My LeBaron hood vent install

[firehawk]

I received my hood vents today and wasted no time getting them installed. There not totally finished since I need to make the mounting clamps tomorrow at work.

Pretty easy install really, I checked my measurements MANY times before starting. I located them 5" from the rear edge of the hood, and 1" from the break lines running down the center of the hood. Perfect fit between the hood braces.

I first drilled a hole so I could then use a jigsaw to cut the hood. I used a 36 TPI blade, and cleaned up the corners with a stone in my Dremel tool. I dabbed some primer on the bare metal, and will do the same with paint tomorrow.

Here it is before starting.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/kbharbison/100_1768.jpg

Here is the hood with the holes cut, and the edges cleaned up.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/kbharbison/100_1771.jpg

Here is the "finished" product after I painted the vents.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/kbharbison/100_1775.jpg

All in all, I think it turned out great. I drove it after cutting the holes and could see the heat coming out from under the hood. HAS to be a good thing!:thumbsup:

[xjjeepthing]

Nice job buddy. I want some Grand Prix vents

[Melissa]

Looks great firehawk!!

[Dirt Dogg Rydas]

lucky!! They look good.



Nice job buddy. I want some Grand Prix vents

I like the grand prix vents also specially cuz they have the drip pans but do you think their smaller size would help in heat extraction? (or are you just going for the look?)

[AJ99]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/AJ99/jeep/normal_DSC_4819.jpg

heres mine. I like yours a little more because i put mine a little too far back and got into the frame under the hood a little bit.

[UKJeepThang]

Excellent Firehawk! You've done a good job there! Looks neat.:D

I think you'll agree that it's a very easy job to do, the only concerning thing is to get the balls to cut into that nice shiny hood. Once the first hole/cut has been made, the nerves settle down because there is obviously no way back!

[jugbutt]

Firehawk, that is alsome you took all the hard work out for me!!
Knowing where to cut and all that.

You have a great lloking xj man.THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[firehawk]

Glad I could help. I have to admit I got the dimensions from a post on JeepForum though.:rolleyes:

Here are some pic's of the mounting clamp brackets I made. They were made out of 1/16"X3/4"X3/4" aluminum angle. As I said before I cut one side of the angle down to 3/8" measured from the INSIDE of the angle. If you make them measuring from the outside of it, they will be too short. I had a piece of black dooredge moulding, and put it on the edge that contacts the hood to "pad" it and not scratch the paint.

I used 8-32 SS round head screws 3/4" long to attach the vents. I tapped the angles, but also put a nut and lock washer on to make sure they don't come loose. The screws are a little long, but I may use the to mount up a pair of drip pans when I get around to it.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/kbharbison/100_1777.jpg

Here is a pic of the whole thing from the underside.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/kbharbison/100_1778.jpg

[xjjeepthing]

Nice buddie.

[lowrider]

That looks good. What year lebaron?

[dajeepman]

I wonder if its ok to get the TPS wet when it rains? I know water has to leak under the hood on to the motor!!!

[firehawk]

That looks good. What year lebaron?

Truthfully, I'm not sure. I think they are from a late '80's, early '90's LeBaron Turbo.:confused:

As far as the water thing goes, I checked on several forums and LOADS of people have done this and have reported no problems. I plan on mounting up a set of drip pans underneith the vents...someday.:rolleyes:

[UKJeepThang]

I wonder if its ok to get the TPS wet when it rains? I know water has to leak under the hood on to the motor!!!

I've not found it to be a problem when driving on the highway or trailing but I will also be making some drip pans at some point.

However my XJ lives outside and I made a couple of plastic covers to go over the vents when the XJ is parked up just incase constant rain damages the TPS or any other electrical componants.

[alwaysxj]

looks good i want to get some so bad. this guy on my local site always has them and i never call him in time to get them. looks good.

[firehawk]

Grab a set when/if you get the chance!! They are hard to come by. I'd like to get another set to have just in case something was to happen to the set I have. With two big holes in the hood now, you'd have to have something to fill them up.

I FINALLY found an '85 LeBaron Turbo at the local pic a part last weekend. Guess which parts were gone...yep the hood vents. Nothing else had been touched except the vents.:mad: Of course WHO would want parts for THAT piece of crap car anyway.:D

[Jeep88]

nice like out looks

[HokieAirman]

Hmm...I wonder if this would help my problem w/ fuel vaporizing in my injector b/c of the latent heat after a short errand...

[firehawk]

Hmm...I wonder if this would help my problem w/ fuel vaporizing in my injector b/c of the latent heat after a short errand...

I have the same problem with the 3rd injector. After shutting the Jeep off and restarting it will idle rough. It still does it with the hood vents. Best way around the rough idle from my experience is to turn the key on, but don't start it right away. Wait about 10-15 seconds for the fuel pump to "refill" the injector and if your's is like mine it will start and run fine.

[HokieAirman]

I have the same problem with the 3rd injector. After shutting the Jeep off and restarting it will idle rough. It still does it with the hood vents. Best way around the rough idle from my experience is to turn the key on, but don't start it right away. Wait about 10-15 seconds for the fuel pump to "refill" the injector and if your's is like mine it will start and run fine.

Nice...I will try that when the weather gets warm again. Thanks! Hood vents still look pretty cool. I haven't actaully had a problem with overheating yet.

[Krew]

On all the post I read they keep talking about the RAIN DRIP PAN what do they look like, has anyone done it and if so I can see a pic of them? Also I don’t get why you would need them since a lot of pics I see are of jeep’s submerged in water. These might be retarded questions but I am trying to figure this out for when I do mine.

[KH96XJ]

On all the post I read they keep talking about the RAIN DRIP PAN what do they look like, has anyone done it and if so I can see a pic of them? Also I don’t get why you would need them since a lot of pics I see are of jeep’s submerged in water. These might be retarded questions but I am trying to figure this out for when I do mine.

Not everyone does water crossing and the main purpose is to give the heat another way to escape the engine compartment. Those that don't do water crossings that use the drip pans are trying to avoid water getting on electronics.

I, and others, that don't use drip pans haven't noticed any adverse effects so far that I am aware of. I've had mine on for almost a year and the jeep has sat out in/driven in heavy rains and I have had no issues.

If my vents were in another spot that was directly over something like a fuse block/solenoids/air box I would probably put a drip pan in.

[Krew]

thanks, that help alot.

[4.3LXJ]

Another consideration is that if you are looking for maximum cooling effect when moving, most people put the vents in the wrong place for that. The best place is as close to where the air breaks over the front of the hood as possible. This is an area of vacuum and will help pull air through your radiator. Here is a pic

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_1106.jpg