phazertwo
Die Summer DIE!
I am starting to think cold weather, and prepping for snowmobiling season. I think I am going to need a grill block off. Anyone have a favorite? Pics? Prices? Where to purchase?
PZ
PZ
Winter time grill block
- Thread starter phazertwo
- Start date
Jake_IN
Full Access Member
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I have a Fia cover, I actually didnt notice to much of a difference untill the sub zero temps hit. Even then it only helped a little which i think is partly because the radiator sits so far back from the grill. However it does look nice on it. Heres the website i got mine from.
http://www.realtruck.com/fia-winter-front-and-bug-screens/R14283P1C1T.html
gatorman21218
Registered User
My grill has snaps on it. dont know if yours does or not. You could probably go to a canvas place and have something made up for you.
argve
Resident Fruitcake
When I had the Enterprise 1 I made my own out of a piece of smoked plexiglass - I'll do the same with E2... I'll just use hollow wall anchors (the toggle type) to hold it to the grill.
Ironman03R
Full Access Member
IDIDieselJohn
0-60....eventually
Heres mine:
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f-two-fiddy
Registered User
A properly maintained IDI doesn't really need any kind of winter front. My 85 will bake You out of the cab, even at -20 F.
h2odrx
Anti-O
phazertwo
Die Summer DIE!
Thanks guys!
PZ
PZ
pybyr
Full Access Member
Last winter (which is the first winter I owned my IDI) I did not run any sort of cover up front, and found that the rig warmed up OK (in fact, remarkably quickly) and stayed that way- MUCH more than a Dodge Cummins that I used to own.
Do people really think the 'front' is an important thing?
Do people really think the 'front' is an important thing?
Oh no 
Its not time to start prepping for winter yet is it?! I swear summer just got here!
I'm surprised some of you guys frown on the front covers
Its not a matter of keeping your cab warm its getting your engine and all the other heat exchangers up to a decent operating temperature and having them stay there. Anyone that has driven through Wyoming in the middle of January when it feels like 40 below knows how important these can be. I'm sure some of the Canadian members will chime in.
Its not time to start prepping for winter yet is it?! I swear summer just got here! I'm surprised some of you guys frown on the front covers
Its not a matter of keeping your cab warm its getting your engine and all the other heat exchangers up to a decent operating temperature and having them stay there. Anyone that has driven through Wyoming in the middle of January when it feels like 40 below knows how important these can be. I'm sure some of the Canadian members will chime in.Heck yea, if it's -50 and you want your block heater to do any good aside from just making your electric meter on the house spin around faster than a pre race burn out, you want one of those things. it'll keep the heat under the hood where you want it, and when you park it'll keep it there for longer periods of time. It'll keep temps up under the hood to where coolant keeps circulating through the rad and you don't get a block of ice up there that won't penetrate
Without one some folks can get into trouble without knowing it. They think, Oh, thermostat will protect me and so will antifreeze, but what they fail to realize is the antifreeze goes into bypass mode in the block recirculating in the block and heater core and nothing is going to the rad and with the arctic air passing through the rad it can turn the rad into a solid block of ice, but when the engine gets to a place where it suddenly is pulling and needs the rad, it goes to push coolant through the rad and guess what... someone stuck an ice cork in the blamed thing and it's instant overheat time, where as if there had been a winterfront on there would have been enough underhood heat to keep the rad thawed out and and even with the thing zipped up they will draw fridged air from under the bumper and grill and if the fan kicks on they will suck air like crazy and when it's that cold, it doesn't take much to cool.
I've seen this stuff happen many times when I ran a big truck up north. Not pretty.
Without one some folks can get into trouble without knowing it. They think, Oh, thermostat will protect me and so will antifreeze, but what they fail to realize is the antifreeze goes into bypass mode in the block recirculating in the block and heater core and nothing is going to the rad and with the arctic air passing through the rad it can turn the rad into a solid block of ice, but when the engine gets to a place where it suddenly is pulling and needs the rad, it goes to push coolant through the rad and guess what... someone stuck an ice cork in the blamed thing and it's instant overheat time, where as if there had been a winterfront on there would have been enough underhood heat to keep the rad thawed out and and even with the thing zipped up they will draw fridged air from under the bumper and grill and if the fan kicks on they will suck air like crazy and when it's that cold, it doesn't take much to cool.
I've seen this stuff happen many times when I ran a big truck up north. Not pretty.
f-two-fiddy
Registered User
Umm.... Properly maintained is the key.
Anyone, up here, with a lick of sense makes sure they have the proper antifreeze in their rigs.
Also, it's well documented that the IH IDI does not have a bypass. Unless You count the little jiggle ball.
The IH IDI warms the radiator nicely. As stated Mine will bake You out of the cab at-20 F/ 60 MPH with the heater on medium.
I will agree that if Your parked into the wind, You will loose some heat from the block heater. BUT the block will still get PLENTY warm. As it will only bypass the thermostat when it reaches the t-stats opening temp.
Winter fronts are not needed with a properly maintained IDI.
Prolly do more harm that good, if not opened on warm days.
I've tried the winter front. For one winter. It really didn't make much of a difference.
Anyone, up here, with a lick of sense makes sure they have the proper antifreeze in their rigs.
Also, it's well documented that the IH IDI does not have a bypass. Unless You count the little jiggle ball.
The IH IDI warms the radiator nicely. As stated Mine will bake You out of the cab at-20 F/ 60 MPH with the heater on medium.
I will agree that if Your parked into the wind, You will loose some heat from the block heater. BUT the block will still get PLENTY warm. As it will only bypass the thermostat when it reaches the t-stats opening temp.
Winter fronts are not needed with a properly maintained IDI.
Prolly do more harm that good, if not opened on warm days.
I've tried the winter front. For one winter. It really didn't make much of a difference.
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Jake_IN
Full Access Member
In that picture yes it is on.
Have you ever tried to get a combustion gas test reading off the filler neck of an idi when the thermostat was closed? Those suckers seal off TIGHT, and there is no circulation through the radiator and it can give a false negative reading on an engine with a blown head gasket . You end up having to slide a piece of cardboard down in front of the rad to bring it up to operating temp to get the water flowing freely through the rad before you can get an accurate reading. Before that , there's nothing moving in there.
