As some of you may be aware, I had an unfortunate coming together with a stone, which punctured the condenser for the air conditioning. Over

Next, the placement. I was going to apply it directly to the inside of the lower grille, but after some deliberation, decided to set it further back. At the bottom of the bumper, on the inside, is a plastic moulding that sits about 2 cm above the bottom of the bumper. This is in vertical alignment with the front cross-member, so a plan was hatched.

Here's the bottom of the bumper, (from the inside)

Now I had to cut the mesh to size. Some trial and error later, 60cm x 23cm seemed to do the trick.

I then bent the top 3cm (approx) over to give me something to attach to the cross-member.

Here's the bent article.

And again, in cross-section.

Lastly, the fitting bit. You may want to slightly bend the bottom edge before fitting to match the curvature of the bumper. If using my fixing method (below) you might want to clean the cross-member as well.

With the sizes I quoted, you should just be able to squeeze the mesh past the latch for the bonnet if you push it to one side. Once in, you can guide it down to the bottom of the bumper.

Then, the mesh was strapped to the cross member with good old gaffer tape. Pulling the mesh against the cross-member has the action of tensioning it against the plastic at the bottom of the bumper , thus giving quite a tight fit without any other form of securing.

I decided against drilling holes and using self-tappers because

a) It's going in on Thursday to have the condenser replaced (they may need to remove my new mesh!) and

I wasn't sure if holes in the cross-member would compromise the strength of the cross-member

Anyway, the gaffer tape works!

Here's a full-frontal view with it in place. I was going to spray it black, but I quite liked the silver look once I had it in for the dry run. I can always remove it and spray it later if I want to.

Now it all makes sense.

(This thread is like a little oasis of calm compared to 'General' and 'The Lounge' at the moment.)

Glad you liked it!

Hey that look's great Howard,hopefully it will stop your problem.

Just one thing I noticed - Your centre grille is different -- the vRS one is more like the mesh that you've fitted -- so hopefully I won't need to copy your handywork -- might be wise to remove it before it goes for the condensor replacement -- they might throw it away !!

Yup, I did spot that the vRS grille is a different design.

Well - I have to take the car in to the bodyshop on Thursday, so I'll make the decision on whether to remove it or let them know its there then. I suspect I'll end up removing it as it will surely get in the way.

BTW - while I was doing this I had a quick look at the size of the job of removing the condenser. I have to say, it looks like a bitch. Some of the torx screw locations defy belief! One of them I think may only be removed by removing the headlight first (unless they have some special tool!)

Howard

I think you will find that the whole front bumper ass will be removed,along with 1 or poss both headlights and more than likely the slam panel -- an absolute bitch of a job if it's anything like an A3 -- which of course it is :eek:

Originally posted by rich1068 in this post

Now it all makes sense.

(This thread is like a little oasis of calm compared to 'General' and 'The Lounge' at the moment.)

Originally posted by skodaw in this post

Howard

I think you will find that the whole front bumper ass will be removed,along with 1 or poss both headlights and more than likely the slam panel -- an absolute bitch of a job if it's anything like an A3 -- which of course it is :eek:

I'll make sure to mention that they're Xenons!!!

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

I'll make sure to mention that they're Xenons!!!

Very Wise !

Is a dealer doing the job, Howard, or an air con specialist?

Neither - it's an insurance company approved bodyshop. They're getting an aircon specialist in to do the re-gassing.

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

Neither - it's an insurance company approved bodyshop. They're getting an aircon specialist in to do the re-gassing.

I hope you didnt just accept the place they sent you too mate, you ARE entitled to have it repaired at the garage of your choice, even if it is an insurance job

Geoff,

I'm actually OK with it going to a body shop, due to the amount of disassembly that is required. There is only one part to be replaced (AFAIK) and that is genuine Skoda anyway (I had to get the part # for them).

My local Skoda dealer would not have the capability to re-gas the system anyway (they are very small), so they would have needed an aircon specialist to come in and do that (which the body shop are doing).

Plus... the body shop reckon they can have it in and out in a day - which is a big plus point for me.

Cheers,

Wikkes do a decent galvanised sheet for 3.99, started this at the weekend, similar mounting points to said description, hope it saves me any rad costs.

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

they can have it in and out in a day - which is a big plus point for me.

Ooh Errrr !!!!!! :eek: :eek:

Originally posted by pikestan in this post

Wikkes do a decent galvanised sheet for 3.99, started this at the weekend, similar mounting points to said description, hope it saves me any rad costs.

I looked in Wickes but couldn't see it. What section was it in? Got a pic?

:cheers:

There is supposed to be a grill supplied by Skoda to do this job, ask the body shop when you take it in.

Originally posted by MonkeyHanger in this post

Ooh Errrr !!!!!! :eek: :eek:

Wash your mind out!!

Originally posted by par151 in this post

There is supposed to be a grill supplied by Skoda to do this job, ask the body shop when you take it in.

Well, the dealership I took the car to initially knew nothing about it - they were the ones who suggested Wickes to me. I has a look through Butts' catalogue as well, and couldn't spot anything there (although not an exhaustive search)

Originally posted by pikestan in this post

Wikkes do a decent galvanised sheet for 3.99, started this at the weekend, similar mounting points to said description, hope it saves me any rad costs.

If you have air con it will be the condenser that takes the hit as it is mounted in front of the rad (and isn't very sturdy)!

Nice job Howard, hopefully this will save a few bob for others.