Under hood temps in Phoenix AZ. Cowl hood or vents?

[SCBS]

Under hood temps in Phoenix AZ. Cowl hood or vents? I've got a 2000 Yukon 5.3, living in Phoenix the summertime temps are brutal. Does a Cowl Hood or hood vents/louvers actually allow the heat to escape enough to drop the temp? Or should i just leave the stock hood as GM designed it?

 

[Bill 1960]

Paging @Sparksalot . He’s done it.

It seems to me that they must help, but I don’t know by how much. Considering the amount of airflow through the radiator and front fan, you’d need big vents for a significant temperature drop in the engine bay I think.

I don’t think the engine per se suffers, but mine was idled a lot on the Texas border and it fried the corrugated wire harness loom. Or maybe that stuff was crap to begin with, it’s crispy and brittle under the truck well back from the engine compartment.

 

[drakon543]

your best option is to get a better flowing fan setup. cowl hood will help a bit but nothing overly noticeable on the temp gauge. ive never experienced it myself but they say ceramic coated headers can lower engine bay temps. the ceramic and better flow will allow hot exhaust gases to leave the engine bay faster i geuss.

 

[corvette744]

What does drop the temp mean are you running hot what is temp at idle.If over 210 i would be installing a aluminum radiator for better cooling.You do have electric fans right or flex fan?Also your fan shroud is intact.

 

[SCBS]

The truck is not running hot, it's just HOT in phoenix in the summertime =) This truck has been in the family since new, I just inherited it. I decided to fix it up and make it survive Phoenix summers. An aluminum radiator/fans is on order, I planned on adding headers so the tip about having them ceramic coated is on point.
I don't want to add the cowl hood or vents unless it will actually help vent the under hood heat, if it doesn't, i'll install a HD hood for looks...

 

[Sparksalot]

I added louvers to the hood on thecopcar. It was fine in street conditions, but I didn’t like to under hood temps moving slowly on dirt roads.

Holding your hand above one while idling after it’s up to temp, and you can definitely feel the heat rising, even on a hot day.

 

[rayra]

Just lower the engine thermostat. I'm running a 160F the last few years and engine works fine, passing smog, and even in last Summer's 115F days in Vegas, didn't have any heating problems. I was even towing heavy trailers over the 4000'+ passes between SoCal and Vegas without any issues.

2002 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500 5.3L V8 Thermostat | Shop Now at RockAuto

Cooling System Parts and More for Your 2002 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500 at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

 

[Blackcar]

GM spent a lot of time to keep engine running at operating temperature in all conditions. Which includes getting air thru radiator in certain conditions and a lot of this testing is done in Arizona with what they mule vehicles for testing because of environment there. If temperature gauge is running at correct temp everything is fine.

 

[mountie]

Hmmm..... I popped open my '05 Yukon hood..... Lowered it slowly.... Looking under the hood from a fender, ...... I was just wondering......
Go to a salvage yard. Pick up that plastic cowl / vent / screen cover , where the windshield / hood meet when closed. I wonder if that can be fabricated to create a nice 'escape' air opening?

Almost a cowl induction kinda space to let the hot engine air run out & up the windshield??

>>> Hood vents are great until it rains or you wash the truck <<<
The OEM harness loom is crap. Mine turned into Kellogs Corn Flakes. I went to Summit and re-covered my wires with the 'slip-on' braded . Very nice .

 

[Sparksalot]

Hmmm..... I popped open my '05 Yukon hood..... Lowered it slowly.... Looking under the hood from a fender, ...... I was just wondering......
Go to a salvage yard. Pick up that plastic cowl / vent / screen cover , where the windshield / hood meet when closed. I wonder if that can be fabricated to create a nice 'escape' air opening?

Almost a cowl induction kinda space to let the hot engine air run out & up the windshield??

>>> Hood vents are great until it rains or you wash the truck <<<
The OEM harness loom is crap. Mine turned into Kellogs Corn Flakes. I went to Summit and re-covered my wires with the 'slip-on' braded . Very nice .

I looked at that for a bit. Even with the cowl gone, and the seal at the rear edge of the hood removed, there isn a significant gap between the hood and the top of the firewall.
the base of the windshield is also a high pressure area, which is why cowl induction works. Heat is going to flow out and over the windshield unless you’re moving slowly.