Piece of cardboard in front of the radiator........free.

 

what's wrong with the motor running cooler temps? serious question.

 

In a nutshell:
Diesels by nature, don't heat up very quick during low temperatures. This means they don't put out much heat for your personal comfort. Blocking off the cold air passing thru the radiator helps the engine warm up easier/quicker therefore generating hotter water to circulate thru the heater core and warming the cab or defrosting the windshield. Warmer is better when it's cold out.

 

It's more than just comfort, there are lots of benefits to running at the right temperature. Fuel efficiency is one that comes to mind as well as heating the oil enough to drive off moisture.

Running under temp isn't good for the engine, so minimizing this is best for long engine life.

 

Toggle bolts should work well. I have billet inserts that are held in place using toggle bolts. It looks like these could easily fit under the inserts. I don't really live in a cold enough area to worry about needing a winter front, but this is a great idea.

 

Results have not been as great as I had hoped, it seems to be more effective on the highway then in town, but even then it's still only a tiny improvement. Unexpectedly, it seems to do a better job keeping the engine warm between trips. I've looked at blocking off part of the bumper but given I still need full access to the tow hooks and block heater cord, that appears to be troublesome but I'll have to look at it closer. At this point I might just be better off finding a different power source for the up-fitters and running the high idle with remote start.

On a side note, how long are y'all running your block heaters? I've been running mine for an hour before leaving, but that has almost no impact.



No templates other then whats on the truck

 

When ever I have plugged a vehicle in, it's been over night.

 

Really? You monitor your coolant temps with your Insight don't you? If it was 10°F out and I plugged in for one hour my ECT was at least 45-50°. Two hours and it was over 60°.

 

Same here usually overnight.

 

Question: Why do you need full access to your tow hooks?

On my 97' with a 7.3L I noticed the same thing the truck would pull enough air in through the bumper that it didn't seem to make much difference. I did run the winter fronts all winter though anyway especially when my wife had to take it to work because she didn't spend the time to let it warm up much and I was afraid that running down the road in the very cold winter temps that the radiator would freeze or at least turn to slush. I don't how often that happens but I have seen it when the antifreeze was not mixed to a very low temp.

 

I always seem to end up pulling a lot of cars out of the ditches every winter, though I guess I really only need access to one of them. It's supposed to warm up this weekend, I'm going to look at putting something in there then, we'll see how it goes.

 

OK Thanks, Try and make the inserts so they can be removed easily.

 

This is such a great mod I HAD to bump it up to the top !!!!

I like it, and I don't even NEED this mod in DFW

 

We need to bring back old school shutters with some refinements.