Inexpensive condenser protector

[JTK]

I've been bitten by the stray road 'pebble' more than once, so it's normal PM for me to install some type of DIY protection. I was pleasantly surprised with the relative ease the front fascia came off of my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. (4) 10mm hex head bolts and a bunch of phillips head threaded push plugs and a yank to the clips under the headlamps and out she came. I've been using 'gutter guard' and tip ties. Looks like something out of Mad Max w/ out the fascia. As usual my family and neighbors have to think I'm nuts.

Joel

 

[river_rat]

They think you're nuts?
Nuts is not enforcing state tarp laws on rock-chucking-gravel trucks.

Good job.

 

[BrianWC]

This is a common mod for Honda Fit owners. I've put it off at my own peril. Heaven knows anything related to air conditioning on a Honda is expensive.

Looks like your own DIY went well!

 

[StevieC]

I haven't done that on my Santa Fe but will on my next vehicle because my Radiator and condenser coil took a beating in the mileage I have on the truck. It looks like I fired stones at it from a gun.

 

[Kestas]

I commonly recommend such a mod to cars with an open grille design. Everyone, just look at your condenser and see what kind of abuse it takes from debris. Same abuse as rocks on the windshield, but the condenser is much closer to the road. You're not nuts at all.

 

[JTK]

Thanks guys. The nuts thing is about the looks I get from ripping apart my 'new' cars w/in days of taking ownership. Who ever winds up buying the Cobalt may or may not even notice this mod was done to that baby too. And yes, I even 'gutter guarded' my leased 2008 Odyssey. There is basically NO protection of the condenser on that Honda. It's wide open on the lower bumper grille.

Joel

 

[StevieC]

Generally the "smarter folk" of society are often looked at funny. It's all good, this to me is gratification that "smarter folk" are on track and ahead of the rest with a narrower vision.

Everyone at my work thinks I'm nuts for driving a Hyundai, let alone one with over 200K KM (120K miles). They all think I should trade it in or lease a new vehicle because my current vehicle will become "unreliable" because it's a Hyundai and has high mileage.

While they waste a ton of money on new vehicles I laugh all the way to the bank and get looked at oddly by them. I love every minute of it.

I will be financially sound and retired early while they are out working until 65 and hoping their savings is enough. But they have nice cars in the driveway.

 

[BrianWC]

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent.
They imagine.
They heal.
They explore.
They create.
They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
are the ones who do.

 

[StevieC]

That is awesome... Thanks for posting!

 

[BrianWC]

Old Apple commercial, lol.

 

[StevieC]

Guess I never saw that one...

 

[Kestas]

Very poetic, Brian.

The other things I do to a new purchase is that I go over many of the fasteners and treat them with antiseize, especially the exhaust fasteners and anything on the bottom of the car. You have to have a lot of time on your hands for that.

Rustproofing is another thing I do. Anyone remember the commercial where the guy drives his new car home to the waiting family outside, and drives right past them straight to the rustproofing shop?

A little bit of work now on a new car can save you lots of time and grief later on.

 

[StevieC]

Kestas I do the same thing... Then every year just before the winter I jack up the car and have a look at stuff and touch up with my can of Rustproofing Goopy spray. An ouce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure!

 

[KrisZ]

Same here, eventhough I rust proof my car every year, I still touch up and apply extra rustproofing in rust prone areas as fender wells, firewall, and hood, and while I'm at it I lubricate all hinges and locks.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
This is a common mod for Honda Fit owners. I've put it off at my own peril. Heaven knows anything related to air conditioning on a Honda is expensive.

Looks like your own DIY went well!


Nice DIY!

Installing animal-proof window screen in the grille was the first thing we did to my fiancee's Fit, a few days after we got it. It accumulated a lot of disturbingly large bugs almost instantly. It came in handy the other day when a truck's bedliner fell out, spraying her car with myriad debris. Fortunately the damage was limited to a cracked foglight that's held together by the headlight film we put over it. Unfortunately she didn't get a police report.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: StevieC

I will be financially sound and retired early while they are out working until 65 and hoping their savings is enough. But they have nice cars in the driveway.

To each his own Steve. Just wave to me when I go flying past you in my new car, late for work at 70yrs old.

Joel

 

[StevieC]

Joel, nothing wrong with a new car... IMO it should be a company car or to replace a 15 year old or similar used vehicle that has "earned its keep" so to speak. Not a new car every 5-8 years...

 

[Gary Allan]

I like this mod. I'll have to find something to do it to. It's the subtle nature of this stuff that makes it trick. It's invisible to all except those who really know what they're looking at.

 

[Dualie]

I wish i would have done this to my ford superdutys. both the excursion and the F-350 look like i have been throwing marbles at them at 80 MPH.

with 300K a piece on them i might have got my moneys worth.

 

[The_Jeff]

"hardware cloth" looks like it could be good too. Is that gutter guard stuff plastic or metal? Looks plasticy. Each has their place I guess.

"They" say if you drive through snowbanks a lot it can fill up with snow and be an issue, blocking cooling airflow, etc. I see that as a worst case scenario, because, hello, it's COLD...