Cold Weather Grill Inserts

Ripster · **Posted:** Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:56 pm

I have ordered and will be testing the following cold weather inserts. I travel in January to Canada and have
seen -20 to -40 most days there. I will be testing with just the center open IF they fit the 2005. If they
do I will post photos and part numbers here. Another hard search, no one knows if they will fit, part numbers
are different, blah, blah, blah, at least I can send them back if they do not fit.

http://www.autotrucktoys.com/liberty/Lund-Plastic-Screen-Front-Grille-Cover-02-04-Liberty-P2488C494.aspx?UserID=13589167&SessionID=vG3l2xBzpSGDpW44q4uH

Cowpie1 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:46 pm

When I lived in Alaska, I used to get fronts for my vehicles from Alaska Tent and Tarp in Fairbanks. Since I live in Iowa now, it is harder to get good products like that. I came across this site one day and I have their winter/bug screen front on my '06 Liberty now. It looks good and definately does the job. I ordered the Lund inserts for my libby and they were too small to do the trick. Grills obviously changed a little from the '02-'04 models.

Check this site and see if you want the Fia fronts if the inserts don't work.

http://www.gofia.com/index.cfm?pageID=20

Lotsa luck!

Ripster · **Posted:** Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:34 pm

I am headed out to measure the grill on an 03 tomorrow, appreciate the link, very hard to find, will keep you posted.

marauderer · **Posted:** Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:41 am

Cowpie1 wrote:

When I lived in Alaska, I used to get fronts for my vehicles from Alaska Tent and Tarp in Fairbanks. Since I live in Iowa now, it is harder to get good products like that. I came across this site one day and I have their winter/bug screen front on my '06 Liberty now. It looks good and definately does the job. I ordered the Lund inserts for my libby and they were too small to do the trick. Grills obviously changed a little from the '02-'04 models.

Check this site and see if you want the Fia fronts if the inserts don't work.

http://www.gofia.com/index.cfm?pageID=20

Lotsa luck!

How about a picture or pictures showing the bug screen and the winter cover.

Cowpie1 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:18 am

marauderer wrote:

Cowpie1 wrote:

When I lived in Alaska, I used to get fronts for my vehicles from Alaska Tent and Tarp in Fairbanks. Since I live in Iowa now, it is harder to get good products like that. I came across this site one day and I have their winter/bug screen front on my '06 Liberty now. It looks good and definately does the job. I ordered the Lund inserts for my libby and they were too small to do the trick. Grills obviously changed a little from the '02-'04 models.

Check this site and see if you want the Fia fronts if the inserts don't work.

http://www.gofia.com/index.cfm?pageID=20

Lotsa luck!

How about a picture or pictures showing the bug screen and the winter cover.

Don't have a way to photograph and upload. No digital camera. If you go to the link, it looks similar to their photo though on the Liberty, it is a rectangular shape that covers the grill area completely to within 2" of the headlights. Both covers use the same fasteners that use adhesive to attach to grill. Replacement fasteners are available from Fia. I have never had one come loose and they do not damage paint. Can be removed if one wants using a heat gun. The winter front has two flaps that can be opened and fastened with the attached velcro to adjust air flow if needed. It is a really nice quilted vinyl that looks classy. The bug screen sure keeps all the crap out of the radiator and does not restrict air flow and it cleans up easily. One of the best values for the money I have put on my Libby.

marauderer · **Posted:** Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:43 am

Cowpie1 wrote:

Don't have a way to photograph and upload. No digital camera. If you go to the link, it looks similar to their photo though on the Liberty, it is a rectangular shape that covers the grill area completely to within 2" of the headlights. Both covers use the same fasteners that use adhesive to attach to grill. Replacement fasteners are available from Fia. I have never had one come loose and they do not damage paint. Can be removed if one wants using a heat gun. The winter front has two flaps that can be opened and fastened with the attached velcro to adjust air flow if needed. It is a really nice quilted vinyl that looks classy. The bug screen sure keeps all the crap out of the radiator and does not restrict air flow and it cleans up easily. One of the best values for the money I have put on my Libby.

Thanks for posting this thread. I had these on my diesel Suburbans and they were great. I have this on my wish list.

Ripster · **Posted:** Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:19 pm

Well it appears that the 05 Grill openings are a bit longer and a bit wider. Will see what the above part looks like.It appears
that our only option at this time is the blanket type with fasteners. Was hoping not to use fasteners, will see how much
space is around the ones that fit the 02-04 Liberty

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:07 am

isn't that an 05/06 in the picture though?

no-blue-screen · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:31 am

I told my wife I want the fia for Christmas :-)

Great thread!

Ripster · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:57 pm

Yes the good ole Internet show a picture of one unit, but not the correct one that it fits.

Ripster · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:05 pm

The units came in and I really like being able to remove them for summer and not have snaps. So I ground one till it fit, about 1/8 inch on
one end. The sides will allow some air in, which is fine, and I can run with one open or all on. The clips, once loose, will turn and you can
remove without removing the grill. I took the grill off to show how it fits on the back side. With the V-6 air box I no longer care about the area
where the old airbox would draw air. Lund part number 26733 from ultimateautoaccessories.com made for 02-04 Libertys, modified for 05 CRD.
Grind one till it fits, use it as a template on the others and slowly use a grinder, not hard to do.

marauderer · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:28 pm

Hey man, it's really looking good.

Thank for the Pics.

greiswig · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:03 pm

I suppose if it is cold enough, this wouldn't be an issue. But...

...are there any negative ramifications to blocking off the airflow over the intercooler?

marauderer · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:17 pm

Hey George, Nice UniMog!!

Ripster · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2006 3:12 pm

I will not completely seal off the front, there will still be considerable cooling with the center open, and I
have EGT and boost guages. Since all most all semi's and other trucks in my area run with full covers
during the winter, I believe that there is still plenty of air getting in to cool the Intercooler. In the TDI
the intercooler was down low and not at the radiator, so it was not a problem. But a good point and I
will monitor it. I travel in -10 to -40 quite often and I could close them off completely and there would still
be cold air everywhere. A person could insert a thermometer probe in the charge air, if they were really concerned.

Herk · **Posted:** Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:11 am

Alaska Tent and Tarp

I was very happy with there service and the winter 2 pices works great.

Many Alaskans cover their radiators with winter fronts when the temperatures dip below zero. These covers dramatically reduce the flow of super cooled air over the radiator and engine components.

Our winter fronts keep your engine compartment warmer, and your cab as well.
We provide walk-in service for most vehicles. We install snaps or other connectors and the front.
We guarantee our winter fronts for the life of the vehicle we install it on. If anything goes wrong, we'll fix it or replace it.

How do I down load pics?

valkraider · **Posted:** Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:33 pm

Herk wrote:

These covers dramatically reduce the flow of super cooled air over the radiator and engine components.

Would it really be considered "super cooled" ? Isn't it just "cold" ?

Super cooled usually refers to loquids, and it means that it is cooled below it's transition point without transition. So like water that is still liquid below 0 celcius would be considered super cooled...

Perhaps since it is Alaska you meant "Super Cold" which I usually refer to as "Colder than a witches tit in a brass bra".

Now to the technical reasoning. What do things like this provide for you? And at what temps would they start working and at what temps would you take them off?

When I am on the mountain skiing and temps are below freezing usually - the CRD will not warm up if I am in traffic coming off the mountain. The slow parking-lot speed (10mph or so) crawl out of the ski area onto the main road is all downhill and thus at idle. Would these help at such a low speed?

My other problem is that once I leave the mountain I drop back into the valleys which run between 40 and 50 degrees here in the winter. Which I am sure these would not be a good idea...

Just curious.

RFCRD · **Posted:** Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:50 pm

Ripster wrote:

I will not completely seal off the front, there will still be considerable cooling with the center open, and I
have EGT and boost guages. Since all most all semi's and other trucks in my area run with full covers
during the winter, I believe that there is still plenty of air getting in to cool the Intercooler. In the TDI
the intercooler was down low and not at the radiator, so it was not a problem. But a good point and I
will monitor it. I travel in -10 to -40 quite often and I could close them off completely and there would still
be cold air everywhere. A person could insert a thermometer probe in the charge air, if they were really concerned.

I wouldn't be too concerned about keeping the CAC cold in sub-zero temps, even with a winter front completely closed. In most cases you can over-chill the CAC causing smoke and a drop in mileage from the engine running cold. OTR buses have clutched fans and mechanical shutters to cover the CAC & radiators to keep then engine temps up. They still run cold despite the engine and CAC/rads being mounted in the back of the bus, out of the airstream.

I would be interested in a traditional, snap-on/velcro winter front. The canvas type that folds back to open (making a triangle) in the center of the grill. Think it would help considerably, especially running expressway speeds.

Johnny Corvette · **Posted:** Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:40 pm

Well these post were from last year - any good news/results to report?

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:52 pm

I have been thinking about these since it is a big deal over at GasSavers.org . . . but blocking the AC/Intercooler & Radiator has stopped me. If you have a scan guage and can monitor the IAT ect...no problem. I also don't want to have the electric fan working more than it should. I think at the temps you are talking about, there would be no problem. Let us know!

Cold Weather Grill Inserts

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