Air cleaners

[MadOgre]

My trucks got a 350 with an edelbrock carb and headers, so i can't have the thermostatic air cleaner (No wear for the hot air to come from), so will my truck run like crap like this in the winter?

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I have run this set up for over 10 years in winters as cold as -40 Celsius which is also -40 fahrenheit. It starts it runs fine and it has never cooked an engine.

You must get a winter front though and keep it all buttoned up in temps any colder then -10 Celsius/ +14 Fahrenheit.

I don't really bother driving mine below -35 and I keep the block heater plugged in pretty much all winter.

Nothing wrong with going with a set up like Rich's but it will not kill your engine if you don't.

 

[rich weyand]

Nothing wrong with going with a set up like Rich's but it will not kill your engine if you don't.

That's true, it won't hurt anything. My truck had an open-element air cleaner on it when I bought it, and through the first two winters.

But it's much nicer to have the thermostatic air cleaner in the winter. Within three or four minutes, the headers are up to temp and the carb is getting warm air, and the idle noticeably settles down. The GM thermostatic air cleaner is not on or off, it mixes the air to try to maintain the correct temperature, which I did not suspect in advance but confirmed once it was installed. Carburetion is by its nature a compromise, producing a mixture that is close throughout the engine's operational envelope. But the approximation is much closer when the inlet air is within a narrow range.

With the thermostatic air cleaner, performance in the winter is identical to performance in the summer -- actually a little better, because the humidity in the summer air is replaced by more air, including the oxygen.

And that's pretty cool.

 

[MadOgre]

Its just too bad there isn't a T-stat set up that looks cool. My dads 83 2500 is factory and neither him nor me can tell any difference between the 2 performance wise in the winter.

The only thing is you need to get the non t-stat set up to temp. But plugging it in helps alleviate a lot of that issue. The winter front I view as a necessity. As long as I keep it buttoned up there is lots of under hood temp to keep things happy. With headers that would be even more so the case.

 

[83kid]

So your saying i can run it how it is without hurting anything?
I'd love to not change it and make it more complicated, i like the way it is now and it looks nice too.
I dont mind longer warm up times at all, ill just start it and leave it running for a while (10 mins?), meanwhile i can do other things.

Just i want to make sure:
Running it and driving it the way it is (air cleaner with nothing to send in warmer air), i'm assuming as ive been told it will have a lean condition. Will this lean condition be bad enough to damage the engine in any way? Am i fine leaving it like this all winter?


Thanks!

 

[350runner]

Give it a shot bud... Just remember those signs of a lean condition. Hopefully you'll have nothing to worry about

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[Swims350]

we've done tons up here in cold weather no stat crap.

IMO do it and if you worry about lean then adjust the idle mixture screws on the carb to give it a bit more fuel at idle to help it.

Lean mix is gonna help mileage and a tbi or fuel injected setup should not go lean it can compensate for the lean condition on it's own that's the purpose of the o2 sensor.

 

[MadOgre]

It may lean somewhat but not to the point that it will damage your engine with a quadjet. This will be my first winter with an Edelbrock so I guess I will see how that goes. But you should be fine with headers, just make sure you get a winter front cover.

I close mine right up after -10c/14f

 

[83kid]

It may lean somewhat but not to the point that it will damage your engine with a quadjet. This will be my first winter with an Edelbrock so I guess I will see how that goes. But you should be fine with headers, just make sure you get a winter front cover.

I close mine right up after -10c/14f

what does a winter front cover do? and btw mines an edelbrock

And, i'm assuming the cover would be to keep it warm in there, but do you keep it in when driving? Wont it overheat?

 

[350runner]

Cold air is more dense, so it's like leaning the mixture. Just like adding more air. Hey don't worry I'm just here giving you my own personal experience.

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[MadOgre]

Ill try and get a pic tomorrow for you.

Mine is a soft cover that snaps on to the front grill and has little Velcro flaps that open or close so you can get some air flow through it

It is a cover to keep cold frigid air from freezing your rad and coolers.

If its -40c/-40f and you do 65 mph that's like I dunno... um probably -85/90c with the wind chill . Those kinda temps can easily freeze up a rad.

After -10c/14f just keep it all closed up. No it will not over heat because there is still some air that flows around the winter front and if it does start to run hot on you just open one flap or both.

On the new trucks you can buy after market winter fronts that are stainless or chrome pieces that bolt to the grill with little slots to allow some air through.

 

[MadOgre]

Oh yes it stays on when driving

 

[rich weyand]

For a winter cover I use a fender apron. Couple pieces sticky tape on the cross-member and a couple cable ties to the grill. I cut the hole to get to the hood latch.

Makes a big difference in keeping the engine up to temp.

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[MadOgre]

The thing is, if the air going into the carb is warmish, because of having your winter front on as well as the added under hood heat sources, then it will only be as dense as the under hood temperature will allow.

In other words the density of the air is determined by temperature so if you have warm air no matter how you create it, it will only be as dense as the temperature of the air entering the carb. So if you keep your under hood temps, under your hood, then you will have no worries about having too lean of a condition.

 

[MadOgre]

For a winter cover I use a fender apron. Couple pieces sticky tape on the cross-member and a couple cable ties to the grill. I cut the hole to get to the hood latch.

Makes a big difference in keeping the engine up to temp.

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Yep that works. Mine covers the entire grill from inside of lights to inside of lights.

I have seen guys use cardboard and bungee chords before. Gotta do what you gotta do lol

 

[rich weyand]

I was surprised by how well it worked without going headlights to headlights. You would think the air would just run around the corner, but it doesn't.