[MJH2157]

Based on another members post I modified and stainless riveted an 1/8” thick mesh to the Turner skid plate to better protect the open areas. Pretty happy with how it came out.


1)Tape over the mesh for marking out
2)Slide mesh over skid and trace out notching with marker and square
3)Cut mesh
4)Tape skid with painters tape
5)Dry fit mesh over skid and mark thru mesh where 3/16” stainless rivets should go
6)drill holes where they are marked out with mesh in place, as you go drop a rivet in loose to index the mesh so it doesn’t move as you drip the rest of the holes
7)remove mesh and tape
8) put mesh back over and index several rivets before riveting to ensure a good fit.
9) rivet everything to completion. I used a Milwaukee m12 rivet tool. It made short work of it.

Project time 20-30 minutes going slow.

My car is being delivered this week and this will be the first thing I do to it. Pretty excited.!

[Maxp]

Looks good. That Milwaukee riveter is a fantastic tool. I've sunk a good 2000 rivets into a helideck with it. My hand would have fallen off without it.

[MPR]

MJH2157

Looks good buddy. How far do the rivets stick out on the underside? You potentially should have put the rivets in the reverse direction to minimize the amount of extra clearance you need. You do not want anything rubbing/vibrating against any part of the oil cooler.

You should also get some longer bolts and spacer washers to get more clearance.

[MJH2157]

Originally Posted by MPR

MJH2157

Looks good buddy. How far do the rivets stick out on the underside? You potentially should have put the rivets in the reverse direction to minimize the amount of extra clearance you need. You do not want anything rubbing/vibrating against any part of the oil cooler.

You should also get some longer bolts and spacer washers to get more clearance.

Thank you, everything started for when I found your original post. I have all the bolts and washers you specified in your og post. Thank you for that! My rivets stuck out a bit at the back, I took them each down pretty close to the mesh and I did a couple of rivets in reverse. The way I have the mesh jammed against the flange there is really no way for it to lift at the front, so I did a couple of reversed ones at the back. I sprayed everything over in a black rust resistant paint after.

Thank you for all the part info and tips.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Cool project

[MJH2157]

Today was installation day. I’ve owned the car for about 2 weeks. It had a defective battery within days of ownership that resulted losing it to the dealer for a couple of days, so that coupled with work meant I pushing this project back a bit. I did paint the modified skid with a rust protective paint. Good news was they replaced the battery under warranty. The weather was nice outside today and I was a bit stressed about leaving the radiator unprotected for this long. Big thanks to MPR for all the tips and links to hardware. I bought the exact hardware he specified and followed his instructions. Everything fit perfectly as far as I can tell. I used the 5 washer spacers under the turner bracket and I have about 3/8” between the radiator and the backside of the modified skid. If I understood MPR instructions and photos correctly I removed the plastic shroud first and discarded it. My understanding is it doesn't go back, picture of shroud below?

I have to fault Turner for not providing installation instructions and I don't see any on their site at the product page.

[MJH2157]

MPR
Thank you, I ground down the back of the rivets a bit with a grinding wheel I use to sharpen my mower blades and I put two rivets in the opposite direction and ground those stems down a bit. It is very hard to get my head or phone in there but from every angle I have looked so don’t see anything close to touching. I’m not understanding where the “hump” is that you are referring to, any chance you could circle on a photo? I still have the car on ramps so I will go triple check after.

[MPR]

Looks good, what is that mesh made out of?

I am considering redoing mine eventually, I cut my finger on my mesh when doing an oil change on the mesh that sticks out the back. Plus I like how clean yours looks with the black mesh.

[MJH2157]

I purchased this one from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[sclui56]

I didn't add a screen when first installed so I have to circle back and do it. Even though I have a decent pneumatic riveter, I never like the irregular mushroom on the back side so I will probably use these tri-fold flange ones, they collapse more uniformly. Can you guys think of any reason not to?

[MJH2157]

Originally Posted by sclui56

I didn't add a screen when first installed so I have to circle back and do it. Even though I have a decent pneumatic riveter, I never like the irregular mushroom on the back side so I will probably use these tri-fold flange ones, they collapse more uniformly. Can you guys think of any reason not to?

Great idea, do you have a link for those?

[sclui56]

I picked up some of these, will see how well they work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Z7CQB31...t_details&th=1

Also plan on replacing the stacked washers with these aluminum stand-off while I reconfigure the plate:

[sclui56]

Just a follow-up since I finally modded the Turner's plate today. Those tri-fold rivets and aluminum spacers worked out as planned. Glad it's now done on my daughter's M240. Not as detailed as OP's, but think it will do the job. Now onto the Mishi on mine...

[MJH2157]

Originally Posted by sclui56

Just a follow-up since I finally modded the Turner's plate today. Those tri-fold rivets and aluminum spacers worked out as planned. Glad it's now done on my daughter's M240. Not as detailed as OP's, but think it will do the job. Now onto the Mishi on mine...

Nice work!

[GargoyleBWM]

Finally had a chance to complete the mod of my Turner skid plate and get it installed.

I got mine from another user on this board ggergg, (thanks for the discount!).
Instead of the 'drilled' mesh look I went for the honeycomb mesh (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XV6PLWK?th=1) and rather than using rivets, I used 'Chicago' screws (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085HJ43XJ?th=1). These screws allowed me to have an easy replacement if needed and were rounded ends rather than a potential sharp point on the top-side of the skid plate from rivets that could possibly cause other issues.
Here are a few shots of the modified skid plate before installation:



First note was how there had already been some minor damage to the radiator, thankfully only the serpentine fins between the coolant pipes.

... I guess that is not too bad after 2.5yrs of almost daily driving (nearly 17kmi).

Installation did not have too many issues. It was a little tight to get the original front trim screws back in but after synching down the two back mounting bolts, the plate sat pretty flush. I did not add any spacers to the back mount unlike others noted on here. I may circle back and do that later but after taking a few pictures in between the skid plate and the radiator, it seems to have enough clearance.

Here is the final "After" shot:


I did end up chopping one more row of hex openings off the back end of the mesh... they were hanging over just a bit more than I liked (can see that in the first pic).