DIY: Lower Radiator Screen Protector. (stop the rocks from destroying open your AC capacitor on the highway) $1.77 mod! (kind of)

A few weeks ago I had a rock pop out and open my AC system capacitor. It was a big surprise to me that a rock from the road could do this, but I noticed how battered my capacitor was from the road debris and figured it was a coincidence.
You can see the leak here. The AC system had dye added to it and with UV light on it, it fluoresces, indicating the leak.

OK. So I installed a shiny new OEM Subaru condenser. Pulled a vacuum on the AC system, filled up, etc. Being an R1234YF system, its refill was not cheap,
Fast forward to yesterday. We just got back from a long drive and I got a screw in my tire. As I jack the car up to remove the steering wheel, I notice how beat up my BRAND NEW condenser is.
I mean, just look below. EACH one of those bent feathers on the right side of the picture. Leaves.. and I’m pretty sure it was some sort of filter from a Black & Mild. THIS WAS ALL CLEAN AND LIKE NEW A FEW WEEKS AGO!!

So it was clear that something had to be done. I remembered this thread I had seen recently: Radiator Screen Protector
Here another forum member makes his own screen protectors for Subaru Ascent and Gen 6 Outbacks.
I used to have a Jeep and I remember doing the same thing because the leaves like to get into the grill and collect on the radiator.

So effectively what we want to end up with is this. A nice blocking mesh of leaves and rocks directly behind the bottom bars of the grill.

See attachment 551522

So here’s what I bought:
$1.77 – Frost King Gutter Guard, 6″x20″ from Lowes. This is a plastic mesh (low density polyethylene)
$7.98 (or free if you already have it) – Plastic Bonder Epoxy. This allows you to connect the polyethylene mesh to the polypropylene grill.

Other supplies needed:
chain links.
chain link cutters/cutters
Scissors for cutting the net
vacuum cleaner and a scrubbing stick behind the grill
Soap and water for cleaning the grill

How to do this is quite simple.

First, you need to remove your bottom grill. The good news is, JUST CLICK!! you can unlock it by carefully pushing the edges and releasing it. Push it in and it will eventually come loose, then you can slide it to one side and pull it out. No tools needed.

Push it in:
See attachment 551524

Take out:

Take the grill removed from the car and clean it with soap and water. We want to epoxy the back later, so it needs to be cleaned up. I used dawn dish soap. You can also use other cleaners, but just make sure they are hidden. Place in the sun to dry completely.
Now while it’s drying, before you do anything else, clean up all the leaves and debris. you’ll forget to do it later.
I was hoping I could use the vacuum, but I really needed the vacuum and a tool to loosen all the stuff for the vacuum to remove.

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