Cardboard in front of Radiator

[crusher773]

So I put some cardboard over my radiator this last weekend. Covered up about 1/2 of it but its still not getting warm any quicker. How much can I cover and still not have to worry about it getting hot when temps stay at least 40s or below.

[TominMO]

You can cover it all. If the fan is working properly, it will kick in and keep the coolant temp from going too high.

But you can also cover the bumper and grill openings. A lot of air comes in to cool off the motor on the pass. side, too. I have all my bumper openings permanently covered, along with the pass. side grill opening.

[91mcnasty]

just curious tom, did you experience less cabin wind noise after blocking everything up?

[deathegg]

Cardboard always seemed to help. I kept the whole thing covered all winter. But be sure you have the correct thermostat too!

Was just a few minutes ago talking to a friend about how fast my new Yaris heats up. This morning it was about 29 degrees outside. Started it, let it run for about 2 minutes so I could scrape some frost from the windows. About a mile down the road (40 mph), I had some heat. Another mile or so and I had Lots of heat. A HUGE difference from the Festy, which took about, oh....3 days to heat up

[All systemz]

I noticed after about 5 minutes I can feel heat, at about 15 minutes I have plenty of heat. This was last week in 20 some degree temps, no blocking of radiator but my fan is disconnected.

[TominMO]

just curious tom, did you experience less cabin wind noise after blocking everything up?

It does seem a little bit quieter, but I haven't done any actual decibel testing before/after. Pu241 also claims it's quieter in his car, and I got the idea from him.

Edit: oh BTW I have a 180-degree thermostat! But that doesn't really matter, since my aftermarket temp gauge indicates I normally run at about 155 degrees anyway (measured at the hose that goes from the block to the heater core). It doesn't get really hot in the car on the coldest days, but it is pleasantly warm. And anyway I would be dressed for winter on those days, so no prob.

[crusher773]

Yeah we just bought a new Caliber and it heats up super quick so does my company car its a Taurus. They heat up in like 2 miles.

[Aspire SVT]

This has been touched upon before, most likely the vehicle has the incorrect thermostat installed or it is failing. Stant tstats of the correct heat range rarely work right, they seem to open too soon. the correct part number is still available from Mazda 8AK1-15-171-9U. It is the correct 2 stage designed for our vehicles. I believe cost on it was around 22 bucks. So it probably lists at 40ish. Don't forget a gasket and a gallon of fresh coolant and distilled water. And be careful when installing it (use a dab or 2 of super glue so make sure it doesn't fall of center. It will crack the housing when tightend down

[milehighbear]

I made the mistake of putting cardboard behind the front grill across the whole front of the motor and the one end came loose and fell on the manifold cover and the wife and I stopped at a red light and we saw smoke coming up from under the hood, so we stopped and I lifted the hood and pulled the cardboard out and it was black and hot and almost ready to go to flames. I learned a lesson on that one.

[TominMO]

deathegg's sig:
If it has boobs or wheels, sooner or later you're going to have trouble with it.
Mark S.

God forbid we should ever run across anyone/anything with boobs AND wheels! Like maybe Pam Anderson in a wheelchair?!?!

[GenevaDirt]

I made the mistake of putting cardboard behind the front grill across the whole front of the motor and the one end came loose and fell on the manifold cover and the wife and I stopped at a red light and we saw smoke coming up from under the hood, so we stopped and I lifted the hood and pulled the cardboard out and it was black and hot and almost ready to go to flames. I learned a lesson on that one.

lol...I had one do the same thing but I didn't notice the problem till I saw sparks coming out from the back of the car while driving. I pulled over and popped the hood and there was a nice little blaze going on under there. Ended up melting the plastic inside the throttle cable and made it stick...revved like a banshee with no way to stop it.
Once I got it home I used a torch to melt all the plastic out to unfreeze the cable. Had to keep spraying it with lube occasionally to keep it from rusting in place.

[Bert]

My fan is unplugged during the winter 9probably wouldn't turn on anyway) and the rad is entirely covered with cardboard. I suspect that the hoses to, and heat exchanger inside the car, are too under-sized to be effective. And has anyone noticed how fast these engines cool down? Stop 2 minutes for a gas refill or pack of smokes and you have to start all over again waiting for warm air. That Mazda 2-stage thermostat business has so far made no difference for me either.
I drove a bagged donor Aspire last December for 100 miles on the transCanada Hwy and by gosh that heater worked perfectly well. What a surprise. Now I know it can be done with a B3.

[crusher773]

Well once mine gets there it works good just takes it a few miles to get up there. I'll go ahead and block the whole thing and see what happens.

[deathegg]

deathegg's sig:
If it has boobs or wheels, sooner or later you're going to have trouble with it.
Mark S.

God forbid we should ever run across anyone/anything with boobs AND wheels! Like maybe Pam Anderson in a wheelchair?!?!

LOL!
Well, About this time last year I was dating a woman who was in a wheelchair (because of MS). But she had no boobs; flat chested (which I like actually). But even with no boobs she could be annoying.

[TominMO]

LOL!
Well, About this time last year I was dating a woman who was in a wheelchair (because of MS). But she had no boobs; flat chested (which I like actually). But even with no boobs she could be annoying.

Eeeewwww! Can't do flat-chested; too much like a young boy.