air deflectors

[minnpusherman]

im thinking of putting a air deflector on my truck,, it seems to run a little warm with the plow on it,, i see millsupply.com has them for bout $235 just wondered if any of you fellas tried them or had any luck,, they look like a pretty good deal to me,:beatsme

[repo_man62]

I made my own...under $.50

[minnpusherman]

heck yes repo, that looks like it would do the job,,dont take much ,i really dont want to spend 300 for a hd fan clutch that i dont need 90% of the time,,besides when they run all the time it cuts your gas milage too,, a scoop like you have would do the job,,i goota look around ,see what i can find? thanks

[snowjoker]

Try flushing the radiator and changing the thermostat. When you say warm how hot is the truck running? Are you running the blade angled or straight? I would opt to get a flex fan. Put one on my 84 Chevy and that took care of the high temp issue (9 foot plow). You shuld not need an air delfector on that truck with that blade........

[EZSnow]

minnpusher- I've seen "contractor grade" stickers on pro-plows, pro-plus', and v-plows. Since you express that yours is an 8-footer, we can assume that its a straight, but is it a pro or a pro-plus? If it's a pro-plus, it's a good few inches taller than a pro, not to mention heavier. You'd probably do well to get the plow lower or the truck higher... or both. A few inches could make all the difference. Ballast, timbrens, and a few turns on the t-bars would let your truck carry the weight better, therefore allowing you to carry the plow lower- as related to the now-higher truck.

Make sure the cooling system is in tip-top shape, and maybe install a touch cooler thermostat while you're in there. Maybe the fan clutch is worn out- it just doesn't manifest itself without the plow. A HD clutch is probably a worthwhile investment. It can still freewheel at freeway speeds w/o the plow, so you won't lose mpg there, but you'll pick up alot of cooling power with the plow. Can you hear the fan running on the freeway? I can hear mine as I go around a clover leaf, when the diesel is a little quieter. A deflector might be a good band-aid, but if everything else is working, you shouldn't need it.

[minnpusherman]

yes its a 8 ft pro plus with wings big plow, i have timbren and cranked up torsion bars,, dont think thats has much to do with coolin tho,, itts a 350 gas not diesel , i know your diesels have bigger radiators and fans,, and you can hear them , this is gas i cant hear the fan ever run? it will pegg the gague 250 if i dont angle the blade on a 30 degree day,, iwas lookin at those flex blades, talke to jeggs,, alot of confusion gotta know if i need a spacer? i can just picture me pulllin it all apart getttin a snow storm and being broke down , ha waiting for parts,, so i dont wanna do that, i called chev , 300 buks, installed , hd clutch, dont think termostate , it works fine with out plow on , has pink anitfreeze long life,, doesnt need flushing, i i probally gamble with 300 and call chev garage?:cool:

[wyldman]

Don't bother with a flex fan,most are crap,and to get a good one you will spend some $$ by the time you get it and everything needed to make it work.You will also lose a bit of power,and hurt mileage,as it will be running all the time.

Get a better clutch fan.The stock GM clutch fans are not calibrated correctly to work with a plow.You need one that kicks in at a lower temperature.It will fix your problem.

Also make sure all the rubber and plastic pieces are in place around the rad.Any air that can escape past the rad,will affect the clutch fan cut in,as it won't see enough warm air to engage.Fabbing up a plastic air dam at the bottom around the plow mount will help too,as it forces air coming under the plow to flow upwards into the radiator area.

[minnpusherman]

yeap wildman i took your recomendation, justgot back from chev garage,, they put a after market hd fan cluth on it, 125 and labor was like55? out the door after tax like 190, not bad, i just put the plow on for a road test its warm here today 35, and that baby runs like a champ, as hot as i can get it with plow up , notangled is like 175 , ha should of did it earlier but hey live and learn , thanks for the info wylldman :)

[EZSnow]

For the sake of clarification (since the problem is already solved!) What I was intending to suggest with the front end work and ballast was that if you have the ability to carry the plow low, while raising the truck, you have exposed more grille area to the airflow over the plow. In theory, anyway...

Glad to hear it's fixed. I wouldn't be surprised if you hear the fan once in a while now- that means it's working!

[minnpusherman]

yes ezsnow i understand what you were sayin,,bout keepin the truckup higher,, that western proplus contractor grade 8ft with prowings, is a big plow , height and wide,boutsame as a county plow, ha,, and it really shuts the air off, my old one iwas able to keep it down, hitting the pavement on bumps , { hate that** , now i can raise it all the way up , with no problem hitting payment or snow sprayin up, yes im glad i didnt try the band aid solution,, thanks for your recommendation ,im a happy camper now:nodd ps, yes i can hear that fan a hummin now