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!!!!

 

Some pictures would be nice...

On the left, the screen after getting it installed.
Next, the view of hte completed job!
Last, a view of the ty-wraps holding the passenger side of the screen in place.

It was probably not really important to drape it down SO far that it is caught below the under-engine shroud. With the ty-wraps in place, it cant really move or pull up anyway.

I used a knife to punch holes in the screen so I could thread the ty-wrap thru.

 

I hate to say but I would not have done that. You need all the cooling effect you can get and that will slow down that process. keeping after the bugs cleaning it out would be a better practice. As an example, take a sheet of that and stretch it out while driving down the road and see how much resistance it has.

 

I kinda agree with Steve... We all hate bugs, but your upping your air resistance, lowering your cooling. This mod will cost you more in the long end... cleaning your radiator every month is more than adequate to keep it in check... glad your trying things out though!!!

 

Dont be afraid to say it... the mechanic I dealt with on the GMC said, "Why didn't you just put a screen in front and avoil all the trouble?" - when talking about the truck.

BUT... that was in Michigan where it just doesn't get as hot as here in the south. I will tell you, I kept my eye on the gauge both before doing this and after. It was in the 90's this past weekend, can't say I saw any difference in the gauge - but I AM still watching it.

So, (not having read the rest of the thread yet) - how would you go about cleaning the bugs out of the condenser??? The few that were there, mabye 18 of them, didn't come out all the way. I got about 1/2 of them with the vacum, but the rest I couild not completely get out. And I hate to bend over the fins just to clean the bug out, as that kind of negates any advantage of cleaning the bugs out!

 

First of all, PRETTY COUPE!

Second, HOW? How do I effectively clean it out? As I mentioned above, I was not happy with my results last week. Am I just expecting too much from my efforts or have I not come up with the right technique?

 

Ok, it's been above 90F here every dang day for, well, almost since I bought the car July 6th.

I have gone to the trouble of taking the screen out and driving to church/Lowe's/Kroger's/etc.

THEN, putting the screen back in and doing the same.

THEN, putting it BACK IN, driving - then taking it back OUT and driving...

I can detect no difference in the gauge. Just as I suspected (and have experienced with a 1985 Range, 1998 Ranger and 1993 GMC 1/2 ton).

What I DO see that will help to cool then engine in city or town traffic (that is, below 30mph and stopped a lot), is to turn the A/C on - forcing the fan to run more!



I just wanted to show that I AM willing to listen!!! Also, that I am willing to put forth the effort to determine the truth! I'm keeping my screen - can't stand the idea of letting bugs accumulate in the A/C condensor/radiator.

 

trust us, the fine screen mesh will be more restrictive overall, and it will catch more bugs which is what you are after. We use to use them all our tractor/trailers...huge radiators to take care of, but, if not cleaned regularly, they become even more restrictive. As for cleaning radiators, you need hot water, soapy hot water, don't use high pressure, a garden hose will work

 

I respect the idea you want to keep the car as nice as possible and the bugs are a pain in the a$$. Keep in mind that you need as much flow through the radiator as possible for the radiator to be as effective as it needs to be. If you never romp on the gas and usually run it very easy, there may not be much of a difference on the guage but there may be instances that the radiator will need to recover (for a lack of better words) and it will take longer to bring the temps down. This is especially true if the screen has a bunch of bugs on it already. On a N/A, it may be less critical than an SRT but usually when people look at upgrades and/or performance enhancements/efficiencies, you will want to make sure you have all the cooling power available which helps your engine, the life of the oil and your A/C run more efficient. Even if you don't run it harder at times and don't try to squeeze more power out of it, if it were me, I still would not want to restrict any of the air available.

This is only my opinion so please don't take it that I am telling you what you should or should not do. If we were not creative with our cars, we would not have many of the go fast goodies we have today as many derived from the people on this forum.

 

I with Steve on "not" trying to tell what to do, but once you do this mod, you will need to keep the screen cleared more often because of the fine mesh...you are getting everyone of those little critters...

 

^^^ What he said. Think of it like a coffee filter -- it traps even the finest of grounds.

What you gain in protecting the radiator, you lose in forcing it to work harder. Your temp needle may not budge, but I can promise you that the T-stat is having to work harder.

As the others have sai, I can appreciate the innovate mind... I simply think this will cause issues down the road.