Leaves in the radiator? Why is it designed like this?

[Henry Ford]

stuff has been getting stuck in radiators since day 1 of radiators in vehicles. but 2.5 years and 25000 miles of owning i have yet to pull anything out of there

This is the answer.

F150s have come with a giant hole in the bumper for a long time and of all the issues I've heard about F150s, overheating because of leaves isn't one of them.

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[mrau]

The Lightning radiator is at a different angle than a gas F150. Hence more chance something can sit there longer than if the radiator was vertical like the gas F150..

With that said, no extra screen for me. I'll just keep an eye on it clean it out when needed.

 

[OMO7]

I bet those grills restrict more airflow than a couple leaves.

 

[MaintGrl]

I bet those grills restrict more airflow than a couple leaves.

Ok

 

[21st Century Truck]

I bet those grills restrict more airflow than a couple leaves.

I'll bet against You.

 

[Ffxdude]

I never collect anything in there while driving, what am I doing wrong???

 

[NCevGuyF150]

Fall has barely begun in Georgia and already have leaves back sitting on my radiator. Two obvious questions:

1. Every vehicle I have ever owned has a screen in front of the radiator. Why is this a massive hole in the bumper acting like a vacuum? Is it safe to cover it with a screen? I would think Ford would have done this if there wasn’t a reason.

2. Once you get junk in there (see pic) what’s the easiest way to get it out? It would be like a game of Operation to pull it out without breaking a louvre or damaging the radiator.

I have contacted Ford about this also. I have had birds building nests in there. I don’t see any changes on the lower models.

 

[farmtruck]

I had to vacuum grass seed out of mine a couple times in July and August. I have also had to wash mud out of the radiator. A screen would not have prevented this and would have made it harder to clean.
I do wish someone would make removeable covers to protect against larger objects but allow access for cleaning.

 

[blitzlinger]

I never collect anything in there while driving, what am I doing wrong???

Are you mainly driving around cities and well built roads?

For me, I use my truck for work and am exposed to a lot of sticks, leaves, and random debris on steep gravel and barely maintained dirt roads. Having that grille installed is cheap insurance and a peace of mind thing for me.

 

[blitzlinger]

I had to vacuum grass seed out of mine a couple times in July and August. I have also had to wash mud out of the radiator. A screen would not have prevented this and would have made it harder to clean.
I do wish someone would make removeable covers to protect against larger objects but allow access for cleaning.

Mud is definitely an issue, and already had that experience with having to pull the screen off to clear it out, but it's simple to put it back on at least.

After tropical storm Helene, the first few days I just took the 4Runner because I knew clearing out the mud in the low flung radiator area, between the skid plates, and on some of the exposed HV wiring would be a huge pain.

There are just some things this truck isn't meant to do, so it's a balancing act with what you expose it to.

 

[21st Century Truck]

I never collect anything in there while driving, what am I doing wrong???

How about a theoretical risk (lower probability, higher impact): Winter is approaching, the horizontally inclined radiator is a warm spot after the truck is parked for the night, and a rodent starts building a nest on that cozy warm somewhat horizontal surface inside the very accessible sheltered cavity. I'm sure Maine members here can weigh in with real life experiences haha.

I've cleared out more sticks and leaves than I had expected from my radiator's top surface when I mounted the grille screen across the lower front bumper, and that was after only camping several times in the forest with preteens in Virginia, Delaware and New York State in the space of a month this past July and August.

 

[bmm3k]

The Lightning radiator is at a different angle than a gas F150. Hence more chance something can sit there longer than if the radiator was vertical like the gas F150..

With that said, no extra screen for me. I'll just keep an eye on it clean it out when needed.

Exactly! To those commenting that say crap gets stuck in all radiators - wow enlightening comment… but 1) they are vertical so when the engine cuts off leaves fall down and 2) they are not deep inside of a hole covered by plastic louvres.

As for those aftermarket screens - yes I saw those and was thinking of installing that mod. But back to my original question is why didn’t Ford genius engineers build it with a similar screen? And no the screen has nothing to do with Frunk so please stop talking about the frunk. I do imagine the screen could interfere with airflow some but accumulation of garbage will be far worse if you ignore it.

 

[Ffxdude]

Are you mainly driving around cities and well built roads?

Yep, that's my problem I guess. I'm all suburban/urban/highway driving along the east coast. I guess I need to get off the beaten path more.

How about a theoretical risk (lower probability, higher impact): Winter is approaching, the horizontally inclined radiator is a warm spot after the truck is parked for the night, and a rodent starts building a nest on that cozy warm somewhat horizontal surface inside the very accessible sheltered cavity. I'm sure Maine members here can weigh in with real life experiences haha.

I've cleared out more sticks and leaves than I had expected from my radiator's top surface when I mounted the grille screen across the lower front bumper, and that was after only camping several times in the forest with preteens in Virginia, Delaware and New York State in the space of a month this past July and August.

Mine has always closed when the truck is off in cold weather. I presumed this is enough to keep the rodent issue off there in that scenario. Though certainly there are plenty of other locations they can get up to for warmth and comfort and cause us problems.

 

[Mike G]

Just bought this.

I asked these folks a couple of months ago when they were going to produce something for the Lightning....they listened.

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