Also ina cold state right now... I have seen diesels with a snap on cover for the grille. That looks really good. And you can un do part of it, or take it off quickly if need be for fine tuning.
On these trucks though, a cheap (free) piece of card board fits perfectly between the radiator and core support/grille. Use the rubber pieces that are there to holt it place, fold over the top edge so it doesnt fall down. I find that a piece to fit on the passenger side is usually enough, and also easier to put in as the cable for hood release is not over there.

You can get repo grilles very inexpensively and they are easy to change out, Or even junkyard grille.

 

Yo Cody,
Get the remote start in asap. We installed it in our 96 soon after we purchased our 96 new and it is great in winter ascwell as summer!
It's also good to scare away squirrels & other rodents from building nests in engine bay and chewing wire and connectors.

As CrazyBRONCOguy advised, a simple piece of cardboard, etc can be hung in front of grille and removed as you get ready to roll.

 

As CrazyBRONCOguy advised, a simple piece of cardboard, etc can be hung in front of grille and removed as you get ready to roll.

I leave it stuck between the grille and the core support all winter. very non noticable and effective. Though just hanging in front of is good idea too

 

X5.
My bronco was always running cold, so I ended up leaving that cardboard between my radiator and AC condenser coil all the time. Only once had to remove it when I was towing a heavy trailer when the temp gauge went high into the NORMAL range. Hardly ever got above N before.
Not sure how it will act once I get that 5.8 in there.

 

As long as I've been around here, I'm not sure I've ever seen this conversation. We've used cardboard many times in the past. I actually prefer using some rubber pieces I cut off an old conveyor belt I picked up used for scrap pieces. On rare occasions, the cardboard can turn to mush after miles of highway slop on a long, cold road trip, so that was my solution. Generally the cardboard holds up well enough. A custom grill with snap covers like a semi would be kinda cool but wierd without the cover and the plastic is old enough (location, weather depending) that some of it's getting brittle after 23 years. Not sure it's worth all that hassle but if it makes ya happy... rock on and share a pic when it's done.

 

That's why I don't really want to use cardboard. We get a lot of nasty slush and freezing rain and it will just soak into that cardboard. I've got some vinyl from a tonneau cover I scavenged from the trash, I could probably make a cover with that if only I had something to sew it with.

 

Ok pondering after 3 whiskey and coke’s...... what temp should my L6 be running fresh rebuild? It’s got an aftermarket guage that doesn’t get over about 180* do I need to run hotter? In Oregon temps in the winter are mild 50’s to upper 30’s when it actually gets cold.

 

Yo Cody,
I hear ya!
Ask for suitable shop recommendations in Wheeling section's appropriate (member) Chapter section.
Ask shop owner what they use to splice, tap, etc. Hopefully they use Ford or name brand connectors such as 3M connectors and soldered splices, etc.

 

well I just contacted abc warehouse and their "$97" remote starters are actually $220 if you want RKE and even if you want the one button fob with no door locks it's $175 and they can't get me in until Thursday. I'll probably just order one off amazon and hack the wiring myself and have it done by Wednesday for $100-200. It shouldn't be too hard of an install, I only need it to start the truck and lock/unlock the doors. A long range unit would be nice so I can start it from inside my workplace, but it's not required.

 

I had a remote starter installed in my 92 Bronco last year. One of my best mods ever living up here in the north east. The heater sucks ass in this thing so it needs a head start to get warmed up before I get in it.

 

U could use melamine sheeting instead of cardboard for something heat, warp, and weather resistant. U can get it at most hardware stores. Only problem is u can't just hop out and tear it in half if u start overheating.

 

@codybrady have you checked your thermostat? Could be frozen open.

 

this...
and whats the condition of the cooling system....that includes the heater core. seems odd that it takes that long to heat up....I live where 0 is a normal winter temp.


as for cardboard "winter fronts" never had an issue with them getting crappy in the past...but Ive used those waxed cardboard available behind grocery stores.

 

I never have this issue, no matter how cold mine only takes about 15 minutes to come up to temp. When all the fluids are cold it takes awhile to warm up. I couldnt see it taking any less than 15-20 minutes to warm up. Just nature of the beast. I do notice when its cold out the temp doesnt go much farther past 185. In the summer it gets to 195. I have a 192 t stat, remember the thermostat doesnt just open or close, it can be partially open within 10 degrees of the temperature rating of the t stat.

 

When the temps dip below 20*F (Jan/Feb):

 

Dad and I were discussing this the other day and I said... "I rarely ever feel the need to go to that extent." So he reminded me of the winter of '68 (2 yrs before me) when it was -40° and the snow was so deep you had to shovel stair steps in the snow right out the front door, to get up on the snow and walk along the roof-line.

Then we both had a good laugh about "climate change".

 

I’ve used the “cardboard“ trick in the bronco and my old Jeep, but have switched to using old campaign signs instead. They are free (especially from the loser), and are a corrugated plastic that is stiff and impervious to water/road grime. Stay warm!

 

cardboard or kids foam play mats in various pieces. im in texas and have this issue all the time. it never gets hot, and i don't mean the heater core, the engine temp. i have an aftermarket temp gauge in place of the factory one and it gets to about 140 when i get to work, and thats letting it warm up outside, taking the kids to school, coming back home, then going to work. it just doesn't get hot, unless its summer with the a/c on and im sitting in traffic, then it gets hot and i have to increase rpm to spin the fan (body lift) to get it to cool properly, and thats with an electric fan helping......feast or fammin with this i guess. but the best thing so far is a piece of cardboard with a lip thats bent over the top of the radiator to help keep it in place, i think i use a piece about 18" wide to cover up at least half of the radiator. its free and plentiful.

 

I’m having the same issues it takes me about 20 minutes to get home from work and by the time I get home it’s finally warmed up enough to get up to the left side of in for normal and that’s as far as it gets. I have not put an aftermarket temperature gauge in, so I don’t know the actual temperature and I do believe when I put the thermostat in it was a 190. I have also put the cardboard between the radiator and the grill and I used zip ties and tied it to the rod that runs across the top of the radiator. Lots of the time here in the Texas panhandle it gets down to the low 30s between two and 4 o’clock in the morning when I’m coming home from work. I haul fuel on the night shift so I dressed to be standing out there to watch the fuel as it unloads so I’m dressed, warm enough to make it home without my bronco getting warmed up. It sounds like this is just the nature of the beast.

 

Here's how I partially cover the grill:

I used generic 1/8" thick sheet plastic.

Thermostat function is in question, though.
It's been 7 years since the last replacement.