Even better! -- although I have a real "black and white" theme going so I'll probably make them black to continue it.

 

great thought...and i think i will leave them unfinished so people can make up their own minds. but like john, i think i am going to go with black. two reasons, one it will offset and excentuate the louvers and two, with the two different materials (aluminum and fiberglass - hood) the color may not match up precisely and that would probably drive me nuts. But with black, i know they will be different and should look great with my "red and black" thing I have going.

 

I think flat black would look best
Guys, do you all really have that much of an overheat problem or is this just a nice touch and functional mod?
I know transmission heat has been an issue with you both, but I thought the engine temperature stayed in range.

 

Less heat is always good. But yes, I know i have had tranny overheating issues, more than once. I want to get as much heat out the engine bay as possible.

Plus they should look cool too...but i am more of a function over form kinda guy...it's just an added bonus when it looks cool.

 

you aren't worried about cracking your hood?

 

Yes, lowering the temperature increases the reliability, particularly of the electronic and electrical components and hydraulics (power steering). But I see it as mainly for hot days with no clearance under the truck. Flow through the radiator requires a good exit for the air being drawn through it.

My gauge HAS gone up over where it normally sits on some very hot runs where I'm revving higher with the truck down in ruts. I'm also worried about tranny cooling which is dependent on radiator flow as well.

So, although we've had no failures that can be directly attributed to heat, I think it's a no-brainer that anything you do to reduce the possibility of excess heat buildup is good. It seems like some of you are look for a failure to justify this, while I am looking at this as a measure to prevent a possible failure.

I'm not worried about cracking the hood. That thing is a BRICK.

 

[cough] [cough] Um, I have definately had failure due to heat. I had to have the tranny rebuilt b/c it was fried. Even with the additional cooler I still had the O/D off light flashing after the Wharton run. It went away after a short cool down, but I would blame the under hood heat for that. But it might have been something else, but when you went to hook up your nifty palm OBDII reader the code was gone.

 

hey.. im back again with my idea, lol.. i figure ill just add to this thread sinse this is where i copied the idea from.. i made a quick pic with some fender vents/louvers/whatever they should be called.. anyone think they'd be doable.. i mean, creating the actual louvers to be inserted? i know cutting the fender for them to fit in is possible, but.. anyone think they'd be able to make a set of these??



the whole louver on the hood thing got me thinking.. and i remembered i saw something similar to those in my pic on Rides with Christopher Titus's Expedition.. thought tehy were cool.. im thinkin i might want a set if they're possible!

 

I think they'd be less effective than top mounted louvers, and of course you need to cut the INNER fender as well for them to actually do anything.

 

john, i was waiting for that, lol! i know they wouldn't do much for me, if anything at all. i was thinking of using them so i'd have something different. i really don't like the ranger emblems, and if there werent' holes in my fenders already, they'd be gone. i guess i'd probably be satisfied just for the cosmetics of them. i hardly ever off road (to scared, lol), so the hood mounted louvers wouldnt do much for me.i just saw your ideas, and thought this one would be somethin a little different that i might wanna go for, i just wasnt sure if they'd be possible.

 

Well, there are plenty of non-functional louvers out there that just stick on with the 3M tape, and many of them are side louvers. If you want a look to cover the old emblem area, you can do it pretty cheap.

 

i think it'd bee sweet to run your exhaust out of them in the fender lol...but thats just in my dreams

 

wow, i wonder how quick you would die from the exhaust gases you'd be breathing in as they passed by your window.

 

exhaust through the fender is impossible...

and yeah, i saw that "Rides" episode too. I'll be doing the ford logo mod he did. i think it looked sweet.

I might be interested in the louver idea a while down the road if ur still selling, don't wanna start cuttin so early into the ownership!

 

I missed that episode of 'Rides' (whatever that is).. But you should see TBarCya's truck..

 

Well, his exhaust exit is in the rear fender, not the front. But it certainly is distinctive!

 

I guess I misunderstood, I thought they/he meant the rear fender..

 

I am looking into your concerns about the fiberglass further. I have one option which includes adding a backing plate and sandwiching the fiberglass between two pieces of aluminum. This is if another source advises against pop riveting to fiberglass, but says it's ok to cut it. I imagine the cutting and drilling won't be a problem. Whether it's ok to pop rivet without the backing plate may be an issue.

One other group I hope to hear from won't be in until Monday

 

..i've seem them around online here and there, but none really caught my eye.. plus i dont like using 3m tape for anything, lol. if i was gonna bother to change the fender emblem, i wouldnt mind doing a little work and getting the look i was going for, even if it meant coughin out a few more bucks. if i were to do the fenders over, i'd want them functional, to some extent.. basically, i'd want them to flow all the way thru the inner fender as well, into the engine bay, just for the satisfaction of them being real versus taped on, etc. i know the hood louvers would be most practical and have better results to releasing any heat, but that isnt much of a concern to me right now, first i gotta start off roading more often!

 

its a show on TLC.. or the Discovery Channel.. or one of those kinds of channels.. and im not even completely sure that that is the name of the show, lol.. does TBarCya have a cardomain?? im gonna look thru the member list to find out and take a look.

 

I dont see them being that functional on our rangers unless we had V8s in there.... maybe thats just me

 

being functional isnt my concern at all, as i've sad a few times now. i'd be doing it for a different look.

if you were talking about the hood louvers.. they'd be very functional for the reasons that john and the other's said they'd want them, for off roading, etc.

 

what if you could design sumthin like that to fit in the wheel well and make sumthin so nothin can get in. more work i know but if you did it right then the wheel circulating might draw heat away and the plastic lining would not be so hard on me to cut cuz i aint puttin a hole in my hood

 

i think they wanted the hood mounted louvers to allow heat to escape when they're traveling thru water.. the wheel well holes wouldnt help them much i dont think.. i might be wrong tho!

 

Why? V6's make a lot of heat under the circumstances I mentioned earlier where flow under the truck is blocked. Even a 4 cylinder can benefit in those circumstances. They will be FUNCTIONAL no matter what you put them on if they are real louvers.

Unless you're talking about the side louvers only.