to try and find the leak, I was shocked to find that water was leaking out of the plastic, the plastic is that poor that if you look closely it's covered in little holes and the whole snorkel started to seep out water from all over and with in about 5 seconds it was starting to drop on the ground. Pls beware iam not going to name and shame but this is a perfect example of I got what I payed for.

Not good, but yes you do get what you pay for.
Have you been in contact with the seller yet, so you can get your money back.
Lesson for all here.

 

[Vegetoast]

I'd make scene about that! Thats just wrong! The damage and cost to you, If the seller doesnt make it up for you, get onto ebay and paypal (assuming you paid through paypal) and ***** about it. Paypal is like insurance but you only have 45 days to open a case.

 

[BGH]

should have call me Rick......

i could have got my mate to make an air box and stainless snorkel for ya cheap.


defiantly do what Jon says and get your money back for the crap from ebay

 

[JBird]

I don't know what the rules are here as far as naming & shaming goes, but It'd be a heads up for the next bloke looking at purchasing one; he might not be so lucky.

Glad to see you caught it before you had a very costly repair bill.

 

[Swaggie]

A few of the main players in the snorkel market do a lot of Design/Testing/Quality control of there products etc etc...This comes at a cost.A cost i am prepared to pay for in this game..

Save Up and Get yourself a Safari and be done with it...

Cheers

 

[tankbloke]

Left your feedback for that seller yet? Negative feedback may get a resolution.

 

[NIAL8R]

EVILBAY strikes again !!!

on another not and sry for the thread jack but would anyone have a pic of the top mounting bracket for a Safari Snokel to suit 96' HiLux ? mine was missing when i bought it, it the one that attaches to the A pillar.

 

[rickgq]

Well I have had it on the car for months when I had the petrol engine so I really never went thru many deep river crossings, only now that I did the diesel conversion and I sealed it up 100% I found the fault, the brand is AIR FLOW

 

[JBird]

EVILBAY strikes again !!!

on another not and sry for the thread jack but would anyone have a pic of the top mounting bracket for a Safari Snokel to suit 96' HiLux ? mine was missing when i bought it, it the one that attaches to the A pillar.

NIAL8R try here mate, just click on the blue link under 'part number' that corresponds to your truck and that should give you a pic.

Jason

 

[surfer]

Well Well, I have an Air Flow Snorkel and I will be disconnecting the hose and filling the snorkel with water. I'll report back on the weekend!

 

[Swaggie]

Well I have had it on the car for months when I had the petrol engine so I really never went thru many deep river crossings, only now that I did the diesel conversion and I sealed it up 100% I found the fault, the brand is AIR FLOW

Hiya Rick

Seems that you have decided to name and shame the company,i would hav thought you would hav contacted the Manufacturer first and at least give them an option to rectify the situation,How can they fix something that they know nothing about ????..Looking at Airflows site its doesn't look like a small company..

If they gave you the runaround etc etc and dont backup there product then post...

 

[surfer]

Well Air Flow will do anything to satisfy any customer!
I contacted them yesterday and they said if there is a leak through the plastic or the molded bolts they will send me another one instany and I purchased my one on ebay over 8 months ago!
I want to also point out that i found this thread on the net in regards to the installation of a air flow snorkel in the US it was shipped to them from Aus, check it out!

Product Review: Airflow Snorkel by GibsonRM - Jeep Commander Forums: Jeep Commander Forum

Regards
Scott

 

[Outrage]

May not be to do with this, but it's a possibility. There are a lot of cheap chinese style knock offs of brands out there. They copy another companies design to the letter, even logo's and build plates, produce them with cheap materials/craftsmanship then sell them.

Obviously a major copyright issue there but it's what happens. Plenty of items out there like that in the mower industry so I don't see why the 4wd industry wouldn't be affected by it.

Just a possibility of what's happened with yours Rickgq. I tend to follow River Swaggies' advice on the first page, save up and buy something I know will work (although i guess everyone can't do that).

 

[NIAL8R]

NIAL8R try here mate, just click on the blue link under 'part number' that corresponds to your truck and that should give you a pic.

Jason

Thx Jason, they show all the partsbar the piece that im looking for

 

[surfer]

May not be to do with this, but it's a possibility. There are a lot of cheap chinese style knock offs of brands out there. They copy another companies design to the letter, even logo's and build plates, produce them with cheap materials/craftsmanship then sell them.

Obviously a major copyright issue there but it's what happens. Plenty of items out there like that in the mower industry so I don't see why the 4wd industry wouldn't be affected by it.

Just a possibility of what's happened with yours Rickgq. I tend to follow River Swaggies' advice on the first page, save up and buy something I know will work (although i guess everyone can't do that).

I payed $285.00 with a tax invoice from Airflow, Safari wanted over $700.00 as I have an import car! - I looked at all the options............
I suspose it is just Like Toyota Hilux and the Nissan Patrol - they all do the same thing!

 

[JBird]

Hiya Rick

Seems that you have decided to name and shame the company,i would hav thought you would hav contacted the Manufacturer first and at least give them an option to rectify the situation,How can they fix something that they know nothing about ????..Looking at Airflows site its doesn't look like a small company..

If they gave you the runaround etc etc and dont backup there product then post...

In all fairness to everyone else though, why not name the product involved? At least this way anyone else using that particular brand will get a heads up that the problem exists and it's then up to them whether to check their installation or not; could save someone a hefty repair bill.

It's not like the company involved will lose thousands anyway, as people will still make up their own minds regardless. Posting the company/brand name can also have it's positives as in the case of 'surfer' if they are willing to go out of their way to help rectify the problem; this then shows everyone that although they may have the odd manufacturing problem etc, they stand by their products and are more than happy to help out.
However, should they snub their nose at the issue? Well that will also give others a fair indication of what they can expect to deal with should they choose that manufacturer/brand.

Just my 2¢

 

[Watt]

yeah i have an airflow snorkel and i have no problems, it is airtight and i installed it myself with the help of my brother...

Here's the link to the install right up i did.

http://www.4x4earth.com.au/forum/general-4x4-discussion/7220-airflow-snorkel-install.html

I guess every manufacturer can have bad batches every now and then, hopefully they replace yours Rick.

Im with surfer in regards to the price, i like to buy quality items but the safari snorkels were just to far out of my price range at the time.

I got mine from 4wd Systems in South Aus...

 

[Tuff HJ60]

Thats shocking
Good 2nd hand safari ones are the go!

 

[redandy3575]

I recently purchased an eBay snorkel kit and installed it onto my patrol, went thru a deep river and the car started to miss, even though I made sure it was all sealed, anyways got home and pulled the intake off the front of the turbo and blocked it off and filled the whole snorkel with water to try and find the leak, I was shocked to find that water was leaking out of the plastic, the plastic is that poor that if you look closely it's covered in little holes and the whole snorkel started to seep out water from all over and with in about 5 seconds it was starting to drop on the ground. Pls beware iam not going to name and shame but this is a perfect example of I got what I payed for.

I believe it's a new age high tech submergable snorkle No serious though, that's not right, you should reply to the seller and explain to him what's happened and see if he'll come to the party in regards to maybe offering a resolution. If that doesn't help then you have no other option but to leave a negative feedback. At the end of the day, it's his reputation at stake.