Has anyone had bad experience with Vintage Air's ABS plastic radiator shroud sold by BC Broncos? I liked the design of it - being able to take the top part off makes it easy to take on and off without having to take off fan. My Bronco was in the shop to get the A/C charged, which is still not right, but that's another issue. I go into their shop to check on things and see that my radiator shroud is totally melted. They blame the manufacturer (Vintage Air) and I blame them letting my engine get too hot. I'm really scared my engine is damaged somehow but actually runs fine right now. They are unwilling to take any responsibility. Vintage Air guys are scratching their heads because they say that that has never happened before. Any advice?
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radiator shroud
- Thread starter 3T
- Start date
Landho
Sr. Member
I wonder just how hot it must get for that shroud to melt and why your engine got that hot in the first place. Assuming the shroud is wasted, maybe chop it up and bake the seperate pieces at various temps to see where the melting point it. If the melting point is near a nominal range for the engine temp - maybe nag Vintage Air with your finding to see if they can help you with a remedy.
I run one and love it... love the ease of getting to things - especially as I've been fighting a squeeky belt problem ever since I went to a 3g alternator.
The only problem I've had with mine is that I went for a drive and forgot to properly secure the removable top piece - yep - the first heavy on the skinny and the fan sucked the unsecured top in. The crap just about leapt out of me, until I realized and visualized what happened. It was no fault of the shroud though, and I'm sure the damage and repair cost would have been much worse if i'd sucked a metal shroud to the fan.
Carnage pics here, nothing too crazy though: http://www.solacepro.com/gallery/v/EB/My+69/10+February+09/
I was able to order just a top piece from BC Broncos, didn't have to order the whole thing. Worth noting, the new top they sent was made of much thicker and nicer plastic than the original one, too.
I run one and love it... love the ease of getting to things - especially as I've been fighting a squeeky belt problem ever since I went to a 3g alternator.
The only problem I've had with mine is that I went for a drive and forgot to properly secure the removable top piece - yep - the first heavy on the skinny and the fan sucked the unsecured top in. The crap just about leapt out of me, until I realized and visualized what happened. It was no fault of the shroud though, and I'm sure the damage and repair cost would have been much worse if i'd sucked a metal shroud to the fan.
Carnage pics here, nothing too crazy though: http://www.solacepro.com/gallery/v/EB/My+69/10+February+09/
I was able to order just a top piece from BC Broncos, didn't have to order the whole thing. Worth noting, the new top they sent was made of much thicker and nicer plastic than the original one, too.
I have an EFI engine so operating temp is around 190 right? How hot can it get under the hood and not cause damage? I got out my heat gun last night and got it up around 400 degrees and put it up to the shroud which made it pliable. I am obviouly more concerned about damage to my engine than I am the radiator shroud. What do you guys think?
Zoomer
New Member
Howdy from out Arizona way.;D
I am new to the site and run a Bronco out here in the Mojave desert. Mine never melted anything under the hood. With the shops reluctance to take the fall for the fan shroud I don't think they are going to take it for the engine either. What I would do now if I were you would be go over the engine and look for signs of over heating. Change and examine the oil maybe a compression check, oil in the coolant? Burnt tranny fluid maybe.
Good luck with it/hope no damage was done.
I am new to the site and run a Bronco out here in the Mojave desert. Mine never melted anything under the hood. With the shops reluctance to take the fall for the fan shroud I don't think they are going to take it for the engine either. What I would do now if I were you would be go over the engine and look for signs of over heating. Change and examine the oil maybe a compression check, oil in the coolant? Burnt tranny fluid maybe.
Good luck with it/hope no damage was done.
Landho
Sr. Member
Was that 400 degrees at the shroud? or near the headers??
The engine operating temp is around 190, but that's the temp at which the coolant start to flow and what the internals of the engine want to be. Temp around your headers will be much much higher - and, given the confined space under the hood, that heat may just be sticking around under the hood.
400 seems high, but isn't too crazy assuming you've got abot 500 (or higher) exhaust gas temps....
There are lots of tricks and tips and third party solutions to vent the engine bay and cool the EB...
The engine operating temp is around 190, but that's the temp at which the coolant start to flow and what the internals of the engine want to be. Temp around your headers will be much much higher - and, given the confined space under the hood, that heat may just be sticking around under the hood.
400 seems high, but isn't too crazy assuming you've got abot 500 (or higher) exhaust gas temps....
There are lots of tricks and tips and third party solutions to vent the engine bay and cool the EB...
What type of tricks other than an aux fan? No room.
I've talked to Chuck (BC Broncos) and I think I'm going to try another one. He said that maybe there was a bad batch of ABS plastic. I would rather have a metal one but after reading about your experience maybe ABS is better.
blubuckaroo
Grease Monkey
Don't let them BS you!
My first Vintage Air shroud melted and Vintage Air replaces it. The second one didn't completly melt but distorted a bit along the sides and couldn't seal against the sides of the radiator. They sent my money back. I just put the factory one back in. Vintage Air sends instructions on how to modify the stock shroud along with the installation instructions. I didn't see any advantage to removing the top of the shroud anyway except it made it easier for them to manufacture the thing. I always let let the manufacturer know about any problems I run into. I had hoped they would have fixed this issue before they sold any more of them.
My first Vintage Air shroud melted and Vintage Air replaces it. The second one didn't completly melt but distorted a bit along the sides and couldn't seal against the sides of the radiator. They sent my money back. I just put the factory one back in. Vintage Air sends instructions on how to modify the stock shroud along with the installation instructions. I didn't see any advantage to removing the top of the shroud anyway except it made it easier for them to manufacture the thing. I always let let the manufacturer know about any problems I run into. I had hoped they would have fixed this issue before they sold any more of them.
Did you end up modifying your stock shroud?
blubuckaroo
Grease Monkey
chuck
Bronco Guru
3T, when you first called me about this problem I had not heard of anyone else having a problem. It was my understanding that the shop was charging you A/C which would mean the hood was open. If that is true only the temp of the radiator and the air passing through it would effect the shroud. I have seen the exhaust header at around 450 degrees but it is my thinking that for the shroud to get to 400 degrees the engine would have to get much hotter and stay that way for some time. I am not sure that the engine could run at a temp that would cause the shroud to get to 400 degrees especially not with the hood open. So because the engine still runs fine I am thinking that your heat gun is not accurate. The bottom line is the shroud should not have sagged under the hood even if it had been closed because the shroud should have been designed to work without problems under the hood where it lives. It is possible that VA got a wrong batch of ABS and I will be looking into that but either way I will replace the part or refund your money as I told you I would the other day when you called.
Chuck, thank you so much for your great customer service. You guys are great. I love dealing with you guys. I was just curious if anyone has ever had this kind of problem before and what they did. Still curious though...how hot is too hot for an EFI (coolant temp reading)?
