Hi Guys
I thought I would post a quick guide on how to protect your Aircon Condenser from damaged.
The Aircon in my Jazz hasn't worked for the last two years, I had it re-gassed when I first bought it back in Feb 2015 and it worked for a bit then stopped working. After a little research, I read that stones hitting the condenser was a problem with the Jazz, as the front grill offers very little protection from anything hitting the condenser.
Well, with two hot summers without AC, I decided enough was enough, and the cars booked in to have the condenser replaced. But I didn't want the same thing happening again, so I decided to modify the grill to protect the new condenser for the future, as I have no plans on changing the car any time soon.
The whole thing cost me less than £10 to do, so it's well worth it to save £100s on a new condenser.
Things you will need
Flat head and Philips screw driver
Wire cutters (or anything that will cut through wire mesh).
6mm wire mesh (I bought a 60x90cm which was the smallest I could find. Wicks sell them for £4, or you get get it off eBay for £5, which is what I did)
Small black cable ties
Matte Black spray paint (£1 from Poundland)
Black permanent marker
*Optional* mask and goggles to protect from paint fumes
Good weather
or a Garage.
Firstly, you need to get the front bumper off, something I didn't photograph because I thought there would be lots of guides online.
If you can't find a guide on how to remove the front bumper, it's super simple:
Pop the hood, remove the 4 plastic clips securing it from the top with a flat head screw driver.
Under the front wheel arches, theres a screw either side, use a philips head to remove them.
Underneath there are 6 plastic clips and two philips head screws. Once all that's removed, it should just pop right out.
Bumper off the car:
This was the damage to my condenser:
Look at that stone!!
Next remove the grill from the bumper. It has two screws and a load of plastic bits which just need pushing back and the grill will pop out. There are also 4 plastic clips attaching the bottom of the grill to the bottom of the bumper which need to be removed.
I also removed the air vent part, I thought I might as well seeing as I have the bumper off:
First thing to do is cut the mesh to the right size:
I did a rough cut just to get the basic size, which I could then refine afterwards:
Next, using the black permanent marker, draw around the grill, leaving a bit of room to bend the mesh around the grill:
Cut out the shape to the final dimensions then place them on an old sheet or some cardboard for painting:
Seeing as the paint was only £1, I was very liberal with the spaying, and sprayed it quite thickly, I gave it two coats, then turned it over and did the same for the other side:
The paint dried pretty quick in the hot weather, but I still left 15mins between coats to be safe.
Next, put the painted mesh on to the grill and bend it around the grill:
Once you are happy with the placement, use the cable ties to secure the mesh to the grill:
I made sure to feed the cable ties through the clip holes rather than the grill so they wouldn't be visible when the grills back on the car
When you are happy with the placement of the cable ties, tighten them all then cut off any excess tie:
I did the same thing with the little mesh for the airduct.
Next, fit the grill back on to the front bumper. If you used small and thin cable ties, then it should fit on easily:
And finally fit the bumper back on the car
The final result:
Barely even noticeable with the matte black paint.
Painting is crucial if you don't want the grill to be noticeable.
If you don't fancy spraying it, you could always use brush on paint, but be careful not to put it on too thick, we still want air to pass through the mesh
!
Or if you really don't want to do any painting, you could just use the black permanent marker to colour it black
!!
I hope this guide has been helpful. I'm sorry there wasn't more pictures or detail in removing the bumper. I originally only took the pictures for my own personal documentation. It was then afterwards I thought I should share it on here as a guide.
Any questions feel free to ask
Chris