Bugout4x4

Absolutely... This problem first arose with the V6 Ford blocks. That added passage is a must on all newer vehicles. The difference is only about 1 minute delay in Thermostat opening time. But the satisfaction of knowing you have all the air out the first time around is absolutely priceless!

DRILL THAT HOLE... In fact... if it has one with that little brass "floppy" check valve, pull that out and drill it a little bigger...

outersketcher

thanks folks.. I'll take your advice. And I'll report back..

Jimbo Slice

Seriously? I don't know where you live, but up here on the perimeter we routinely see sub zero temps in the winter. Enclosing the engine compartment helps to shorten those warm up times. Also, think of wind chill as you are going down the road. Do you want just above freezing anti freeze dumping into your block when the stat opens at 195? If you don't block the fridged airflow to your rad, your temps fluctuate wildly as the ice cold antifreeze cycles into the warm block.... I've seen it first hand and am an advocate of covering that grill.

Bugout4x4

Yep... I have been a victim of the extreme cold making my temp gauge needle cycle up and down as the thermostat slams closed and then sloooooooowly opens to just slam closed again and repeat. The only way to find a "happy medium" and keep the thermostat open continuous is to reduce the cooling area size of the radiator by blocking some off.

It is especially a factor on big trucks which cool so well that the whole radiator needs to be blocked off to maintain an even consistent operating temp. In fact it can be such a problem that during the winter, in the extreme north, they keep the radiators covered and never shut off trucks or heavy equipment at all. They even change the oil while they are still running because shutting them down for even 15 minutes can be a huge issue.

Jimbo Slice

Yes Sir, it's actually quite an interesting anomaly... the way manufacturers design the system to stay cool in warm temps, but don't make provisions to stay warm in cool temps.

LOL, sooooo we improvise with whatever we have lying around. Amiright?

Sorry for the hijack. HIGH FIVE!

Bugout4x4

Sometimes just the heater core alone is plenty enough to keep the engine cool. lol

BlueRidgeMark

That's a routine and well-proven technique in cold weather country. Most big rig shops in colder climates sell radiator covers just for this purpose. The military issues them for cold-climate operations for everything from HMMVs to tanks.

robertj

Seriously, you should take a course in auto mechanics if you think cardboard in front of a radiator that has no coolant flowing through it is going to help you car warm up.

Jimbo Slice

You having a hard time understanding this huh?

During warm up the cardboard serves to simply enclose the engine compartment. The idea is to keep warm air in and cool air out. Pretty much the same idea when going down the road as well.

Keep the warm air in, keep the cold air out. Repeat that three times.

investinwaffles

This got off topic pretty quickly, lol

​​​​Damming up the radiator a bit in the winter is excellent. Not only does it decrease warm up times by keeping below freezing air from circulating easily through the engine bay, but it will keep more heat in the engine bay during stops. Increases fuel economy by keeping the engine out of open-loop and increasing combustion efficiency, as well as decreasing air resistance when driving.

Best way to do this is with a grill cover, cardboard is more ghetto and not very durable but still effective. Additionally, going to all electric fans would be fantastic for the winter
​​​​

outersketcher

hah.. yah it got off topic.. but it IS interesting. And I got my answer. I wanted to know the BEST way to start up a bone dry engine and keep it cool during the break-in process.. the following is what I plan to do.

Remove the thermo housing I already installed. And test the thermastat in boiling water.. make SURE it works. Then drill a 1/8" hole in the closed off metal.

Install the engine, hook everything up. including radiator hoses.. fill the block with distilled water. Install thermostat with drilled hole at 12:00!. Install housing and hoses. Fill radiator and overflow bucket with coolant.

Start the engine, with radiator cap off.. keep the engine running at 12,00 rpm while squeezing the topmost radiator hose to get out the air. Refill the radiator as needed

investinwaffles

Squeeze the upper and lower rad hoses before starting it too, helps push coolant around to make it burp faster. You might need to have the rad cap on for that so it doesn't come out of the filler neck, I cant remember off the top of my head

JeepingDan

I use a cooling system vac with a 5 gallon bucket.
It works great on my jeep and lots of other engines that are a pita to bleed.
Of course you need air, but totally worth the money if you do a lot of service.

BooGTS

Seriously, you don't know what you're talking about but are trying to look like a know it all. I'm an automotive engineer with two degrees (only bring that up if it gets to this point) - and previously for Jeep.
Look up VW or Porsche air cooled engines, or hell even a lawnmower and tell me that ambient air temp around an engine doesn't matter.

Bugout4x4

Hope you don't mind me interjecting, but there might be a misunderstanding here with the point he was trying to make. After reading it again I now realize he is talking about an empty cooling system with no liquid in it at all. If so there is a truth to this also?

The point you make about how much cooling the airflow around an engine actually does is something not many understand for sure. It has much much more influence than most would ever think! This is why I have always thought it might be an advantage in hotter climates to add an electric fan to a hole in the hood and blow all this heat down and out the bottom instead of trying to pull it up and out the top.