I used the Galvanized steel gutter screen available at Home Depot or Lowes for $1.19. At first I attached it with cable ties from the front but didn't like how it looked so I used screws and four cable ties from the back.

Here's what I did:

1. Remove the bumper cover (four bolts, two screws and a handfull of clips). Should take about 10 minutes.

2. Place the bumper cover face down on a heavy quilt or your livingroom carpet to avoid scratches.

3. Lay the screen over the opening (back side of bumperr cover) and trim to size with tin snips.

4. Attach the screen to the bumper cover with tiny size #2 (1/4 inch long) stainless steel screws (easiest to find at any boating supply place). I used a 1/16" bit to drill tiny pilot holes in the plastic crossmembers (heavy grill) on the bumper cover. Make sure to keep the holes shallow and centered or you will come out the front of the bumper (ugly) Then just line up the screen and attach with the screws (from the rear of the cover). Nothing will show from the front of the bumper.

5. Attach the corners of the screen with small cable ties. You'll have to drill four tiny holes in the bumper that will show ( just barely). You really won't be able to see them with the cable ties in place.



6. Carefully replace the bumper cover and you're done! All of my friends and a few local "E" owners thought that it was a factory install.

Good luck and let me know if you need more clarification.

pics?

Been there, done that :wink:


http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3803&start=30

I'll try and get some pictures posted soon.

Hey "mr. been there done that", My cable ties don't show anywhere near as much as yours plus I used tiny screws to make sure that the screen is extremely flat and secure (not just in the corners).

No need to be so flippant anyway :!:

I'm just trying to introduce a slightly differnt way of attaching the Home Depot gutter screen.

Whoa, slow down. Please try to remember that it's very easy to misconstrue somebody's tone in text. I don't believe there's any need to be defensive - I think this is just a misunderstanding.

Let's all play nice. :D

I'm looking foward to the pics... I couldn't se a way to use screws.

I thought about filling the gaps in the center bar, but there is NO glue that will stick to this plastic. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know.

[quote:6b145152b6="marky"]I thought about filling the gaps in the center bar, but there is NO glue that will stick to this plastic. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know.[/quote:6b145152b6]

I haven't tried it on the E, but on similar plastic I've used two part epoxy designed for plastic, seems to work pretty well on many plastics where other (super glue, etc) stuff wouldn't work. Very likely to be permanent if it works on the E plastic. You can get it at the auto parts stores usually.

[quote:e18d815f91="marky"]
I thought about filling the gaps in the center bar, but there is NO glue that will stick to this plastic. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know.[/quote:e18d815f91]

I'm not sure how glueing would work, but if you're game I would recommend Marine Goop. I used that in college to glue PVC pieces to steel for corrosion experiments. It always took a lot of pulling and bending of the metal to separate the two when we were done. But I do think it could be a messy job...

[quote:77ba3279d9="Fishguy"]No need to be so flippant anyway :!: [/quote:77ba3279d9]

sorry if i offended you fishguy. Its hard to tell peoples tones on here - i was just kidding around hence the wink guy next to my post.

i dont care for the cable ties showing, but after i win the cloud rider grill tonight :wink: i will take it off anyway! it doent show unless you get right up on top of it.

Thanks for posting your instructions - i prob would have followed them if i had seen them first.

tapestry,

No problem.

Too little sleep, too much coffee and not enough fishing time makes fishguy a little cranky. Sorry about misunderstanding your tone. :oops:


I'll post some photos sometime this weekend so everyone can see where I placed the screws. It seems a little strange but works rather well.

Fishguy

tapestry,

No problem.

Too little sleep, too much coffee and not enough fishing time makes fishguy a little cranky. Sorry about misunderstanding your tone. :oops:


I'll post some photos sometime this weekend so everyone can see where I placed the screws. It seems a little strange but works rather well.

Fishguy

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=457945&cat=5&val=1