Hood Vents

[Gary E]

My jeep runs a little hot on the trail and when going up hills, It doesn't help that its black. I was thinking about putting some vents on probably household ac vents. The radiator is a couple of years old, the system has been converted to open. the cooling system seems fine. I also have a manual switch for the newer style electric fan.

I would put the vents on the leading edge of the hood, which would be a low pressure area at highway speeds and right above the gap between the radiator/motor for good efficiency at slow speeds. What are your thoughts would it make a diffrence?

 

[FatXJ]

I just put my hood vents on 2 weeks ago and I don't know if they actually will help in the summer months but they sure do make it longer for the engine to get to temp. When it is as operating temp i can see the heat escaping out of them.

I found a set of louvers from a I/O boat motor that have a lot of space for heat to escape and are designed specifically for this type of application.

 

[Boz88xj]

They look nice, theyre easy to install, and Im sure they help.

One of the reasons the engines get so hot is its such a large engine in a small cramped place, this would really help circulation.

 

[lilwezel]

i have some off of a 96 pontaic gtp that i've installed in both of my xjs and it makes a big difference.....but it does take longer to heat up.if interested i do have some extras for sale.email me if interested.

 

[Kejtar]

I think that it varies... if you are on a trail and moving veeeeeeeeeery slow, I doubt that they will help... you need the vehicle to move somewhat fast in order to move all that air and get cold air in...
re-core the radiator (or whatever the proper tech term is )

Kejtar

 

[GSequoia]

Turn them around backward and pretend you have ram air!

 

[EricsXJ]

I am planning to install my hood vents this Tuesday. I have the LeBaron Turbo vents that seem to be popular to use on XJs. They will be put further back on the hood closer to the windshield. There is a slight slope to the hood and this is the highest part (heat rises).

The biggest reason I want to install the vents is to release heat from the engine compartment which builds up crawling along the trails in the hot summer.

I also bought some plexi-glass and magnetic tape to make a cover that I can slap on for wet weather to prevent water dripping on the engine. But I plan on keeping the back of the covers open to still allow heat to escape.

I plan on doing a write up on my site and will let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[GPRSDLYT]

well the summers here in maryland can get pretty hot! never tried on the trail, but when im in traffic i pop my hood. i dont acually open it but keep down with the safety latch. it might not sound like a winner but it works for me, and have had it up to 80 mph!

 

[ChuckD]

Gary, What cooling mods have you done? Three row Rad and the open cooling system upgrade? Also you could try finding a cooling fan from an HO. I have seen them in comparison first hand. The HO would definitely pull more air.

 

[Matt]

With mine I can see two shimmering columns of hot air leavingt he engine bay so they help somewhat...

These came from a mid 70's honda prelude! They even had little mouting tabs on the back...

Matt

 

[Gary E]

Matt, do those sit flush with the hood? they look like they sit up a bit on the edges? Thanks for the pic!

Chuck, reread my post! the only Q it didn't cover is the row amount of the radiator, I was stuck out of town so I told them to put in the biggest one they could fit, but I don't know if they had accsess to anything more than the stock HD style, which I think are only 2 rows.

 

[Sponge Bob]

2 1/2 tall cowl induction works great.I will be pulling cold air from it soon.

 

[Matt]

Matt, do those sit flush with the hood? they look like they sit up a bit on the edges? Thanks for the pic!

Chuck, reread my post! the only Q it didn't cover is the row amount of the radiator, I was stuck out of town so I told them to put in the biggest one they could fit, but I don't know if they had accsess to anything more than the stock HD style, which I think are only 2 rows.

That picture was taken with the vent just placed on the hood - when installed they do sit flush:

HTH - Matt

 

[Neil]

I saw the bigest diffrence when I bought a new radiator and a high volume water pump. I am looking at pulling cold air through the hood. If you run a vent you might think of running an oil cooler behind it. Also I agree with XJChuck, go with the HO fan.

 

[TC]

I'm using a cowl type hood scoop and I monitored the under hood temps before and after the installation. Before the temp would exceed 160F (thats all the higher the gauge reads) and after dropped to 90F on days with the same outside temperature.Thats a whopping 70+ degree difference! It now remains about 10-15 degrees above OS temperature. At speeds below aprox 15 mph the air blows out of the scoop, above that speed air is drawn in. This worked out great for me,hot air out while 'crawling-cold air in to feed the open element air filter on the road. TC

 

[LynchMob]

I've noticed an improvement with mine. To help with winter warm ups I got some magnetic vent covers too.

Manual wiring the acc fan also helped a lot with cooling. I'm debating a new GDI rad...I think I'll flush it out really good first.

 

[Erik Litchy]

would it be nicer to put in louvers instead of a vent? That's what I would do. put them at the front of the hood...

 

[Willis]

would it be nicer to put in louvers instead of a vent?

Kinda like mine?? 108 of them babies!!! I just need to get it finished and put on.

 

[Erik Litchy]

how did you do that? can they be wider or does that make them fragile?

 

[Willis]

My Uncle happens to own a louver machine. It's not hard to opperate, just takes a lot of time to sit down and figure out how you want them set up, and measure out exactly where they are going to go. The first one in each row is the most important. All the rest just follow like a jig. I bought the hood for $25 at a pull a part. That and a tank of gas is all I have into it. I may do my existing hood after I paint and install the louvered one. If so, I will be selling it (it will be a long while I guarantee that). Check around with all the hot rod shops. Louvers are not cheap. If you strip the hood to bare metal, the charge for setup and punching will be over $200.

I can't wait to get it on and see if it makes a difference.