How to block your front grill with pipe insulation

Birdman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 1999
Location
Near Hagerstown MD.
TDI
Jetta 2001 Died by Truck one snowy day. Jetta 2003
wow! thats expensive! the pipe insulation cost $3 from walmart.

i thought about blocking the radiator, but its more difficult than just using the pipe insulation which only took like 10 mins to do.
A piece of card board on the inside or the silver coated sunscreen I used cost all of 3 dollars and you can not see it and it takes me lest then 5 minutes each year to install or remove it. The Pipe wrap comes in 4-5 foot pieces IIRR and they do not cost much. A few dollars for early heat and better milage from the car getting to temps faster will pay for it. You could go the big truck way and custom make a cover for the whole front end, the one VW had may work but It looks like it leaves to much open. JMHO
 

Black00Jetta

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2003
Location
Relocated to AZ
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS Black 5spd
Huh... must be a little thich headed. Just put my mod on yesterday for the uppers, reread the first post and seems I didn't make pieces for the lower openings. Now to scrounge up some more pipe insulation to make the lowers and I will be all set!
 

steffen707

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
01 Jetta GLS TDI
What is the easiest way to put cardboard or corrugated plastic in front of the whole radiator? I'm sure some of you guys do this, or tried this. From under the bumper, or through the hood?
 

fruitcakesa

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Location
Vermont
TDI
04 jetta 5 spd wagon
What is the easiest way to put cardboard or corrugated plastic in front of the whole radiator? I'm sure some of you guys do this, or tried this. From under the bumper, or through the hood?
I went under the bumper but I had to drop the skidplate
 

Birdman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 1999
Location
Near Hagerstown MD.
TDI
Jetta 2001 Died by Truck one snowy day. Jetta 2003
I went under the bumper but I had to drop the skidplate
The simple way is to take the lower middle grill out and slide the card board right up to the top of the radiator. I use a silver window sun blocker left over from last summer. It is nice and flexible and you can fold it up a but to fit it in , then unfold it and you are done. I do not have anyway of taking pictures of it but one the grill is put back in place you really have to look to see it there. It does a real nice job along with the intercooler block ( you don't need the super cold air coming into the engine in the winter it takes more heat out of the engine to burn not only the cold fuel but the cold air.
If we all had Webasto engine heaters on the cars there would be not problem. But we have to live with what we have ad keep on getting on .
 

jtnf

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Location
SE Massachusetts
TDI
2015 B7 Passat
I've got that one. I could tell by my co-worker's reaction when he saw the winterfront on my car that he thought I was a little anal about my car:D

--Nate

I have not seen one mounted, but I imagine it looks something like a bug bra. :cool:
 

steffen707

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
01 Jetta GLS TDI
The simple way is to take the lower middle grill out and slide the card board right up to the top of the radiator. I use a silver window sun blocker left over from last summer. It is nice and flexible and you can fold it up a but to fit it in , then unfold it and you are done. I do not have anyway of taking pictures of it but one the grill is put back in place you really have to look to see it there. It does a real nice job along with the intercooler block ( you don't need the super cold air coming into the engine in the winter it takes more heat out of the engine to burn not only the cold fuel but the cold air.
If we all had Webasto engine heaters on the cars there would be not problem. But we have to live with what we have ad keep on getting on .
Thanks for the recommendation. Did you ziptie it in place? What holds it there, other than the wind? :)
 

spartan

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Location
MI
TDI
05 Passat Wagon
I bought a grillecraft set and blocked them off with for sale signs, I have since opened the inercooler side up, but it does a great job of getting up to temp in the winter.

 

spartan

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Location
MI
TDI
05 Passat Wagon
Silicone around the edges and a couple of zip ties strategicly placed in the middle.
 

eats1963

Veteran Member
Joined
May 7, 2007
Location
Saint Anne, IL
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
That piece has just a velcro attachment and wraps around the slats. It doesn't block off the whole area.
 

downthemountain

New member
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Location
Alberta
TDI
'04 BEW GLS Sedan
Have used the pipe insulation method for 7-8 weeks now and the car warms up noticeably quicker, even on the -25c or worse mornings. Here in the Last Stop to Nowhere (otherwise known as Grande Prairie AB), there has been snow on the ground since about October 25 or so.

In addition, the price was right. The receipt from the Home Depot read $3.44 in total. Certainly beat the $190 that the winter grill cover for my International cost. Thanx for the great idea!!
 

steffen707

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
01 Jetta GLS TDI
I just wanted to share that I used 1/2" for the upper grill and 3/4" for the lower grill. The 3/4" fills out the holes in the lower grill much tighter. Thus less wind coming in. It was basically the same price. I also blocked the intercooler intake, hopefully that helps warm up as well.

I just put on a panzer plate, going to test my cars heat up to work today. I didn 't have any lower engine cover at all, so now all that cold air shoulding be rushing against the lower engine bay.
 

fruitcakesa

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Location
Vermont
TDI
04 jetta 5 spd wagon
Cold days really slow down temp guage movement so I used cardboard behind the grille area and went for a drive on a 20* day.
My gauge now hits 190 in about 6 minutes and what used to take upwards of 15 minutes and 10 miles to produce noticeable cabin heat now takes 8 minutes and 5 miles and the heat is hot:D
Major cheap fix and unnoticeable.
 

993cc

Veteran Member
Joined
May 2, 2006
Location
Ottawa ON, Canada; Paul Smith's, NY, USA; Amherst
TDI
2003 Jetta Tdi Wagon, Bought September 2009 with 60,000 Km on the clock. Died September 2013, at 142,000 km. in a collision with a moose. 2006 MklV BEW Jetta wagon Bought October 2013, 136,000 Km.
I Guess I was doing it wrong.

This is my first winter with my 03 Jetta Tdi, and I've done the pipe insulation trick with great effect, BUT...

Any time I had the car at high revs for more than a few seconds followed by hard acceleration- usually when merging from an uphill on-ramp, I was getting a CEL/limp mode. It seems that the foam was blocking off the engine air intake (above the grill and just below the hood on the left side), and confusing the MAP and/or the MAF sensor.

I re-positioned the insulation to the second and fourth bars on the grille instead of the first and third, and haven't had a problem since.

Thanks, scurvy, for this simple and functionally elegant solution.
 
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maverick06

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Location
Media, Pa
TDI
99.5 jetta TDI
i have had mine blocked off. upper and lower and blocked with foam, in 15F weather it still takes about 15 miles to get up to temp (188F-190F). Sure isnt speedy, but better than without!
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Any time I had the car at high revs for more than a few seconds followed by hard acceleration- usually when merging from an uphill on-ramp, I was getting a CEL/limp mode. It seems that the foam was blocking off the engine air intake (above the grill and just below the hood on the left side), and confusing the MAP and/or the MAF sensor.
There must be a problem with your intake tube or you had the foam sticking into the snorkel massively restricting it. Never had this issue nor heard of it before.
 
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