On my 2002 I made some Plexiglas fronts for the top two openings. Do you think that I should have made them for the bottom ones and covered them also.

highway driving i reach 185 t0 190. in town i cool to 160 to 175 even whith a new tstat. i just in stalled a stant 190. what type of tstat do you use?

I run dead center on the temp guage +/- a needle width... after I warm up. That's the thermostat setting (on my truck). Agree, if your temp does not eventually run on the thermostat temperature, the thermostat is No Good. The winter front makes it easier & quicker for the engine to warm up. But it's still up to the thermostat to regulate the temperature.

mike and russ i have to agree with what yall are saying. every vehicle i have owned has worked that way except this one. it has been like that the 9 years i have driven it. any time the temp gets to 25 or below thats how it does. the tstat in it now is brand new. when others have worn out in the past it gets worse and i change it. and it goes back to what i stated before. when i first drvie out in the morning it will top out at just over 190 and then drop back down and match where i am driving.

well i guess i should make a set of these winter fronts seeing i dont have much of a drive to work and my truck often doesnt get up to temp by the time i make it to work.

I've got a quick question. In what temps would a winter front really help? Like here it's cold, but not that cold that long. I'm not sure if it would really be worth the effort or not?

mike and russ i have to agree with what yall are saying. every vehicle i have owned has worked that way except this one. it has been like that the 9 years i have driven it. any time the temp gets to 25 or below thats how it does. the tstat in it now is brand new. when others have worn out in the past it gets worse and i change it. and it goes back to what i stated before. when i first drvie out in the morning it will top out at just over 190 and then drop back down and match where i am driving.

just got my truck back. the last thing i got from the shop before i left was a radiator cap. my temp held steady the entire 90 miles back in 25* weather. the only time it dropped was at a red light and then it only dropped about 5*. dooh:doh:. it was the one that came on the truck in 01. never gave that cap any thought to a temp problem. live and learn.

I used sheet metal from a roll of flashing that I had. Used tin snips. Slides in between the grill and the frame. No bolts. Boy this has helped my temp. tremendously. Before, I installed them I was lucky if I could get upto 120* in the winter. Now, I am at 188*. Best of all MPG's went up!

How much increase in MPG'S

Hey guys I live in northern Minnesota yesterday it hit 29 below:cry: Yes it was cold but the 24v started right up, plugged in ofcorse. I run a piece of cardboard in between the radiator and intercooler and it works great not to sure on fuel milage but the truck will run 190 easy. Also check you thermostat I manage a NAPA and I have seen alot of themostats that are wrong in the truck incuding mine, see the 12v takes a 180 and a diffent style it fits in the 24v but dosent operate very good. What I think happend is the listings were wrong on the early 24v's so go to your local NAPA and buy one for $20 and then you will know, also themostats are a wear item so they do need to be changed every couple of years.

Hey guys I live in northern Minnesota yesterday it hit 29 below:cry: Yes it was cold but the 24v started right up, plugged in ofcorse. I run a piece of cardboard in between the radiator and intercooler and it works great not to sure on fuel milage but the truck will run 190 easy. Also check you thermostat I manage a NAPA and I have seen alot of themostats that are wrong in the truck incuding mine, see the 12v takes a 180 and a diffent style it fits in the 24v but dosent operate very good. What I think happend is the listings were wrong on the early 24v's so go to your local NAPA and buy one for $20 and then you will know, also themostats are a wear item so they do need to be changed every couple of years.

Could you explain what the diff is? I just put in a new one and it is junk. They're going to replace it but I wonder if I should just spend the big bucks and get a genuine cummins one.

yeh the 24v one should not have a spring on the bottom with a disc below it. see what yours should look like is a normal t-stat. what I think is going on is the listing in the catolage was showing the 12v t-stat on the early 24v's becasue of the half year switch. what kind of problem are you having.

The old one would give a good 10 degree of temp sway and would rarely keep the engine at 190. The new one had probably a 20 degree sway and running on fast idle it'd only hold about 175 degrees. My cab heat only blows good warm air at 190 so i need it to stay up there. These ones I have here have 2 little holes in the plate beside the spring with little brass do-dads in them to allow a wee bit of water to bypass. Is this the proper bypass method? I thought I'd seen a pic of an cummins tstat that didn't have those things.

yes they are a safety valve so if the t-stat sticks it will not overheat. a good rule of thumb is put your t-stat in a kettle on the stove and put a thermometer in it and see where or if the stat opens it should be easy to see then you know before putting it in the truck

I'm just like Russ... But in aluminum...

It would look good annodized, or diamond plate would be a winner too....

I like the four piece Winter fronts, going to look around to see what I can find to make some out of. I like the Diamond Plate idea.That or dark smoked Plexiglas, with some nice SS carriage bolts and wing nuts to hold it on.

What do you use for a pattern to cut the material from or does someone have one?

I did templates in cardboard, then I used some thin plastic left over from another project. I tried removing the honey comb grill but the second foot cracked... thought I was going to just trace it. I superglued the foot back together. The thin 1/16th plastic didn't want to cut with a jig saw... cut well with tin snips. I used "cut & try" with a bench belt sander & it worked well. If anything I cut too close lengthwise. Sitting in the sun my winter fronts will pucker in the center... flatten out when they cool.

I bought a set from someone over on CF. They cost 30 bucks i think. Made out of lexan. But you can make them out of most anything and make a template from cardboard like Russ did for a whole lot less. I still had to buy some hardware to instll them with.

I like the four piece Winter fronts, going to look around to see what I can find to make some out of. I like the Diamond Plate idea.

That or dark smoked Plexiglas, with some nice SS carriage bolts and wing nuts to hold it on.

I went the checker plate route, not hard to find some 1/16 at hardware stores. I like the smoked plexiglass idea as well.

So if you cannot reach 190*F worth of coolant temp you've got a failed thermostat pure and simple...

I like the four piece Winter fronts, going to look around to see what I can find to make some out of. I like the Diamond Plate idea. That or dark smoked Plexiglas, with some nice SS carriage bolts and wing nuts to hold it on.

My truck has been like that for awhile. Cant maintain 190. So I made some winterfronts for all 4 openings out of smoked plexiglass with carraige bolts holding them on. Biggest pain was filing out the holes square so the bolts wouldnt turn. Since diesels like temp and I moved to a twon that is about 4miles across, I dont drive the truck much in the winter as it doesnt warm up and short trips while never getting up to temp are bad for the engine. For now its for the longer trips where it can get up to as hot as it will, until I can swap the tstat out. Made templates out of poster board and cut the 'glass with a dremel.