First off the instructions they provide with the kit are pretty good, i am just going to try and fill in the gaps a bit. 1st step is to remove the airbox. Open the four clips that close the airbox then open in and disconnect the intake hose going into the engine. Remove the filter and try to keep in clean if you plan on reusing it. For the bottom of the airbox (the part with the factory snorkel) you will need to apply and little force and pull strait up, there are three rubber gaskets that hold the air box in place.
After you have the air box out its time to start marking up and cutting. (i used a dremel with a small cut off wheel for all the cuts in the airbox, made it easy work) The direction of flow in the air box is going to reverse from the factory style so there is two new holes that need to be cut and two holes that will need plugged up.
1. The first step is to remove the factory snorkel from the airbox, i did this by cutting Us around the rivets then pulling it out. you will have to cut off the flange that the snorkel attached with making all the edges flush with the side of the air box. This hole will be covered up with a flat stainless plate later.
2. On the opposite side of where you removed the factory snorkel you will need to trim of three ribs in the side of the air box. as you can see in the picture i cut out underneath the lip as well so i could fit the template and the fitting provided all the way against the underside of the lip (this keeps the fitting flat on the face of the air box and makes it easier to seal. after you determine where the hole needs to be drilled using the template provided drill using a 3" hole saw. Before drilling any holes in the airbox look inside at the surface you will be drilling into, the air box has some internal ribs you will need to trim. (the directions call for a 3 1/8 hole saw, i did all air box cuts with a 3" then used a sanding attachment on the dremel to enlarge the holes if required, i didn't want to drill them too big and leave excess wiggle room for the fittings).
3. Now on the previous exit on the factory snorkel you will need to cut off a few ribs and drill a hole for the new intake location into the airbox. use the template provided and take your time. I would align the new fitting to make sure it has a flush fit before drilling your holes.
4. Finishing off the airbox. At this point i got a bit distracted with the install and stopped taking pictures at every step. (sorry) For each hole you cut and need to patch up place the fitting on the air box and mark where you need to drill holes for the provided bolts. After you have drilled all the provided holes look inside the air box and ensure there is nothing in the way that will get in the way of putting on the nuts (there will be a few) After you clear out any obstacles with a dremel and utility knife do a solid cleaning of the interior of the airbox. Get out all of those plastic shards and any dirt that you have pulled in the factory snorkel REMEMBER your air flow direction will be changing. After its cleaned up lay down a good bead of black silicone caulking and place in each fitting, set this all aside. The factory outlet on the airbox will need to be capped with the provided cap, use a generous amount of caulking.
Set this all aside and let it firm up while you work on the battery.
5. My friend actually did the battery relocation work while i was on the airbox, so I'll try to give you the key problem areas that he had. In his words "the directions leave something to the imagination" seemed correct.
6. to install the bolt in the new battery tray your going to need a hammer and a block of wood, it takes some gentle forcing. see pic below. you want this bolt as far to the outside as you can get it.
7. see pic of new tray location, three bolts hold it in place marked by red circles. The kit i received was missing the two bolts for the right hand side (nothing a quick trip to lowes couldn't fix)
8. you have to relocate a mounting for some air hoses, put it down as far as possible (lower then the instructions call for) this will allow for more room for the new air intake hose.
9. Firewall time. Remove the plastic brackets that hold the wiring harness in place then use a wrench to break off the metal studs by wiggling them around a bit. Cut away the insulation at the firewall.
10. Put the metal firewall template in place and drill 1/8 holes so it can be mounted. Rivet it in place. This metal template was a great idea and makes drilling the hole much easier. your going to notice there is no solid place for you to put the center bit for the hole saw that will stabilize it while you drill. The metal template will keep the hole saw in its place and allow you to drill the holes effectively. Use the 3 1/4 hole saw for this hole and the cowl.
11. Grow some balls....your about to cut a hole in your brand new 2012, and not a little one. Your going to cut throw two pieces of metal here, then get to some fiberglass insulation, then one more piece of metal until the hole is complete. Take your time. Pull the wiring harness down while you drill the hole, see pic.
12. Now grow some bigger balls as your going to drill the hole in the cowl where people can see if you mess it up.. using the attached template mark where you will be drilling the hole with a center dent. See Pic. notice i did this in the seem which after the hole was drilled seemed like the best choice based on other clearance issues I will explain later. After you use the center dent a small drill bit < 1/8 inch and drill a pilot hole. One drill bit at a time work your way up to the 1/4 bit that is likely in your hole saw (remember you can change the bit in your hole saw if you desire) The reason to go from the smallest to largest bit is the location you are drilling the hole. A large bit right away is going to grab the panels and push them apart. It will also pull up on the panels and i was paranoid about putting a large dent in my cowl. Take your time. After you get throw the cowl and the body panel stop. After i got throw the cowl and the body panel was almost cut out i used a dremel to get it out. you will see the body panel takes a vertical bend and drilling would be difficult. Yes you will see some material below but the nice people at jeep we kind enough just to cover it with some painted tape leaving the perfect space to put an aftermarket snorkel.
13. Remove the Cowl. This is quite a challenge. First take off the bolts holding on the windshield wipers. The windshield wipers are a bit difficult to pop off. Put down a towel to protect the pain on your cowl and then tap the base of the wiper with a rubber mallet and it should pop right off. (this took a good 15 mins to figure out) There are 2 clips that slide in below the windshield to attach the cowl and some of those finned pins that hold it down. Remove the four bolts that hold down the cowl then open the hood. using a screwdriver (min was wrapped in painters tape to prevent scratches) pop out those finned pins. at this point a three man team is recommended. you will have to open and close the hood in various positions to slide the cowl out. I tapped areas i was worried about scratching with painters tape, see pic. (i felt the 3" hole was damage enough)
14. If you haven't started to touch up the paint and deburr. Remember to do this at every place your cutting.
15. Before inserting the firewall fitting and riveting it in place attach the new intake hose. that bundle of wires will go below the new hose. This is a giant pain and took a good 30 mins after the fitting was mounted. The 35 degree weather didn't help with flexing the rubber.
16. attach the firewall fitting using rivets and a healthy bead of silicone.
17. remove that painted tape under the body panel (just kind of bend it up gently) and attach the 90 degree hose, make sure the hose clamp is already on the elbow and you can tighten it after you are on the firewall fitting.
18. the rubber pad they provided with this kit was a literal piece of crap. The rubber was cracked and dried. when i pulled off the backside before i stuck on it the thing broke into pieces. I used some foil tape here instead, I'd recommend painting it. put on the hose clamp that will connect the elbow to the cowl fitting. the easiest way to tighten this later will be to open the hood and reach under it.
19. Determine where you want to attach the snorkel fitting to the cowl fitting and drill the holes for the rivets that will hold it in place ( you can do this later but it will send metal shards into your air filter (ouch). after your cowl and body panel are back together put in the cowl fitting. take your time this is tight. twisting it in place helps. rivet it in place as instructed. the long side goes down so the side with the weld will be up.
20. Put the battery back in. Before reinstalling the air box cut the hust going into the throttle body as described. attach the elbow and pipe fitting to the airbox outlet before installing it. attach the new intake hose the the new inlet. Now reinstall the airbox. Make sure your caulk around the holes in the fittings that hold the bottom in place. Remember your intake and outlet got flipped.
21. If you plan on reusing the filter from before cut of the tab that ensures in is placed in the right way. this will allow you to flip it over and put it in the air box.
22. attach that metal pipe to the hose at the throttle body you had to cut.
23. attach the snorkel fitting and rivet it in place.
Near the end its pretty self explanatory.
If you would like any more details please feel free to ask. I hope this is helpful. don't get me wrong i was nervous about drilling the holes in a 5 month old jeep, but i'm pretty satisfied with the final result. It seems like there is plenty of room for the air hose to get pushed down a little when the hood closes. I was a little worried about it at first.