Hey guys.

This is concerning the little ranger in my signature.

This winter my truck warms up very slowly. I've replaced thermostat with the proper temperature motorcraft replacement. There are no air pockets or leaks.

As a temporary fix I cut a piece of rubber mat and slipped it in between the a/c radiator and the cooling radiator. It is held in place by the jack handle and the hood prop rod. There should be an inch or so exposed at the bottom.

I've driven like this for about a day now. It seems to be helping considerably, the truck defiantly warms up quicker and runs hotter, and the heater will run you out. It has not even got close to overheating yet.

I live in central Indiana by the way.

Do you guys see anything wrong with using mats in front of radiators, as long as I keep an eye on the temp gauge to make sure it doesn't over heat on warmer days?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

I like to use a piece of cardboard cut to fit the radiator. I cut a diamond out in the center to allow for some cooling. The cardboard is light, stiff, and thin. The cardboard sets on the lower lip of the radiator and is easy to remove after the winter season.

 

I've put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator on trucks I've owned, and had no problems. But the truck's engine does need airflow to keep it cooled, so I would'nt seal it off completely with a rubber mat. The inch of space at the bottom might not be enough to ensure enough air is coming in through the grill, so you might want to cut a bit out of the middle.

Another think to think about is that when you are driving down the road, air is pushing that rubber mat into the radiator fins, and it might be tough to remove it without damaging them. A piece of heavyweight cardboard slips in and out without concerns like this.

 

good point

 

Won't hurt a thing, but I'd rather find the cause. When is the last time you actually flushed the system? You could have a partially clogged heater core.

 

I've only had the truck for a year now.

It's not just what heat I get through the vents, the temperature gauge for the engine takes forever to get to normal range now that it's cold out.

I assume this hurts my gas mileage worse, in combination with winter fuel blends.

 

Do you have any idea of how many minutes to get off the cold peg? How far do you drive & do you give it some gas at all? Probably a good idea to drive it hard at least once a week, just like the TSB on the Cologne 4.0L - for any engine. That TSB indicates once a day to 3k rpm. That being said, I drive my little 6 hard at least once a drive, but I'm not as much a leadfoot as my dad, whose foot is either deep on the gas or the brake - all the time. That's worse. Probably a sluggish coolant system as PW suggested somewhere. Just not the only possible cause.

 

With a new thermostat, it should heat up without blocking air flow through the radiator. Are you sure that the thermostat went into the groove and sealed up the passage? If it was off center somehow, it will allow coolant to slip by.
Indianapolis doesn't regularly get cold enough that you would need to block the radiator, so there is something amiss. Both heater hoses should be about the same temperature, and hot. If you get an air bubble, you might not get much heat from the heater.
tom

 

just as a point of reference, mine warms up in 5-10 minutes of easy in town driving... no matter how cold the ambient temperature is...

 

get a real temp gauge on it.