Has anyone put in a screen or anything to protect to cooling system on the front of the Ecoboost. The big open hole just doesn't sit right with me and I get asked by quite a few people "What if a rock goes flying in there?".

Any thoughts?

 

Add a billet grille?

 

Saw this one on ebay. I read on another forum Ford is supposed to address this. I don't know how the grille will affect cooling for the i/c. I would like to cover that hole too.


FORD F-150 09-11 FLAT BLACK BUMPER BILLET GRILLE GRILL | eBay

 

I bought a gloss black one from that same seller. It should be here by friday.
I prefer the look of the Harley Davidson lower grill over the billet grill but it looks like the HD lower may be too restrictive.

 

Covering that hole was one of the first things I did when I got my new rig home. That hole is just the right size for a pheasant or a rock to fly through and cause major havoc!



I also picked one up off Ebay for $41 with free shipping. I didn't like screwing it into the plastic, so I built mounts for mine that attach to the frame just behind that opening....very sturdy now.

 

Pardon my asking, but did you rhino line your fenders and what kind of tire set up do you have?

 

Wow, I was going to ask the same question!

 

Looks good with rhino lining if you did that...How about some more pictures of the lining please

 

With respect to the OP this is just a short detour with no intention to h/j.

Ed i like your ride as the others do! My Line-x dealer is also a bud (the umpteen trucks he's done for me has nothing to do with it). I'm going to print your pic and see if he can replicate. Looks tougher than Buschwackers!

Back on topic: your grille looks very nice too! I'm just waiting to hear what Ford has to say about this (if they ever do) since it might affect the efficiency of the intercooler. Any difference on yours? I will get one that has all the hardware to use existing mounts with no drilling required. Thanks!

 

How often do You hear of a PSD, Cummins, Duramax owner complaining of Their IC being punctured?

There are hundreds of thousands of IC'd vehicles out there. It's VERY rare to hear of IC damage because of road debris.

When was the last time You had an AC condenser replaced because of road debris???

 

Never thought of showing the rest of the truck! Here's some more pics with descriptions:

Just a couple of days after bringing it home, I got rid of those cheesy factory "AT" tires. I went to our local Big-O tire store, and they gave me $100 each on the factory tires towards the purchase of a set of Big-O ATs. Something I think worth mentioning, is that all the tires I purchase get "siped" during install. For those who don't know what that is, they place the tires on a machine that puts a series of cuts across the tread....the tires run cool, give better traction, and last MUCH longer....about the only down side to siping is that if you run on gravel a lot, sometimes small chunk of the shoulder tread will get "ripped" out of the tires, but that's only if your driving hard on the gravel.

Of course I had them line the bed...


But I didn't stop there. The last three trucks I've owned have all been lined on the lower 1/4-1/3 of the body, and I won't be without it again. It quiets thing considerably, and you never get rock/road debris damage on the rockers (we have more gravel than paved roads here in Montana)......






Since the new Fords do not come with rear wheel liners, I had them spray the insides of the rear well too. Before the lining, a small rock sounded like a bell ringing in the rear wells....now it's a soft "thud".
We have an outfit here named "Montana Elastomers". (Quarro coatings) I've found I like the material they use far better than Rhino or Linex....I've had both of those and had issues with each. The Quarro material is good from -65 to +250F. In the past I've had "chunks" of both Linex and Rhino lining "break" out of truck beds in very cold weather.
I even had the company come to my house and "line" our deck so I don't have to stain it every summer.

Total cost for all the lining on the truck was $1,088.00

After the lining, I finished the truck out with a new Century "T" class topper, and a Go Industries "Rancher" grill guard....... I also installed a Berug over the lining in the bed....mainly because it was much nicer on my old knees than crawling around on the bed ribs. I make my living as a Blacksmith/Bladesmith, so I also needed to have protection/security for the tools and materials I'm always hauling around.





The truck still has less than 500 miles on it, so I need to put some miles on, in hopes of breaking it in and getting better MPGs....right now the best I can pull in town is 13! The Mrs. and I are gona take a road trip this weekend...a couple of hours each way. It's a really nice rig to drive, about the only thing I miss from my old Toyota truck is the MPGs.

 

Hey guys.
I saw this over in the 6.7L SuperDuty forum. Looks like good stuff.
T-Rex Billet Grilles, Car and Truck Accessories
They make a black mesh as well as billet inserts.

 

You do have a good point. I don't recall reading of radiator, intercooler, ac condenser failure due to Foreign Object Damage. It doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The majority of vehicle owners don't post on forums. The vehicles you mentioned don't expose the intercooler like the ecoboost does. I've owned psd, cummins. The ecoboost has an opening large enough for a desktop pc leaving the intercooler completely unprotected. So far mine's been a damn good bug catcher! I'm not in a big hurry to cover it because its possible Ford left it open for a reason i.e. more air for cooling. So its all hit and miss. If Ford says its fine to grill then i will.

 

How about I don't just jack the OP, I derail it into left field...
My apologies actually...

I just got done contacting Montana Elastomers. How do you like your deck coat Ed?
I will try PMing you also to avoid being too disruptive here, but I have been looking for product and researching such stuff for a couple years now.

Thanks and again, sorry for the HJ

 

Wow! I have to say that looks good!
I would have never thought that it'd look that nice. Ford needs to see that, may be nice for OE or a dealer option. I need to show my boss, may be a nice option for us.