Cap'n, for what it's worth...

I may revisit this with a Mr. Grille later, depending on the outcome of some airflow/temperature testing being done by a guy over on the OdyClub forum. For now, this will work without restricting airflow much. Painted galvanized gutter guard from Home Despot. On the Ody, the "area of risk" is the lower grille, which normally has nothing down there to protect the AC condenser (except for the '08s, which finally have a plastic grille).

I put a second piece behind the upper grille. Belt and suspenders.


What I want to know is, how much must one spend, in order to get a new vehicle that doesn't have to be completed by the owner?

Mike - Clever, the use of the gutter guard. I'm goin' down to the garage now, to check our CRV. Ounce of prevention, and all that.

That gutter guard looks pretty good.

One thing to consider - be very cautious about blocking airflow.

One of the toughest things to engineer on modern vehicles is airflow and heat dissipation in the engine compartment. Many of them don't have any margin for error - especially if you live in a hot climate.

Adm's '06 CRV. Looks like I need to take measures myself.



Appears we've already taken some hits.

That's normal damage Phil. You'll see that on vehicles with better grilles than yours. But I agree, after seeing all these pics, these Hondas seem to have abnormally large grille openings and screens would be a great idea.

For anyone planning to do this project - the gutter guard ("GG" to those who have done this) is galvanized steel. It costs about $1.70 for a 6" x 36" piece and comes curved as you'd expect for it's intended purpose. So the typical process is:

1. Take the curve out of it - I have a big dispenser for rolls of trash bags on my garage wall. It has end pieces with large radii, and I just placed the GG against it and gently re-formed it so that it came out fairly flat. This is thin, easy material to work with so it's not hard to bend.

2. Degrease - The GG has oily residue on it from manufacturing. I swished it through a cake pan full of denatured alcohol a few times. The material is rough enough that trying to wipe it with a rag would probably be ineffective.

3. Prime & paint - I used Krylon sandable primer. It didn't say not to use it on galvanized, but it's probably not the best choice. It probably *is* the best choice among the sprays commonly available at WM, Home Despot, Blowe's, etc. The Rust-Oleum paints specifically state that they are not for use on galvanized.

A note on painting - If I could do it over again, I think instead of spray painting I'd try spraying it with a coat of aerosol Plasti-Dip (available at HD in the spray paint section). This would provide a more durable coating, although you'd need to keep the coat thin so as not to impede airflow more than necessary.

4. Zip-ties - I think most or all of the black ones on the market are UV resistant, but it's worth making sure. Use good quality ties - if your GG comes loose, you could cause the same damage you were trying to avoid. If you look closely you can see where I overkilled it on the number of ties. I figure there's no such thing as too many. Some metal "safety wire" also wouldn't be a bad idea.

As to airflow, I'm very concerned about that, which is one of the reasons I went this route instead of with a billet grille such as the ones from Mr. Grille. They are very well made with as many openings as possible, but by my estimation they would still block around 60% of the air compared to the stock opening. The air that will make it through will be very turbulent compared to the laminar flow moving through the stock opening.

There's a guy who has put one on and is doing before/after temperature testing with a scan tool connected to his OBDII port, and will soon be doing that during a trip from California down to Tucson and back. I'll be interested to hear his results.

People have also used plastic gutter guard, which is sold in rolls. That would be much easier to work with and install, but I can't be convinced that a 1/2" rock moving at a relative speed of 75mph wouldn't go right through it.

Thanks 230.
My Sister and Brother in-law are heading up from Mason,OH Tuesday for two weeks and I plan on doing this for them on their 07 Ody. If I remember I'll take pics. of the install as well.
I need to do this because If I remember right he doesn't know what a screwdriver is, or was it a hammer?..

Sure thing, let us know how it goes. Plan on at least an hour for the install, assuming the painting is already done, all tools are at hand, etc. Diagonal cutters to trim the GG, longnose pliers to help with the zip ties, and a small flat blade screwdriver to pop the clips holding the upper grill together is about all you need.

Thanks for the tip. I plan of hitting HD or similar today to pick up the stuff.

Yes, thanks for the tips. I just got back from Lowes and couldn't find what I needed. Now I realize I wasn't looking for the right thing. I didn't realize it was the curved stuff or that I needed to paint it!...duh. I also wasn't sure of the dimensions needed, so thanks.

Re: the paint, don't know how it will last either, but it sure looks nice from the pics at least. Did you both prime and paint?

Any install pics you take would be appreciated Boatsrule. My fins are already pretty beaten up...nothing too deep though...yet. Its an '05 and I have 62k miles on it.

I primed and painted, using Krylon sandable primer and Krylon gloss black enamel.

I just received a reply from Krylon regarding priming galvanized surfaces. They recommend their #RTA9255 and stated that most Ace hardware stores should have it or can order it.

Again, if I could do it over I'd hit it with a thin layer of Plasti-Dip and forget priming or painting.

Great idea mike. Thanks. IF, I ever replace the condenser, your idea looks like a good fix. Probably just run the car without air for the duration of it's life. The repair cost did not sit too well with the admiral right now. We may have some money to burn in the near future, and I can revisit the fix then.

Put the screen in the Adm's CRV today. 1 hr. job, 1/2 hr. if I did it again. This is what I used, bought at Lowes.



It's just some kind of plastic, really easy to use, cuts with kitchen shears.



I put it on the outside. Way to difficult to get inside. Everything's black, which works. You can't even tell it's there.




Billy, I've got lots left over if any of your GM's need it.

Oh, and thanks for the post Capn, hopefully you prevented someone from the same problem.

Nah, my GM's don't have that problem at all.

Can I have your socks that you were wearing with your topsiders, though?