Removing the Hood Fire Blanket....Bad Idea?

[blue_kjR417]

My fire blanket under my hood is kinda gross looking and I've thought about taking it off. Would this cause any major problem? How much louder do you think the engine would be from outside the vehicle if this wasn't there to catch some sound?

 

[kjweston]

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41545

search first lol
and I've had mine off for a good while with no problems. then again mines silver not dark blue. but check that link

 

[Redbone]

Shouldn't be a problem. Many cars come without them. My Trans Am didn't come with one. I've taken the blanket off of my truck with no problem. They are useless IMO.

 

[yellocoyote]

My fire blanket under my hood is kinda gross looking and I've thought about taking it off. Would this cause any major problem? How much louder do you think the engine would be from outside the vehicle if this wasn't there to catch some sound?

I've considered doing this also, and of the people I've asked that have theirs removed, none of them have reported any issues.

Not to say that you (or I) won't have issues if we do it...

 

[Powerslave]

Chrysler paint is CHEAP, and it may cause premature fading, then chipping later. All you can do it see who all else with a Lib has theirs removed, and have them show photos of the hood...

 

[tommudd]

After a couple of years mines still good but then I installed hood louvers as well

 

[yellocoyote]

Fulltimer has had his out for awhile, and when I talked to him last month, he said he has had no ill effects. I'm not really concerned about color... the silver isn't going to fade much more by now. My concern is the possible cracking/peeling of the paint.

 

[ms5490renegade]

mine has been out a year and a half. no problems. no fading. no extra noise

 

[Redbone]

If you install louvers you will be allowing any engine heat to escape. Even if heat were a problem you will have removed the problem.

 

[jnaut]

mine has been out a year and a half. no problems. no fading. no extra noise

There was a similar thread on this and I posted there as well. The damage you'll see will probably take a lot longer than a year and a half. I'm going to guess that the damage will occur over five or ten years. Your paint will oxidize and fade there first. But it's a long process.

 

[yellocoyote]

That's another thing that's on my "maybe I do this over the winter" list...

 

[Redbone]

There was a similar thread on this and I posted there as well. The damage you'll see will probably take a lot longer than a year and a half. I'm going to guess that the damage will occur over five or ten years. Your paint will oxidize and fade there first. But it's a long process.

Why is this not a problem for vehicles that don't have the heat shield from the factory?

 

[blue_kjR417]

well, my brothers camaro didn't come with one either and its 9 years old and has no problems, not to mention my hood was freshly painted a about 2 months ago...

 

[tjkj2002]

Why is this not a problem for vehicles that don't have the heat shield from the factory?

well, my brothers camaro didn't come with one either and its 9 years old and has no problems, not to mention my hood was freshly painted a about 2 months ago...

Older vehicles use a single stage paint,newer vehicles like the KJ use a two stage paint job and also run hotter operating temps then say a 1990 chevy pickup will ever run(unless overheating).Add running the A/C and those underhood temps just get hotter.

Most automotive paints today are cured by backing at about 165-180 degrees for between 30-45mins.So the paint will survive and last to those temps,but when my cooling fan kicks on and I hold my hand over one of my hood vents I can not get any closer then about 6" due to the extreme heat that is being pushed out,have checked the temps also and they are 250 degrees+ and that's with vents so imagine without a escape for the hot air what the temps would be.

 

[Redbone]

Older vehicles use a single stage paint,newer vehicles like the KJ use a two stage paint job and also run hotter operating temps then say a 1990 chevy pickup will ever run(unless overheating).Add running the A/C and those underhood temps just get hotter.

Most automotive paints today are cured by backing at about 165-180 degrees for between 30-45mins.So the paint will survive and last to those temps,but when my cooling fan kicks on and I hold my hand over one of my hood vents I can not get any closer then about 6" due to the extreme heat that is being pushed out,have checked the temps also and they are 250 degrees+ and that's with vents so imagine without a escape for the hot air what the temps would be.

When did this paint process begin? My '02 Trans Am has no heat blanket. My son's '96 Camaro has no heat blanket.

His '96 is a case against blankets .... if the paint process is late model. A black car with original paint. Minor swirls in paint. This car has been steadily modified from '98 until '04 when it reached 1000 engine h.p. It has a single turbocharger. Imagine the underhood temps of a turbocharged engine in a car like the Camaro with almost no underhood air flow. Even the weatherstripping at the rear of the hood is still in place.

That reminds me, why don't you guys pull the weatherstripping at the rear of the hood off? It's actually on the cowl but seals to the rear of the hood. That will vent the engine bay without the need for hood vents. It's free cowl induction. We been doing this on most cars since the early '70s.

 

[Redbone]

EDIT:

Older vehicles use a single stage paint,newer vehicles like the KJ use a two stage paint job and also run hotter operating temps then say a 1990 chevy pickup will ever run(unless overheating).Add running the A/C and those underhood temps just get hotter.

Most automotive paints today are cured by backing at about 165-180 degrees for between 30-45mins.So the paint will survive and last to those temps,but when my cooling fan kicks on and I hold my hand over one of my hood vents I can not get any closer then about 6" due to the extreme heat that is being pushed out,have checked the temps also and they are 250 degrees+ and that's with vents so imagine without a escape for the hot air what the temps would be.

I re-read your entry and have some questions. At 60 yr. old I think of "older" cars as a '60 model. I don't see a difference in a '90 and a similarly equipped '06 vehicle with respect to under hood heat generation and retention. I still have questions about the baking process as to when that started. I have a friend that runs a body shop. As soon as I get a chance I'll get his input.

I'd also like to know what temp. reading would be on a dark colored hood that is sitting in the midday sun in the south in August for comparison. I certainly can't touch them. hummmmmm ........

 

[JeepJeepster]

Not all body shops bake the paint when they re spray something. Far as I know factory paints are indeed baked.

And that insulation is mostly for sound but it will help to keep the paint cooler thus pro longing its life. Mine would never have that issue since its polished and waxed every few days..

That insulation runs all under the kj also so its not just for paint issues. Its sound deadening more than anything but it also keeps the cabin cooler since it runs under the Jeep.

If you take it off the paint isnt going to turn to dust and fly off. It may not last as long though if youre planning on keeping it for long periods of time though.

 

[Redbone]

Not all body shops bake the paint when they re spray something. Far as I know factory paints are indeed baked.

None around here bake but they should know about the process, when it started, how it is effected by the direct under hood temps, etc.

And that insulation is mostly for sound but it will help to keep the paint cooler thus pro longing its life. Mine would never have that issue since its polished and waxed every few days..

Sound deadening was my understanding also. I call it a heat blanket to identify. You may be joking about the wax - if not I don't think wax can have an effect on the temp.[-(

That insulation runs all under the kj also so its not just for paint issues. Its sound deadening more than anything but it also keeps the cabin cooler since it runs under the Jeep.

If you take it off the paint isnt going to turn to dust and fly off. It may not last as long though if youre planning on keeping it for long periods of time though.

By looking at vehicles that seem to have paint issues on the top surfaces I can conclude that the majority are never garaged. This seems to be a much bigger factor than blankets, baking or wax. I have known of very few people that garage their vehicles when not in use to have problems. Sadly, my KJ has no garage.

 

[jnaut]

EDIT:I'd also like to know what temp. reading would be on a dark colored hood that is sitting in the midday sun in the south in August for comparison. I certainly can't touch them. hummmmmm ........

That damages the hood too. Heat is heat, doesn't matter where it comes from. I can't say whether or not the heat will destroy the hood, I just know I've owned a few cars where the hood was noticably oxidized and peeling where the rest of the car was still in decent shape.

I'm pretty sure the paint they put on cars is better than the stuff they were putting on the cars I'm remembering, but if the manufacturer put on a large heat resistant blanket, I'm going to assume it was there for a good reason. My guess is, the manufacturer isn't 100% confident that their own paint will stand up to direct engine heat over time.

Again, I doubt anyone's going to see anything noticable in even five years. But if you keep the vehicle for its lifetime, the one without the blanket will probably suffer some kind of paint failure before the one with.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

If you did remove the heat blanket, ALWAYS keep a coat of wax on it...even with my blanket, I still touch up wax on the hood every month....my hood gets pretty hot with the blanket....