Off road

With diesel model utes and twin cabs that have conventional air filters, does it make any difference to fuel consumption if a snorkel is fitted? My thought is with a snorkel air is pushed into the filter much easier then air being sucked in beside the front wheel in the standard model.

Re the VW Amaroks on Cape York. In the early 1970s I was on mineral exploration and surveying in Cape York with Alcan on bauxite exploration and GHD for surveying. Many of the survey pegs and lines you see north of the Wenlock River are mine. I hesitate to say they bred them tougher then but during my work up north I saw a VW Beetle make the journey. One Holden sedan and at least one or two on pushbikes also did it. Crossing the Wenlock, there was a sharp left turn on the south bank, then a drive about 20-30 metres down river, then a sharp right where the ripples on the water surface indicated a drop off to drive straight ahead to the north bank. One time one of our crew also dropped a wheel over the edge. We had just recovered the vehicle when the Leyland Brothers turned up. We dropped it back in and recovered it again so they could film it.

Driving on Fraser Island the fan belt on my 2013 Mitsubishi Pajero failed leaving me without an alternator and water pump. I contacted my dealer and was questioned as to why it had failed. They said the warranty would cover the cost of the part and labour to install. When I returned and presented the bill to the dealer they said they could not cover it because the island mechanic had charged me too much, and it was a simple job to change a belt. I believe they should pay the total cost plus the cost of installing a genuine belt to replace the one fitted on the island and replace the coolant that was lost. Am I expecting too much?