Do you block the radiator in winter?

[Larry Hampton]

I realize many of you are from cooler climates than I. Now I've seen snowblowers in movies and on TV, but i never heard of a snow rake or ice damns until the.last 10 years or so.

I've also never had to block a radiator with a piece of cardboard before either. We're just entering freezing temps now and my gauge never gets off C and it takes about 10 miles to get warm enough for the dearest to start working.

I put cardboard in there, 16x16 and it gets about a 1/4 way up the gauge like it did this record summer we had. The other day on the way home, it got about halfway up the gauge, but it was 51F.

When do you put it in (tempwise) and when do you take it out?

These things are so cold natured.

[Kraig]

Cardboard. I run all year with the upper grille blocked with coroplast.

[bhazard]

All front openings blocked. Sometimes it gets warm enough to kick the fans on but they keep it from overheating. Were just starting to get below freezing regularly. When its 0 on a regular basis that prolly won't be happening. Nice to have heat you have to turn down to keep from getting that tingly almost-literally-burning-me feeling.

[georgeb]

Used cardboard on my Nissan Truck and head gasket blew. Did not overheat so don't know if related.

[hotfordcat]

I never have blocked the grille opening. I use the good Mazda two stage T-stat and my heat is fine!!! It gets COLD in South Dakota.

[TominMO]

I have all openings blocked (bumper and grill) except the driver's side grill. When it's really cold I stick a piece of black duct tape over that last opening.

[sc72]

Warm Festiva

I would go with the Mazda 2 stage T stat.
Sinse your temp gauge is telling you that the engine is up to a good opperating temp, i would be courious about the heater core being somewhat pluged. FB71 did a write up awhile back about how to clean out the deposits found in the cooling system using Cascade, give me just a second, OK here it is, it's in the,

Nice tidbit for those with barely any heat, Page 12, post #117

We live in Iowa and fully understand needing heat, i personally use the Mazda T stat and have done the Cascade flush and have good heat. Flushing the FB71 way takes some time and patience but i drive around in a warm festiva and my feet stay warm to. Good luck

[WmWatt]

I plug in a block heater for 1-2 hrs before starting the engine. The cost of the electricity is less than 10 cents. I figure that is recovered in the fuel savings. I don't cover the radiator. Ottawa is the second coldest capital city on the planet. The coldest is in Mongolia.

Aslo the coolant in my rad is good to 50 below.

[juryrigger007]

I have a piece of plexiglass, that is cut to slide in front of the radiator. I cut two notches at the top, for the radiator brackets (which hold the plastic in place). simple to add in, and remove. I did cut a 2-3" rectangle opening, across most of the width of the piece, because you have to have some airflow.

Really works well.

Cheers,

[timmay89]

I use a piece of cardboard to block the rad. I install it when temperatures go below 40 degrees fahrenheit, and take it out when it gets hotter than that. Winters in Canada never go above that so I leave it in all winter. I do like the idea of completely blocking off the grills, might help even more.

At freezing temperatures my car heats up after 15 minutes of driving, or 5 minutes idle and 10 minutes driving.

[iceracerdude]

You need to replace the thermostat 1st, and then see what temp the gauge goes to then. Also make sure you've got around a 50/50 mix of antifreeze to water ratio. All antifreeze is not good. A correctly operating system shouldn't need cardboard.
If the computer thinks the car is cold, it will dump more fuel in, also making the car run cooler than nec.

[Pu241]

...............
I've also never had to block a radiator with a piece of cardboard before either. We're just entering freezing temps now and my gauge never gets off C and it takes about 10 miles to get warm enough for the dearest to start working.

I put cardboard in there, 16x16 and it gets about a 1/4 way up the gauge like it did this record summer we had. The other day on the way home, it got about halfway up the gauge, but it was 51F.

When do you put it in (tempwise) and when do you take it out?

These things are so cold natured.

Larry,
I think you asked the wrong question, because most of those who responded DO NOT block their radiators because they need the heat, though it does help with that. Most of those who responded do so because of aerodynamics, thus the term "grill block".

Part of your issue is the reliance on the gauge. It is, if OEM, nearly 20 yrs old. The connection is corroded and is not giving a good signal to the gauge. I have had to repair all of my temp connections by removing the connector and soldering the wire directly to the sensor. The senor response and range are improved immediately.

Yes, a bad thermostat will cause you issues, but it was never proved sufficiently for me to say you have to have the two stage one for you to get good heat. Besides as mentioned, if your engine was running cool you'd be running rich and your tail pipe and MPG would show a hit. Another reason to keep an MPG log.

I'm betting on a partially clogged heater core. If it still flows anything, you have a chance to physically or chemically flush it out and restore heat to the cabin.

I run a grill block, and it still takes about 6 miles for heat to come on to a useful exstent. I run mine nearly year round, except under the highest temps. They are only cold natured because of the voulme of air passing through the engine comparment relative to the size and surface area of the engine. The colder the air temp, the more heat is extracted from the engine, even without the radiator.

[navdoc101]

I just don't understand any of this! When it gets cooold here my heat is fine. ;}

[Bert]

Have been running a Festy in Ontario winters for almost 20 years. Entirely blocked the rad all of last winter and never noticed any improvement in heat. Recently installed a Mazda 2 stage thermostat and flushed the cooling/heating system but temp gauge still sits where it usually does (less than halfway). Have disconnected the rad fan already a month ago (even though it's not cold here yet) and am preparing to cover the entire rad again come January.
Be really nice if someone could figure out how to get heat out of these cars in winter. I drove a 'parts car' Aspire home last winter from Montreal to Ottawa (150 miles) and that heater worked quite well, so I know it can be done with B3 engines.

[GenevaDirt]

Have been running a Festy in Ontario winters for almost 20 years. Entirely blocked the rad all of last winter and never noticed any improvement in heat. Recently installed a Mazda 2 stage thermostat and flushed the cooling/heating system but temp gauge still sits where it usually does (less than halfway). Have disconnected the rad fan already a month ago (even though it's not cold here yet) and am preparing to cover the entire rad again come January.
Be really nice if someone could figure out how to get heat out of these cars in winter. I drove a 'parts car' Aspire home last winter from Montreal to Ottawa (150 miles) and that heater worked quite well, so I know it can be done with B3 engines.

you may have water pump problems...but most likely the heater core still needs a GOOD cleaning or you may have some critter bedding inside the core area blocking the heat.