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I saw a write up yesterday while searching where the dude installed a drip pan under the vents with a drain port and tube to let the water drain from the pan and away from the motor, connectors, etc... Is a drip pan really necessary? Or was the OP just wanting to do it to be original and all that. I mean, people drive their jeep through high water all the time and I'm sure plenty of dirty water gets sloshed around in there. Does rain water just dripping down in cause that much of an issue with the engine bays?
And why not face vents with the opening forward? That would REALLY force some air into the bay, but then you're looking at rain shooting in and DEFINITE water intrusion if you don't have a snorkel and drive thru high enough water. I've never heard of water in the engine bay causing problems on any vehicle UNLESS you have bad connectors already, or your DIRECTLY pressure wash electrical connectors...
Heck, water in the bay may lead to finding out you DO have bad connectors that need to be replaced.... Hahahahaha.
Well with '98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 ones, openings facing back, I have on my Jeep the theory is the air passes over them and draws out the hot air.
I've had lebaron vents open to the elements with no drip pan for years. Still havent had a sensor or connector go bad. I've heard when it rains then freezes problems may occur, but I guess I have been lucky.
Or if you just got home and its raining on a cold day and water gets in the bay and cracks the manifolds or head or something from it cooling off too quickly while being hot. But that normally takes extreme temp differences to cause cracking. Like pouring A LOT of ice water directly on a really hot engine.... probably not rain dripping in....
The beauty of the louvers I made is they shut as soon as water hits them and cools the thermal actuator so no water or ice can get in. And if frozen shut they will not open till 140 degrees F is reached and at that temp no ice is on the hood. I live in Pa and have had on truck for a year with no problems at all.
Dude...... that is freikin' kick a$$..... I would REALLY like to do that to mine. 100% awesome, functional, has the protective measure to prevent water from getting in, opens when they need to. That's pretty cool. Plus would just sweet to see them open and close when the sensor said to.
Like others have mentioned, typing up a good DIY on how you did it with some pics would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!
My in-laws and the rest of my wifes family live North-West of State College about 45 minutes off of 80... Drifting, Philipsburg.....
Last edited by RockyMtn96XJ; Apr 9, 2020 at 01:16 PM.
Small world, Philipsburg is only about 30 minutes from me. I will do a complete right up on them as soon as I can. May be something people may want? Thanks for liking them
It could be put in the technical write-up section. I'm sure everyone will think its cool, but not everyone may want to tackle the job. Are the vents pre-made and you just added the temperature sensors? Or did you have to hand make the entire thing from scratch and sheet metal?
That would be the only drawback if it has to be 100% hand made...
I saw a write up yesterday while searching where the dude installed a drip pan under the vents with a drain port and tube to let the water drain from the pan and away from the motor, connectors, etc... Is a drip pan really necessary? Or was the OP just wanting to do it to be original and all that. I mean, people drive their jeep through high water all the time and I'm sure plenty of dirty water gets sloshed around in there. Does rain water just dripping down in cause that much of an issue with the engine bays?
And why not face vents with the opening forward? That would REALLY force some air into the bay, but then you're looking at rain shooting in and DEFINITE water intrusion if you don't have a snorkel and drive thru high enough water. I've never heard of water in the engine bay causing problems on any vehicle UNLESS you have bad connectors already, or your DIRECTLY pressure wash electrical connectors...
Heck, water in the bay may lead to finding out you DO have bad connectors that need to be replaced.... Hahahahaha.
The thing I did when I got my xj that I would suggest everyone should do is to purchase a tube of die- electric grease and go through every electrical connection and use that to prevent issues from moisture. I have had hood vents and done some serious water crossings for years and I think using the grease saves me from issues water can cause.
The thing I did when I got my xj that I would suggest everyone should do is to purchase a tube of die- electric grease and go through every electrical connection and use that to prevent issues from moisture. I have had hood vents and done some serious water crossings for years and I think using the grease saves me from issues water can cause.
Agreed. Every time an electrical connection is touched it should be cleaned and greased. Makes pulling it apart in the future 100x easier, and protects it from water.
I made a hood louver that would open when the under hood temps would go above 140 F and close when cooler. Keeping the stuff under the hood dry. Ran for a year with just one and just added the other. Looks cool and works great to keep the nastys out of the engine bay.
Man I've been looking for something like this for a while now and couldn't figure out anything. Do you have a writr up on this, I wan to do the exact same thing. It pours 8 months a year where I live so I cannot afford to have open holes all the time on the hood as a lot of water will go in.
I have my hood vents sitting in my garage waiting for the weather to cooperate so I can paint my rig in lime green raptor liner. The hood vents are open, but I plan to add plastic covers with magnets attached so I can stick them on during rainy days, then take them off when I go out and hit the trails. I've seen others do similar things with magnets. Seems like an easy choice given the fact that I don't put more than a few hundred miles a year on my XJ
Or if you just got home and its raining on a cold day and water gets in the bay and cracks the manifolds or head or something from it cooling off too quickly while being hot. But that normally takes extreme temp differences to cause cracking. Like pouring A LOT of ice water directly on a really hot engine.... probably not rain dripping in....
To be honest deep water crossings are not my favorite things to do. (Water crossings in general) but I have done one in particular that was deep enough to be concerned about hydro locking the motor. It was quite fun to push the wake in front of my rig until I came to the other shore.
Hey Rikrdolevy Yea I had heat soak problems but live in the north east so snow and rain are an issue. I can make the louvers for you. We make big louvers for fans for greenhouses so thats what I used just made them real small. I used the wax actuator out of coolant thermostats push them open at 140 degreesF Under hood temps in the summer get that high quickly. But in the winter it stays shut keeping the nasty stuff out.
