Mitegating in-cab heat - ideas?

[ntsqd]

My last Bronco had a 2 inch body lift, and had no issues with heat in the cab, no A/C, Floorboards got warm at the most on 3-4 hour trips

What region of the country are you in?

 

[Johnnyb]

I took the below arguably crappy photos today, while groveling under my Bronco to install a catalytic converter. Which is amazing but a topic for a different thread. What's visible is a greasy piece of 1/16" pure aluminum (no fancy alloys) sheet on 1-1/4" long threaded hex standoffs. 1/4-20 thread all the way through. This was stupid easy to make and install, and the difference was transformative.

I mostly use my Bronco for back country travel, loaded with gear. I had the entire interior sprayed with LineX 25 years ago. Experimented with various interior mats and eventually settled on rubber everywhere, from some long forgotten source, with some dense insulation underneath. Exhaust was and still is a 2 into 1 system down the right side. At some point I discovered that the LineX on the tunnel down the right side had lifted off the metal floor because it got so hot. And traveling with boxes of gear in the back I happened to be thinking about how warm it was inside (I run a hard top year round) despite being around freezing where I was traveling. Reached down and shifted a cargo box out of the way behind the passenger seat, touched the floor mat. It was too hot to touch. When I got home and was cleaning up I pulled the mat and insulation away, discovered that the LineX there had been scorched off as well. That's when I decided to try the heat shield, based on what I'd seen under new cars. I have driven countless trips since then with stuff in the back, this time with a thermocouple connected to my multimeter. Floor behind the seats never gets hotter than about 120°. When I did the 408 swap a few years ago I added more heat shields on standoffs to the right side of the tunnel. What a difference.

As far as I'm concerned based on my experiences, fixed heat shields are the gold standard for managing interior heat. Not that you shouldn't also take other measures, but start there. If you can cut sheet metal, use a hammer (to bend flanges etc) and drill holes, you have all the fab skills you need to make them.

I should add that all the holes I drilled through the floor l sealed with RTV to keep water out. The rear heat shield has been on for at least 15 years and there is no sign of water intrusion (and I've given water plenty of chances).

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I installed a catalytic converter this year and enjoyed the effect of reduced fumes, but I ended up taking it out due to back pressure. Can't wait to read your post after you test it out.

-JB

 

[Revelation]

What region of the country are you in?

Florida

 

[Revelation]

Are you suggesting that a 2 inch body lift and no A/C will take care of floorboard heat?

No but did on mine, 300 straight 6 and 16 gauge Stainless floors,

 

[ntsqd]

Was the SS a direct replacement for the OEM floors or laminated over/under them?

 

[lars]

No but did on mine, 300 straight 6 and 16 gauge Stainless floors,

Heat issues aside, a 300 swap is pretty cool. And rare. Stainless floors can't hurt.

 

[ksagis]

Stainless floors would be a mod that solves rusting floorboards, don’t think I have ever seen that before. Would love to see pics of it installed.

 

[BroncoJimbo]

Durabak (old school) on the inside made a world of difference on heat and sound. We used Monstaliner on my son's CJ5 and had good results.

 

[ntsqd]

I'm thinking that my FSB needs a shield between the Cat and the frame on the PS. The control wire for the Puma OBA compressor's contactor runs down the outside of the frame there. Since it was exposed to debris off the RF tire I covered it with some of the nylon spiral wrap for abrasion protection. Yesterday the RF tire was off being replaced and I noticed that the wrap had gotten hot enough to have curled up and wasn't protecting the wire very well. This is running down the middle on the outside of the frame rail. Tells me that the rail itself is getting pretty danged warm!