Keeping spinifex out of the radiator.

Duuuuude! you need one of those ultra-new radiator 'spinafex keepa outa' thingies, that are the current rage for all Spinafex Country traveling 4WD'ers.

They are so new and go so fast that I haven't been able to get a pic yet, however when I do so I'll send you a pic ASAP.

Regards

DD

PS

Need your email addy, which I can't find for 'THE PICS'.

Shade cloth over the bull bar, sponges in the gaps and a spinafex hook for under the car.

For our radiator protector we got Halls to make it out of their youbute shade cloth/stoneguard stuff.... punched some holes it it for eyelets and some cable ties and ocy straps and your in business.

You have to watch the engine temp on the warmer days.... when we did the Madigan and Hay River the going was very tough in 35deg. temp with a tail wind.

Peter,

I've always used a swathe of 75% shade cloth. Secure it well back underneath and then plug the side gaps or holes in the bull bar with the large carwash sponges you can get from Bunnings for a dollar each. These can be cut to the right shape and a bit of holds them in place. Make sure that the shade cloth is secured under the bonnet so no seeds can get in over the top of the bull bar.

I also use the sponges and gaffer tape to ensure that the gaps are blocked between any under body protection , the bull bar mounts and the engine bay protection inserts.

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Cheers,

Mick

Shadecloth?
I thought the thicker material stopped too much air from getting to the air con condenser and made it work harder.
The suggestion I heard was to use mosquito window material as it stopped everything, including insects but let enough air through to keep the coolers working.

Could be wrong....

Bill

Hi Peter

It is a real problem and it is not just the radiator, the whole underneath of the vehicle. I used shade cloth and it worked great, yet the stuff still finds its way in. My biggest problem was under the vehicle and as a safety measure, I was stopping every half an hour and using a long wire hook that I made up to pull out lots of the spinifex from every where under the car. Before I started, the first thing that I got out was a fire extinguisher along side me and a 5 litre garden stray unit full of water in case there was any hot spinifex, and luckily I never had to use it.

Trust me it gets into very nook and cranny, fuel tank guards, chassis rails, you name it is a real pain.

Even with the cover up front, I used a long soft paint brush each night to clean the radiator, engine bay and then spend about half an hour under the car.

The picture below was on a rare section of good track heading out into the Great Victoria Desert in the Sydney Yeo Range, east of the Connie Sue Highway.

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Cheers


Stephen

The past 7 years I've run aluminium flyscreen over the outside of the grille - full width and full height to cover the radiator. I use it because the airflow is good, the mesh is fine enough and the aluminium mesh is tough. To clean it off, you just rub your hand over it. My 79 series is pretty open underneath, being a traytop, so doesn't have much in the way of pockets that collect spinifex. I've not found the Madigan Line to be a problem but haven't been out there since the recent good seasons. Had the radiator out last year to check the radiator and condensor and wasn't much there.

Hi Peter,

Good question, one I certainly have not found the perfect answer for. No matter what is done there is always some seeds that manage to get through.

As mentioned shade cloth and sponges work well, I used these items in both 2010 and 2011 though differently.

2010 I went for localised protection, with lower grade shade cloth on either side of the front grill. This would last for weeks if used on only rough tracks. I replaced the bottom section after a week or so of hard country with a pillow, and that seem to fill a lot of the gaps.

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In 2011 I wrapped the whole bullbar up, mostly because that is what everybody else was doing. This seemed to work OK. I also had lower grade shade cloth on either side of the front grill.

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Hope that helps.

Alan

We use shadecloth however the biggest issue with it was it getting into and around suspension and exhaust.

Like many things what really works is often not obvious.

Our most important accessory was to have a good matt you could throw on the ground and some gloves.

This is because the ground gets covered in spikey burrs and seeds. Unless you can quickly and easily get down under the car and clear the stuff then it builds up and then becomes the real issue.

You might be surprized how bad the burrs and seeds can be in some places.

Making it easy to clear build up means its more likely to get done at every stop.

P.S. Our Shadecloth used Velcro , again to aid clearing