OffRoad
1/2 ton status
will it make much difference?
CK5
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Do I need a "Winter Cover" for my grill?
- Thread starter OffRoad
- Start date
George_Pimpdaddy
1/2 ton status
would on warm up times and might help the motor keep its heat a bit longer. on mine i have the plastic grill inserts that cut down on flow but i beleive that they help
OffRoad
1/2 ton status
this is the kind of thing i'm talking about:
if it helps it warm up faster that sounds great. i just want heat in my truck. is that too much to ask?
if it helps it warm up faster that sounds great. i just want heat in my truck. is that too much to ask?
hey thats cool! can you drive with that on? its only like 38 here lately but i want heat too!
George_Pimpdaddy
1/2 ton status
i hate those and the buttons lol
drop the hammer
1/2 ton status
Unless your are running a diesel its completely unnessessary. Diesels hate the cold, anyone that works on them can tell you, weather there marine diesels that I work on or your automotive diesel. So people cover the grill with those ugly azz things so the radiator gets less air and in turn causes the engine to run warmer when the air temp is colder.
BKinzey
1/2 ton status
Cut a piece of cardboard and duct tape it in. If it helps buy one, if your engine burns up buy another engine and pay attention this time!
In city driving, no, on highway speeds, yes.
I don't see how they can. I know truckers do it, don't their trucks have thermostats as well?
Thermostat is what governs engine temp, you've got to conduct heat away from the cylinder walls, but if the thermostat never opens, and the engine won't warm up, that means heat transfer would have to be incredibly efficient somehow.
Only catch is if it is so cold, and so much air is moving past the engine, that it simply can't generate enough heat to ever reach operating temp. I can't believe that is possible with essentially no radiator though, which is what you have with a closed thermostat.
Reason it might help warmup times is because heat from the engine bay isn't radiated out the front. Still not moving coolant through the radiator. If you have a constantly on engine fan, then you are causing more problems too, which the radiator cover would band-aid.
Thermostat is what governs engine temp, you've got to conduct heat away from the cylinder walls, but if the thermostat never opens, and the engine won't warm up, that means heat transfer would have to be incredibly efficient somehow.
Only catch is if it is so cold, and so much air is moving past the engine, that it simply can't generate enough heat to ever reach operating temp. I can't believe that is possible with essentially no radiator though, which is what you have with a closed thermostat.
Reason it might help warmup times is because heat from the engine bay isn't radiated out the front. Still not moving coolant through the radiator. If you have a constantly on engine fan, then you are causing more problems too, which the radiator cover would band-aid.
vortec
1/2 ton status
I've never even heard of that. It just seems so wrong. I look at winter as a magical time of year when engines make more power, stay cool easier (not that I've ever had an overheating problem), and morons suffocate from using internal combustion generators in their living rooms. Uh, carbon monoxide is bad. mm-kay?
i have a problem getting up to operating temp on cold mornings, tstat is new this spring.
I'd verify that the gauge is accurate first.
Once it reaches temp, does it stay steady? Rock solid?
Another possiblity I thought of regarding this whole issue is that if you have a thermostat with the "extra" holes in it, even though the engine is cold, you would still get some cooling which won't help matters.
Oh yeah, CPT Obvious to the rescue. (my mistake in not stating this right off the bat) Cooler outside temps mean it takes that much longer to reach operating temp. So of course when the temperature is 10* outside it will take longer to get the engine to 195* than if it were 30* to start with.
Once it reaches temp, does it stay steady? Rock solid?
Another possiblity I thought of regarding this whole issue is that if you have a thermostat with the "extra" holes in it, even though the engine is cold, you would still get some cooling which won't help matters.
Oh yeah, CPT Obvious to the rescue. (my mistake in not stating this right off the bat) Cooler outside temps mean it takes that much longer to reach operating temp. So of course when the temperature is 10* outside it will take longer to get the engine to 195* than if it were 30* to start with.
MTMike
1/2 ton status
If you have a properly working T-stat you should have no need to block airflow to the radiator for temperature control. My old car took forever to warm up and despite changing the t-stat several times, it never would warm up. So I ran cardboard in the radiator to help, and it worked, but I got tired of having to adjust it all the time, so I changed the T-stat one more time and it warmed up perfectly every day after that for the 2 years that I owned it afterwards.
I would suggest changing t-stat again.
I always laugh when I see cars & trucks with those things on them.... "You spent how much on that when all you needed was a $7 thermostat and a gallon of coolant?"
I would suggest changing t-stat again.
I always laugh when I see cars & trucks with those things on them.... "You spent how much on that when all you needed was a $7 thermostat and a gallon of coolant?"
OffRoad
1/2 ton status
ok. looks like i won't buy one. luckily i already used the money i saved from NOT buying one of those grill covers to buy a membership here. yaaa!
MTMike -- the other day i imagined building a truck sort of like yours. but for more of a daily driver. a crewcab on a shortbox frame. 2wd, 6.2 / 700r4, with 4.10s and 31" tires.
MTMike -- the other day i imagined building a truck sort of like yours. but for more of a daily driver. a crewcab on a shortbox frame. 2wd, 6.2 / 700r4, with 4.10s and 31" tires.
One other thing too...if you have a lower than stock rated thermostat (180*, 160*, etc) then replacing it with a 195* will get you warmer heater temps.
"Cheapy" thermostats are pretty notorious for being bad out of the box.
I notice on my commuter car now that the temperature is 20* or more colder than it has been, the engine temp takes at least 5 additional minutes to get the gauge moving off the lowest mark, driving the exact same route every day.
"Cheapy" thermostats are pretty notorious for being bad out of the box.
I notice on my commuter car now that the temperature is 20* or more colder than it has been, the engine temp takes at least 5 additional minutes to get the gauge moving off the lowest mark, driving the exact same route every day.
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
I had 2 different syles for My old F150. I never used em', but they came with the truck. One was Mesh almost like a screen door type mesh, and the other one was soild.
Pookster
1/2 ton status
if you drive a lot of low temps, a piece of cardboard helps a lot.There's a lot of air that moves through to the engine, just by the fan being semi on all the time. even if it isnt full flow.
from my understanding, a hot engine=cleaner burning/more power.
its only that you want a denser air charge. Colder air has more oxygen per cubic feet. but you want the engine to be at operating temps as soon as possible.
from my understanding, a hot engine=cleaner burning/more power.
its only that you want a denser air charge. Colder air has more oxygen per cubic feet. but you want the engine to be at operating temps as soon as possible.
rjpastor
1/2 ton status
All these posts about thermostats and block heaters really make me glad I'm in So. Cal. It was really cold this morning -- 48 degrees.
Cowboy_80
1/2 ton status
rjpastor... I hate you. I think that was the high here yesterday.
I spent time in sub zero last winter with a brand new 195* thermo. The truck would warm up fine, drove down the road just fine, but I could watch my thermostat open. I would be running just fine, then my temp would drop about a quarter of the gauge. Warm back up and do it again. Can't be healthy. Heater worked like a champ though.
I didn't have a thermostat on my way to CO and the truck wouldn't warm up on the freeway. Constant temp shot almost luke warm air through the heater.
So, a working thermostat is great, but if you're in constant subzero (F), then I think the bra pad would be beneficial. I've seen people think a little bit and just mount their spare in front of the radiator. Did the job.
Yes, diesels love the heat, but gas doesn't like it too cold. Or maybe it's just the oil that doesn't like cold. A diesel will keep on running until it melts the steel around it. It's just unfortunate that we haven't developed a metal that can withstand constant running temperatures in the 600* range. That would be a happy truck.
I spent time in sub zero last winter with a brand new 195* thermo. The truck would warm up fine, drove down the road just fine, but I could watch my thermostat open. I would be running just fine, then my temp would drop about a quarter of the gauge. Warm back up and do it again. Can't be healthy. Heater worked like a champ though.
I didn't have a thermostat on my way to CO and the truck wouldn't warm up on the freeway. Constant temp shot almost luke warm air through the heater.
So, a working thermostat is great, but if you're in constant subzero (F), then I think the bra pad would be beneficial. I've seen people think a little bit and just mount their spare in front of the radiator. Did the job.
Yes, diesels love the heat, but gas doesn't like it too cold. Or maybe it's just the oil that doesn't like cold. A diesel will keep on running until it melts the steel around it. It's just unfortunate that we haven't developed a metal that can withstand constant running temperatures in the 600* range. That would be a happy truck.
