Ok, not really a mod, but an idea to help my little girl stay young and cool! By "cool" I mean the kind of cool a thermometer measures!

See, I drove a 93 GMC pickup 220,000 miles before selling it. And JUST before I sold it, I replaced the radiator - because it was so full of insect debris that it would not stay cool in summer (Michigan) heat above 85F!

So, "Little Debbie" got treated to a modification I made to my next pickup in 2000: I placed a bug screen ahead of my radiator/condensor combination!!

Here is what I did...

I removed the four screws that hold the grill to the front of the car, and pulled out on the bottom of the grill and removed it. Then, I used a flat blade screwdriver to remove the two smaller "mini-grills" below the main grill. (Probably not using the right terminology here).

Then, I removed the shroud under the engine which is held on by four screws and two clips (the infamous shroud that must be removed for oil changes.)

Then, I ran to Lowe's and got some fiberglass bug screen. ($7) I then cut a piece measuring 33 1/2 inches by 36 inches.

Carefully, I slid this into place just ahead of the A/C condenser and behind everything else. I pulled it down and around the front bumper parts and had it hanging down in front of the car.

Tying it with electrical ty-wraps, I secured it on the left and right behind those two "mini-grills" I mentioned.

Now, the hard part - putting the under-engine shroud on!!! The two front screws went thru the screen on their way into the nuts they seat in. This made it hard to know just where the nuts are - but a lot of light and a little patience paid off.

After putting the engine shroud on and the "mini-grills", I pulled the screen up and snapped the main grill in place. Finally, I put the four screws back in that held the grill and carefully trimmed the screen around the top of the grill.

My weekend trip of 880 miles resulted in the capture of about a dozen little creatures. As far as I can tell, none of their bodily debris made it past the screen - but vacuming out the debris from time to time will be needed to KEEP the condenser/radiator clean.

This tactic has worked on my last pickup - it's got 158,000 on it. I changed the screen in 2006, it was REALLY full of bugs - after replacement, the a/c worked better as it can now breathe!!!!