Grille Shutter Delete

I’ve seen the ford raptor has an aftermarket grille shutter delete bracket (https://www.vicedesign.ca/products/bumper-active-grill-shutter-delete-kit-5th-gen-19-22-ecodiesel) and I was going to make one for the new Tacoma if anyone had interest. I’m scanning in the parts now to design a bracket that eliminates the grill shutter and leverages the existing passenger mounting bolts to mount the delete bracket.

The delete bracket will hold the actuator and have a 3d printed cog gear that inserts into the existing actuator. The housing itself will limit the cog gears motion to the proper OEM spec to prevent any warning/check engine lights. I’m still in the design phase but will be prototyping on the upcoming weeks.

Please let me know if anyones interested in these and I’ll see if I can make a bunch for the folks on the forum for cheap.

Side note I think the same grille shutter and actuator are used on a few Toyota models so this may be applicable for other vehicles as well.

ex. Sienna, Corolla, rav4 etc

 

Honest question, why would I want to delete the active grille shutter functionality?

 

Is the control scheme too complicated to fake? Seems like if you’re deleting a mechanical assembly for reliability’s sake then it’d be best to get rid of the entire thing including the actuator

 

Personally I’m deleting it because the light bars won’t fit there without removing them.

And I’m not worried about the extra mpg

 

Not sure, I haven’t tried that. Are you able to replicate the control scheme from the electrical standpoint? I’m just not that familiar with that type of build. Definitely willing to try if you’ve got some recommendations.

 

Updates on the design, gear cog printed and test fitting…need to tapper it

 

Clocking measurements for the degrees of rotation limits

 

I had the grille shutter fail "closed" on a Porsche Cayenne while driving cross country. Had to disconnect the mechanical linkage and prop the louvers open to keep the truck from overheating.

 

Unfortunately grill shutters do play a role in keeping the engine at optimal operating temperature—especially in colder climates, and with turbo charged engines that can become a problem. So propping them open in an anticipation of a failure that may never come is not the solution, unless it’s an emergency.

 

Are you implying that propping open the shutters will keep the engine from warming up in a cold climate? I highly highly doubt that will be the case.

 

I live in Florida.

This isn't a problem. haha

 

Same, southern California, we barely use our antifreeze coolant

 

When I lived in Central Oregon, we had a cold snap that my full-size van would not warm up to full operating temperature, and while idling it would drop.

 

Yes. Absolutely, especially when it’s single digits or below. Especially with smaller turbo four engines that need to run hot.

 

I live in central NY. In the winter, school buses and the like have covers that partially block the radiator grille to keep coolant temps up. Some people around here keep a piece of cardboard around to stick in front of the radiator in their cars on really cold days. They don't do it as much as they used to, but it's still a thing.

 

I know that people do that, but you shouldn't really need to. The thermostat remaining closed should allow the engine to build enough heat while driving. While idling in cold weather, no.

The reason they use shutters is for aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. The idea is to shut them and reduce drag when possible. It is not intended to do anything to help warm up, or at least not that I've seen mentioned by Toyota.

Since the thermostat or water control valve is not directing coolant to the radiator while cold anyways, whether the grille is open or not shouldn't change things much. When that area is open, the cold air will provide a very slight cooling effect to the engine by air cooling it, but that is minimal compared to the heat that is generated by driving on the engine's power.

 

Not always. We had a really bad cold snap a few years back where we had -20 to -40s Fahrenheit. You could watch the thermostat drop when you turned the heat up while driving.

 

https://sdhqoffroad.com/products/2024-toyota-tacoma-bumper-light-mount?_pos=6&_fid=ed9d21804&_ss=c

Comes with AGS delete.....

 

That doesn't make sense. I think you mean the temperature would drop, which is somewhat normal. If your thermostat is closed, the engine is building heat. Engine operations are simply too hot to not warm up due to outside temps. At worst, the thermostat would close back up due to the engine being too cold and overcooled, and then the closing of the thermostat would warm it back up again. That is entirely the point of the thermostat.

 

I can tell you right now if it’s below zero a small four-cylinder engine is going to have a hard time getting up to operating temperature and staying there if you’re stuck in stop and go traffic. And those turbos don’t like to run until it gets up into the 200s. None of this was a problem until they started a turbocharging all the things and making engines smaller.