Winter Fronts

[msimmons]

Gentlemen:



I posted earlier about finding a vinyl winter front for the '03/'04 CTD at Alaska Tent & Tarp. I took the plunge and ordered one ($39. 95_ and installed it today.



It is a heavy black vinyl with a zipper running vertically halfway down the center. It attaches with snaps to the upper radiator support and at the bottom to the bumper brackets with bungee cords. Fully snapped and zippered it covers 100 % of the radiator area. Unzipped and fully snapped it exposes about 25% of the radiator area and partially snapped and unzipped it exposes about 50% of the radiator area.



Installation took about a half hour which consists of drilling holes for the snaps in the radiator support (1/8" drill bit and #2 Phillips) and installing the snaps in the vinyl (leather punch and snap staking tool).



The installation is entirely invisible from the exterior since the winter front mounts behind the grille so your CTD's appearance is unaffected.



It hasn't been that cold here in MO yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how the heater peformance improves.



The cost is minimal and I'm impressed with the fit. The vinyl is cut pretty precisely to match the contours of the radiator support.



Mike

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Mike, sounds like a slick product. Can you get some pictures of it and post? I am planning on getting a set of EricBu12's winter fronts but am curious to see how yours fits up. Might take 2-3 pictures of it at different opening amounts.



Vaughn

 

[CIverson]

That sounds pretty nice. and easy to take on and off.



I made a radiator cover out of plexiglass for my truck.



Had it cut the size of the radiator (27x30 if anyone is wondering). And then dremeled a 10x10 square hole in the center of it.



I mounted it w/ those plastic bolts they use to hold on electric fans.



It has worked great, and I like the fact I'm only covering the radiator and not the transmission cooler or intercooler.

 

[Ladders]

Just a word from the past... We found out a few years ago if you cover the intercooler, you will lose miles per. The 03/04's may not be affected but until we try, we wont know.



My old y2k lost about 2-3 mpg when I had the intercooler covered and almost no mpg loss when I moved the cardboard between the intercooler and radiator (about a 10-12" hole in it for air flow).



SOTSU!!

\\BF//

 

[msimmons]

I don't have a digital camera, but I will try to borrow one and post some pix. Interesting comments about covering the intercooler though. I will have to monitor my mileage and see if there is a difference with this winter front.



Mike

 

[MUDDY]

i got the front from eric bu. looks great on my 03. my pics didnt turnout. gotta take some more. i ran erics winterfronts on 2 2nd gens and 1 3rd gen and noticed NO decrease in mpg

 

[Parshal]

Mike, how do you like the winter front now that you've had it for a while? Did you ever get pics? It sounds pretty nice. The radiator seems to leave the top fins exposed and makes them easy to bend. Does this front sit on the exposed fins?



I've had EricBu12's plastic winter front for almost a year now but find them difficult to deal with when the temperatures fluctuate so much here. I end up removing one or two on the side of the road and I'm tired of forgetting.

 

[msimmons]

Parshal:



I installed the WF about a month ago and used it for a day or two during a cold snap, but then removed it again when the weather warmed up again. I jyst installed it again sveral days ago and so far so good.



Yup, the vinyl rides right on the A/C condensor fins put it isn't harming them in any way. The zipper down the front allows you to open the front for ventilation which exposes about 1/4 of the radiator surface area. I can expose more by unsnapping a few snaps.



I can really tell the difference in warm up time with the front on. Sorry, I don't have a dgital cam for pix. The front was easy to install and took less than 1/2 hour. Removal and reinstallation now that the snaps are installed takes less than 5 minutes.



Hope this helps!



Mike

 

[Parshal]

Thanks for the info. By the way, did you have to buy a lleather punch and snap staking tool. ?

 

[msimmons]

Yeah, I already had a leather punch but for the few holes you will need (about 8) a ten penny nail will probably do. The staking tool for the snaps you will have to buy. I got one at Lowes for about $4. 95 and included another dozen snaps.



Mike

 

[Pugster]

In 1959 I bought a new Volvo PV544 for $1500. 00. Since it does get quite cold in Sweden it came equipped with a heavy black canvas window shade mounted curled up at the bottom of the radiater. Attached to the shade was a chain which was routed over top of the engine through a hole in the dash handy to the driver. As the weather got colder outside you could raise it or lower it while you were driving. This simple idea worked quite well. I remember many times driving in the mountains with the temps. below 0F. Wth the shade pulled up the car was toasty warm with the engine temp @ 190F. As the outside temp warmed up you could lower the shade without stopping the vehicle to prevent overheating. By the way, then a case of beer was $3. 25 and a gallon of gasolene was 14. 9 cents/gal.

 

[msimmons]

Fred:



What a novel idea! I was thinking as I installed my winter front that it's only a matter of time before someone comes up with an electrically actuated, louvered winter front for the diesel pickups. The Volvo idea is so simple it's elegant.



Mike

 

[CROW]

My first car was a Volvo PV 544, those were tough old cars. Only problem with the "shade" in front of the radiator was remembering to let it down when the car warmed up. Can you imagine if a manufacturer installed such a shade in front of a radiator today, someone would inevitably forget to let it down, get everything too hot and ruin a motor and you know what would fly. Many years I worked for a trucker while in college who had Cummins motors in grain trucks. They had shutterstats (as I recall) in front of the radiator that were controlled by temperature. Looked kinda like a venetian blind.

 

[Pugster]

Many heavy trucks today, and for a number of year have louvers in the grille either air or hydraulically operated. The shade was a novel idea. It worked well. You did have to remember to let it down or you would cook the engine. Maybe that's why the idea was discontinued.

 

[Parshal]

Well, I got the winter front from Alaska Tent and installed it last night. It had the snaps already on the front and rivets for the snap that attaches to the truck. The EGT's definitely take longer to cool down with the front attached.

 

[msimmons]

Parschal:



Yours had the snaps already installed in the vinyl?..... hmmmm... mine was just the bare vinyl and I had to install both the male and female snaps. No biggie really, it didn't take long to put it on. So far our weather here in MO has been quite mild so I've taken it back off, but on the few cold days we've had, it really has helped the warmup time. Hope you like your winter front.



Mike

 

[Parshal]

I definitely like it but it makes some noise at highway speeds and slows down cool down quite a bit.

 

[SLinse]

I live in Fairbanks so I went and had Alaska tent and tarp install my winterfront. I really like them. I had one on my 97 psd and worked great!! They make winter fronts for just about anything. Anyways, after it was installed I took a road trip (about 350 miles)to anchorage over the weekend. The outside temp was about -10 and the engine temp would stay about 195-200. I ran about 100 miles cruise set at 70 and my milage was at 16. Running on the flats, it started to go down! it hit 15. 8 so I took the winter font off reset the overhead and went up to 16. 5 and kept climbing. After about 100 it was reading 19. 5. I played with it a few more times, and one test I did get 21. 5 running 60 with the winter front. with only about 1500 miles on the truck the MPG seems really unstable, but I do think it is true that the winter front decreases your mpg by at least 1-2.



AK tent and tarp makes a hood blinket for about $125. I think I'm going to try that to see if it will help. I gotta schedual an apointment so they can take measurments.



You can also get a bug screen to fit on the snaps for $32!! They don't have any made up right now, but I'm getting one made!! Well worth that price I think!!



I'm not affiliated with AK tent and tarp, just a happy customer!!

 

[Parshal]

msimmons or slinse, do either of yours have snaps along the sides of the front? I had two extra snaps and rivets but there were no more snaps attached to the front. The side of the front looks like it could take another snap on either side as it's a bit loose. That may be where my noise is coming from.



Also, do your snaps run across the top of the rail or front?

 

[SLinse]

I'm thinking mine only has 4 snaps, and the are on top of the support.