Waterproof Airbox

[Meat]

Hey guys whats the best airbox setup for riding wet trails. I get water in my airbox EVERY ride. I've tried the stock snorkel and now I have the airbox lid off and the snorkel removed, still swamping out my airbox. Where can I buy a lid with an outerwear installed on it ? Any tricks on waterproofing my airbox. I drowned out my engine three times today because of water in the box and its just from hittin' puddles too hard.

[danhung11]

I have this air box in my garage with a custom lid, it deflects water from the filter. You can have the air box for whatever shipping costs. It was on a GNCC bike I picked up, have no use for it.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd228/danhung11/DSC02301_zpsc1cae781.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd228/danhung11/DSC02303_zps60ca245c.jpg

[hawaiiysr]

Do you not have a open drain at the bottom of the box to let h20 out? Gotta let the stuff out that gets in.

[danhung11]

Yes, it's an OEM box.

[Meat]

Do you not have a open drain at the bottom of the box to let h20 out? Gotta let the stuff out that gets in.

yeah i got the stock airbox, there's a hole in the bottom, thats not the problem, the problem is my filter gets soaked and it kills the engine.

[Meat]

Dan thanks for the offer but i have a spare airbox and lid. I could mod my lid to look like the one in the pic. How well does it work ?

My setup consists of a stock airbox, no snorkel, no lid a UNI filter and I use an Outerwear on the filter. I have the snorkel blocked off with a Nac's block-off.

Here's the situation. If I hit a puddle hard enough that it splashes water up around my helmet.... there's a 95% chance I'll also soak my air filter. If I go in any deep water, like a stream or deep puddle that I have to churn out of... I'll swamp my filter. The quad dies and then I have it dry everything out. Had to stop and dry sh1t out three times yesterday. It sucks having to stop and go slow through every god damn puddle.

I've had NO luck with the lid and snorkel on. In fact I think it was worse when the snorkel was on.

I've been dealing with wet air filters for years on these 250Rs and haven't seen a good setup yet.

I'm a pro at drying out my filter and outerwear on the trail. My buddies 450's don't have this problem and they use a lid with an Outerwear glued onto the lid. Thats my plan, but I don't want a home made lid/outwear.

I've also tried putting UNI foam vents in my stock airbox lid and it choked off the airflow too much. So I removed the little foam pieces from the UNI vents and that increased flow but..... it lets in water and I swamp out the filter... taking the foam inserts out of the UNI vents is basically the same as running with NO lid.

I couldn't keep water out of my LRD no-link airbox, for a coupla year I fought the puddles and the puddles always win. I've spent three riding season trying to waterproof that setup with no luck. Now that I'm back to a stock frame with a stock air box... I have the same troubles. I just wanna be able to blast a puddle without fear.

Its very frustrating.

[danhung11]

Couldn't you just run a full air box setup? Lid and all?

I don't run my quads through puddles that deep, so I don't know. This came off of Todd Gilhams old Laeger that was built for GNCC series. He said it looks like ****, but works awesome.

[troybilt]

ON the stock box do you have the rubber stopper on the bottom of the airbox. If you ran the lid and the snorkel and still drowned out, about the only place water can come in is the bottom. Most airboxes I've seen are missing this piece. It only lets water out not in.

[RyanWsly]

Build one like in the picture, make sure you keep the drain open on the bottom because it will get clogged up from time to time.

[skyeryder]

When I used to race GNCC's on a R we used to cover the top with a furnace filter material called cat hair. lets air in and still alittle water but like said before as long as the drain plug is off never had any problems. Not for sure if that was the real name, but it was like a blueish colored filter stuff

[Meat]

Couldn't you just run a full air box setup? Lid and all?

Well its gotta breath. If I put the lid back on, then I'd need to run the snorkel again or mod the lid... which is where I'm at now.

[Meat]

ON the stock box do you have the rubber stopper on the bottom of the airbox. If you ran the lid and the snorkel and still drowned out, about the only place water can come in is the bottom. Most airboxes I've seen are missing this piece. It only lets water out not in.

Rubber stopper ? I have a hole in the bottom of my box for the water to drain. I know some boxes come with a little piece of tubing attached to the airbox drain hole, I don't have one. But I'll guarantee the water is not coming from up through the hole in the bottom. That hole is about a 1\2 inch diameter, plus factor in gravity and the distance from the small hole to the filter...

I ran with the lid and snorkel on for about 6 years and it never kept the water out. When I'd drown it out, the snorkel tube was always wet. The freakin' snorkel breaths at the front of the quad, so as soon as I hit some water, it would go right up the snorkel and right back to the box. Removing/blocking off the snorkel definitely helped.

[Meat]

I'll have to shoot a video of my setup the next time I drown it out, which will be the next time I ride because I've never gone riding my 250R without having to stop and dry out the air filter :(

[danhung11]

As a suggestion, you should get like a 400EX to put this abuse to it. I don't like reading that you drown out your TRX250R. :cuss:

[Meat]

Yea I have a nice LRD 270 power valve motor that processing all this muddy water, its killing me too. On the other hand... I have become quite the puddle dodger and I can pull my air filter out in a minute and 4 seconds flat(im a pro).

[mx91a]

Here is my setup for harescramble races:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l209/mx91a/FEF197DD-A274-410A-9775-44E63246C8E6-17525-000018140458FC64_zps00317fee.jpg (http://s97.photobucket.com/user/mx91a/media/FEF197DD-A274-410A-9775-44E63246C8E6-17525-000018140458FC64_zps00317fee.jpg.html)

I made the cover out of outerwear material and glued velcro on the 4 sides of the airbox and outerwear. I also cut a piece of skid plate foam to fit under the gas tank opening to keep mud and water from the front tires out and then cut a piece that goes around the sides and back of the airbox to keep water out from the rear tires. This gets squished down under the seat/fender. It has worked pretty good at keeping mud and water out of the airbox the past 2 years except the last race at Rausch Creek I think I sucked in a little bit of water but was crossing some good puddles like this:

http://jkolvaphotography.smugmug.com/AMA-National-Adults/Quads/29516989_hKTb35#!i=2524985337&k=J56H9xt

http://jkolvaphotography.smugmug.com/AMA-National-Adults/Quads/i-WPZZjXV/0/L/P5190265-L.jpg (http://jkolvaphotography.smugmug.com/AMA-National-Adults/Quads/29516989_hKTb35#!i=2526168660&k=WPZZjXV&lb=1&s=A)

http://jkolvaphotography.smugmug.com/AMA-National-Adults/Quads/i-VBqkkxJ/0/L/P5190266-L.jpg (http://jkolvaphotography.smugmug.com/AMA-National-Adults/Quads/29516989_hKTb35#!i=2527010974&k=VBqkkxJ&lb=1&s=A)

I have the EHS airbox lid on my ATC250R and made a deflector like Dan showed out of sheet aluminum and it worked out perfect at the Line Mountain race a few weeks ago here is a clip of me hitting the water hole and ripping up the hill no sputtering from water intake BRAAAPPP BRAAPPPP!!!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E_vah9XvUg8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Pumashine]

The price you pay for having too much fun?

[Meat]

OooOOOoo I like the skid plate foam setup :o I think that's the plan, along with the outerwear material over the box. Thanks for the ideas Mx91a.

I went riding yesterday and here's a video of me hydroplaning a puddle and soakin' my filter. The puddle wasn't small, but it wasn't giant either. And I did successfully hydroplane the puddle, just that my rear tires splashed up enuf water to kill it. Long'ish video, I hit the water near the end of the vid.

http://youtu.be/1i6fmBuImEA

[8686]

Sounds like a challenge to keep that air filter dry!

[DnB_racing]

OooOOOoo I like the skid plate foam setup :o I think that's the plan, along with the outerwear material over the box. Thanks for the ideas Mx91a.

I went riding yesterday and here's a video of me hydroplaning a puddle and soakin' my filter. The puddle wasn't small, but it wasn't giant either. And I did successfully hydroplane the puddle, just that my rear tires splashed up enuf water to kill it. Long'ish video, I hit the water near the end of the vid.

http://youtu.be/1i6fmBuImEAya that's not right!!!! sometimes were we ride its far worse then that,
I never had any issues with water unless I drowned it lol... but definitely not from splashing up..

but I do use different filteres for different conditions,,, K+N for wet days and uni for dry

the way I look at it is a wet dirty uni is the worst thing to have along with a dry dusty K+N
water doesn't stay in the K+N its dry almost right away..as long as the trails are for the most part wet a K+N works better then a UNI to stop the water and mud
now on a dry dusty day I would never use the K+N,

OH and I run an open lid most of the time sometimes if conditions are extreme ill use an drywear air box cover,
with a clean one way drain tube... I have never seen any water accumulated in the bottom of the air box,
and have had no intake or performance or reliability problems
are you sure your stalling from water into your carb and not a wet wire???
it just seams like such a small amount of water for your issue

[Meat]

Dee en bee, thanks for the comment. You might be onto something with the K&N for wet days. I was never a fan of K&N filters on ATVs, but that's what my riding buddy uses on his YFZ and he's not swampin out his motor.

I too suspected the electrical system. But it can't be. I bought a brand new '89 harness and all the connectors have dielectric grease and everything is taped and tied up where it should be. I don't run the stock kill switch or a headlight and have those taped and tucked away.

When I get the quad wet it boggs the motor out like in that video. So I head for the airbox right away and the air filter is ALWAYS soaked. Like bad soaked. The Outerwear is completely wet and the inside of the box is completely wet and there's always some water still puddled up at the bottom of the box. When I pull the UNI filter out, I can shake it and the water comes flyin' out. It takes a good 5 hard shakes before the water coming out of the filter slows. Then I shake out my Outerwear. Again, water flyin' everywhere. My UNI filter is clean and newly oiled for everytime I go out riding. I have 4 UNI's I rotate through. I used Klotz brand filter spray, says right on the can that its "waterproof". After I shake out my filter and Outerwear, I wipe out the air box with a rag and then clean the intake boot as far as I can reach. The boot ALWAYS has drops of water on it. Its ugly to see it. I wipe it out. I can pull the filter and dry everything out in about a 10 minute stop. I put everything back together and 9 outta 10 times it fires right back up and after it "clears it throat", it back to rippin' full HP. Till I hit the next puddle too hard. Anyone read all this ? ;)

[wilkin250r]

Oddly enough, one of the best airbox designs I've ever seen is on one of the worst quads ever made, the Polaris Trailblazer. The filter is vertical, and clamps between the lid and base, and any water swamping the airbox would fall straight through.

1718103823

[Meat]

Interesting design.

I got my foam today, and I just came in from the garage to get a good look at that foam barrier setup mx91a posted.

Its been raining everyday here in Pa, so I gotta rig something up asap.

Also... mx91a, I see ya race at Rausch and the 7-miler. Where ya from bud ? I was born and raised in Trevorton and now live about a mile outside of Trevorton. Ever been to Gap Racing, I worked at Gap for about four years.

[DnB_racing]

Dnb (sp),LOL anyways >>> You might be onto something with the K&N for wet days. I was never a fan of K&N filters on ATVs,

in my opinion damp wet muddy conditions K+N is the only way to go, as long as its not real dusty

different conditions require different setups, give it a shot you wont hurt your motor any worse then it taking a drink of dirty uni water

[Meat]

oh man, Ultra-mega-foam is installed !! I'll show yas my fantastic foam whittlin' skills soon.

Thanks for the reply Dee en Bee ;) Stage one is the big foam stuffed all around. Stage two is going to be the Outerwear material over the box. If those two fail me, then Stage three is 'stage Kay and En'. :D

[spintly]

I have been using this for two years now and is working like a charm even hitting large puddles that soaked me, but not the airfilter.

http://www.ehsracing.com/products/250r_airbox_EHS.htm

[chronicsmoke]

Here is my setup for harescramble races:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l209/mx91a/FEF197DD-A274-410A-9775-44E63246C8E6-17525-000018140458FC64_zps00317fee.jpg (http://s97.photobucket.com/user/mx91a/media/FEF197DD-A274-410A-9775-44E63246C8E6-17525-000018140458FC64_zps00317fee.jpg.html)

I made the cover out of outerwear material and glued velcro on the 4 sides of the airbox and outerwear. I also cut a piece of skid plate foam to fit under the gas tank opening to keep mud and water from the front tires out and then cut a piece that goes around the sides and back of the airbox to keep water out from the rear tires. This gets squished down under the seat/fender. It has worked pretty good at keeping mud and water out of the airbox the past 2 years except the last race at Rausch Creek I think I sucked in a little bit of water but was crossing some good puddles like this:


This is a great Idea! where'd you get 'skid plate foam'? I may have to mimick your setup

[2001400exrida]

my thoughts are as long as you maintain a good foam filter you can keep crap out. I run an open airbox lid for harescrambles and trail riding and i run a uni filter. That uni filter will be dirty as all get out on the outside, but after my races/rides i take it off to clean and the inside of the foam filter is spotless. The uni traps everything and doesn't let anything through. my intake is alwasy clean when i wipe it with a paper towel. Sure some of that mud and muck will tend to clog the filter but i've never noticed a performance loss or any engine stalling. Point is.....keep a filter oiled and maintained and you can get away with nothing getting into the motor. with the oil on them, the filters are waterproof.

[Allison55ex'er]

Rubber stopper ? I have a hole in the bottom of my box for the water to drain. I know some boxes come with a little piece of tubing attached to the airbox drain hole, I don't have one. But I'll guarantee the water is not coming from up through the hole in the bottom. That hole is about a 1\2 inch diameter, plus factor in gravity and the distance from the small hole to the filter...

I ran with the lid and snorkel on for about 6 years and it never kept the water out. When I'd drown it out, the snorkel tube was always wet. The freakin' snorkel breaths at the front of the quad, so as soon as I hit some water, it would go right up the snorkel and right back to the box. Removing/blocking off the snorkel definitely helped.

I'm with Troy.. I think they put that stopper on there for a reason. Use it

[Meat]

Nope, the missing little tube was not my problem. I made a foam enclosure like the one pictured and it works great. Sorry I haven't kept yas up to date on my airbox problem, I'll have to go snap a few pics or make a video and show yas my setup. Also, I just ran out and measure the diameter of the drain hole in the bottom of the box, its 3/8 of an inch....

[DnB_racing]

Nope, the missing little tube was not my problem. I made a foam enclosure like the one pictured and it works great. Sorry I haven't kept yas up to date on my airbox problem, I'll have to go snap a few pics or make a video and show yas my setup. Also, I just ran out and measure the diameter of the drain hole in the bottom of the box, its 3/8 of an inch....what was the problem... I see you found a fix,

but considering most trail riders use the stock box, and almost drown it (like me) and don't have that problem.. something must have caused it... just saying:confused:

[mx91a]

This is a great Idea! where'd you get 'skid plate foam'? I may have to mimick your setup

Her you go: http://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/HELIX-SKID-PLATE-FOAM

[ridehonda400ex]

Just a thought but maybe you could WD-40 the inside of the airbox to help displace the water more quickly when it does get in

[ridehonda400ex]

Just a thought but maybe you could WD-40 the inside of the airbox to help displace the water more quickly when it does get in

[Meat]

better late than never....

http://youtu.be/7tfal9gaOhc

[86 Quad R]

i've read through the entire thread and at the risk of stating the obvious..... i've concluded is that your having issues with water being funneled/channeled by the fenders, in the front when you were running the OEM snorkle and airbox lid and in the rear when you opt'd to remove the snorkle and run a open lid. as a veteran creek rider i can assure you that you cannot effectively run the snorkle setup without a baffle(OEM nose piece) to deflect the water thats being thrown under the front fenders from the front tires. and the same applies to the rear as ALL the water is being directed to the top of the air box and even with a lid that has a aftermarket cover will not prevent water from entering.

ultimately i had to run the system in its original form from the factory, making sure that i had a good working (peter) drain valve on the bottom of the airbox as its function is the close when the buoyancy of water forces around it and drains when you approach the banks. . afterall, it was designed that way for a reason. ;)

if you have an engine that's modified to the point where it will not run well with a closed induction system. i'd suggest that you run the OEM snorkle with a closed lid and add a larger snorkle to the extreme rear of the OEM air box and plum it high and reaward between the fender and grab bar.

[danhung11]

Where the heck you been Randy, wow! Good to see you're alive and kicking. I asked Wayne about you not too long ago, hope all is well my friend. Carry on...

[86 Quad R]

Where the heck you been Randy, wow! Good to see you're alive and kicking. I asked Wayne about you not too long ago, hope all is well my friend. Carry on...

Hey Dan...... still alive and well. been caught up in life, working on the house and the home front ect. took me away from R's for a while lol. infact, she is still sitting where i parked it when we returned from the Lil' sahara trip.....SAD i know. :(

[Meat]

http://youtu.be/0njVUHO8zSQ