SOhappy

I used a pizza box on my 3rd gen for nine winters without any issues. I even forgot to take it out until May a couple of times , never had a problem.

47Dodge

I just got these for my 05 and the do a good job!

MTC

$79.95 at Genos Garage...

Rednax

A grille block is not a winter front. Plenty of air comes around it. I can use mine with the A/C turned on and temps to 70F (till coolant hits 195F). It works, but is low in overall coverage. But good for keeping temps high while on highway in cool -- not cold -- weather which is why I have one.

The same is more or less true for most home-made stuff. The pizza boxes. Air still gets around them.

If you want true full coverage, then the MOPAR Winter Front (better made than the GENO's aftermarket piece, IMO) gives you what is needed for control of temps in coldest weather.

Note in the pic below that all heat exchangers are fully covered, right down to the bottom below the bumper opening. The center flaps can be opened 1,2,3,4 in any combo for precise temp control. No air gets past it otherwise.

Rednax

Folks tend to believe that "winter fuel" is the reason for decreases in mpg in winter. Find someone who can prove this . . where all other operating conditions are exactly the same. Fuel mix (blend) changes all over the country, and changes locally according to temps forecast. The energy change is low. On the order of only a few percent.

What is verifiable is the difficulty diesel engines have in achieving operating temperature, and then in maintaining it at highway speeds as the season progresses from fall into winter.

A grille block is useful three seasons (assuming light load & no towing) in this, but a "winter front" is king when it comes to learning how to get coolant & oil temps to rise quickly and stay high (180F +) once the engine is started and no idling is done (use a block heater or other to get temps up prior to ignition). Idling just wears out the engine faster.

I revived this thread as the part number and the source cited by the OP years ago is still good. As is a good price. Engine longevity, fuel economy and cab comfort are all of one piece when this part is used correctly.

.

MTC

In your opinion, when is it TOO warm to use the winter front?

gotdiesel2

I had the same Mopar winter front as Rednax on my 04.

When the temps were 10C I had to open up 4 panels as the clutch fan would kick in. Temps below 5C I could stay closed up.

DWeiler

Agree 100%,Works for me on my 07,all closed up at -28C this past week and temp gauge was right in the middle with plenty of heat after about 5 minutes of drive time on the highway.Once it get up to about -5C i open a flap or two.IF your worried about hotter running temp on your tranny/power steering cooler,run down the highway in -30C/-40C for an hour and pull over and touch the fluid---mine is just basically warm to touch with the cold air flow under the vehicle on the Mag-Hytec pan---nothing to worry about.Even on my 01 6peed(see sig) with a temp sender on my tranny fast cooler it takes over an hour of run time even before the gauge will start register at 100F ----this is with out any cover at all,engine oil temp will run 130-140F this cold.In colder weather airflow under these truck keep em pretty cool---my 2 cents.DW