Anyone know where I can order a set of winter grill inserts for a '89 Jeep Cherokee? I currently have a set made Lund but one of them is missing and the others are in bad shape. I checked Lund's website but couldn't find them. Anyone know of a place online that carries them, thanks in advance.
Yeah I've seen people do that, but I'm trying to avoid it if I can. I need to do something cause it just takes my car way to long to warm up in the dead of winter.
My clever brother would buy a piece of naugahyde (sp?) and some snaps and fashion himself a grill bra in about 30 minutes. It requires putting a few snaps on your grill but works very well. Whatever you do, don't block the whole thing.
Cardboard worked for me and was free and readily available. A little paint and some zip ties and nobody even knows it's there.
I know what you mean. Our 88 is really slow to warm up too. My CJ7 heats up the inside faster....
One thing I found was to let it warm up in the driveway before starting out. It will then stay warm. Especially if I am heading for the highway. Otherwise I can go across the city via highway and never really have the inside warm.
Cardboard can be dangerous.....
On the highway or running hard or in a fast outside temperature swing, the engine can overheat. It is really not good to have the same rad blockage on the highway as the city and getting out to try and dig that piece of cardboard out in the freezing cold, well....
I have seen more than a few engines with baked valve guide seals because of that, including a couple of mine the previous owners had baked. (knew the owners) You know, that nice blue puff on first startup...
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
What y'all need is a set of those old radiator shutters like the 1922 Hudson and a few others.
J.C Whitney used to have a radiator block somewhat similar to a pulldown window blind, with a little cord to pull it up and down, but don't see them in the catalog any more.
Or just an unexpected pull. Have cooked the head gaskets in an MGB by forgetting to pull the cardboard. Darn thing never got hot enough to warm the passenger compartment at really cold temps without the radiator blocked on flat roads.
You think you got it bad, I live in Alaska. Last week it got down to negative 40 and that damn thing never got warm. On the positive side my Cherokee is far tougher than most cars, it starts unassited at very low temps (and when I say low I mean LOW)
That's a given in AK
Given where I live I dont think overheating is really a concern. I would only use the grill inserts until spring and then remove 'em.
I hear you, I lived in the Canadian Rockies for 8 years or so. Nothing like a snow storm on Labor Day weekend and having that snow stay for the winter...
These vehicles had idiot lights that only flag a boil over. One GMC 350 blew the top rad hose 10 seconds after the damn light came on when I went from -25C to 0C in an hour's time on the highway. (older hose, but still...)
I have also done trips where it went from +2C pissing rain to -30C blizzard in a 20 minute stretch.
Yup, blue as I said, heat baked valve guide seals. Change the seals, and no more oil burning or blue clouds in the morning.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
It don't work like that up here in the Great White North.
The t-stat will stay closed or 'just' crack open in the real cold. Blocking the rad will let it heat up enough to open the t-stat and actually have 195 deg coolant flowing.
Otherwise it is only very luke warm.
The t-stat opens a bit and the hot coolant hits -40 in the rad and shuts down the t-stat real quick.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Usually put on a different intake on the old Chevy just for winter that took air from under the hood rather than ducting it from the front.
Usually that pipe just sucks the intake air around the exhaust header, doesn't actually take in exhaust. In real cold climates you may even see heater lines running to the intake. And I'm talking REAL cold. breathcicle cold.
Just thinking of that makes me want hot chocolate.
That's the big problem at -40, the engine won't hold 195. As soon as the t-stat opens, the sucker gets flash frozen or flash cooled and takes a long time to get back to 195....
It gets colder here than where you are. -40F is the same as -40C And you still have 195 degree water no matter what if the thermostat is working. I will agree that if you have the heater blowing full blast, that may be enough to cool the engine until the cab warms up or maybe it never comes up to temp if you are sucking outside air.
I still wish the newer FI engines had a proper engine heating like my '68 Olds V-8 had: Dual exhaust had a thermostat in one pipe, shut that one pipe off and directed half the exhaust thorugh the intake manifold. Add in the heated intake and I could get regular gas mileage at -30F on the highway. (Which wasn't great but it would go to 5 mpg in really cold weather.
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