Inexpensive condenser protector

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
...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.

That was probably true when Hyundais first came out way back when. They're a good car for not a fortune.

 

[BrianWC]

I wouldn't say it was JUST when they first came out. I had a former co-worker with an 02 Sonata and, while a good car over all, he was very thankful for the long warranty. Nothing major ever happened. But it was always stuff like interior trim bits falling off. I do realize that even since then, Hyundai has come a long way.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
"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...

Anectodally, I was once driving with a 74 Torino through sleet on the interstate and found the entire grille iced over with a sheet of ice. The car never hinted at overheating. It drew air from under the bumper. There was a generous gap between the bumper and radiator. The cars today with underbody panels may not fare as well.

I too use hardware cloth. It's easy to screw down. I'll have to consider gutter guard next time.

 

[yeti]

i've been using the hardware fabric on vehicles for about 20 years. there are different sizes of the square holes (1/8, 3/16,1/4", etc.). i use the 3/16 size. i cut it oversized, paint it with flat black tremclad for rust prevention and to make it nearly invisible.then fasten it loosely about 1" in front of condenser to whatever is avaliable nearby,with plastic cable ties.you don't notice it unless you look for it, and will last forever.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
Originally Posted By: StevieC
...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.

That was probably true when Hyundais first came out way back when. They're a good car for not a fortune.
I know I own one with high mileage and have 0 problems with it under warranty. I have only replaced 1x 02 sensor in the last 30K KM and only done maintenance on it. It's only on it's second set of brakes in 200K KM (120K miles)

 

[river_rat]

Well if I were in the market for an SUV, I'd sure look at them.
Like you say, though, drive the wheels off it. New cars all the time for no good reason gets pretty 'spensive. Anyway, it's an '06. That ain't no old car.

 

[Drew99GT]

1/4 inch hardware cloth across vehicle grills. It's one of the first things I learned as a shadetree mechanic.

Bugscreen many times will clog to the point it restricts airflow and will cause overheating. Plus, even the heavy duty stuff can't withstand rocks/pebbles/tree sized tumble weeds in eastern CO.

Hardware cloth will protect the condenser/cooling system from the big damaging stuff and won't clog up. It will also catch the bigger bugs.

 

[BrianWC]

Too funny that I never thought about hardware cloth myself. As an archaeologist, I'm never too far from a nice stash of 1/4 inch hardware cloth. Preferably woven, but that's hard to find these days. It's the main size used for screening dirt for artifacts.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
Well if I were in the market for an SUV, I'd sure look at them.
Like you say, though, drive the wheels off it. New cars all the time for no good reason gets pretty 'spensive. Anyway, it's an '06. That ain't no old car.
My '06 is a high miler though... I drive 50-60K KM a year...