Canvas

So this past 3 day weekend I finally installed the Crawler Conceptz hood louvers that have been sitting in the garage for a couple of months now. I was a little apprehensive to do this because it required drilling and cutting into a perfectly good hood, but I am pleased with the way it turned out. I thought it would a good idea to share my experience with others on how I did the install.




First and foremost is to verify the template supplied matches the hood louvers. I did not and ended up removing the mounting spot for the windshield washer which is no big deal because I will fabricate one.

First is to center the template on the hood and center punch all the 1 inch holes which will be used to make the slats for the louvers. Once done I used a silver sharpie to mark where the center punches were. I drilled the holes and connected the outer part of the circles for guide lines and I use that term very loosely. Once this is done next came the fun part cutting out the vent slats.



Using a 4 inch angle grinder with a cut off wheel I made several passes along the "guide lines" to connect the holes and make the slats. Once this was accomplished I flipped the hood over and deburred the cuts and remove any sharp edges. Nothing worse than working with metal and getting some stuck under the skin. SAFETY NOTE: always wear safety glasses, hearing protection and gloves when using an angle grinder.



Now the hard part was done and ready to move on. Place your hood louvers on the hood and begin to drill the holes. I chose to drill the top center and bottom center and insert the supplied screws and nuts. This will keep the louvers from sliding around. After all the drilling is complete remove the louvers and clean up the metal shavings. Since the louvers are made of aluminum I chose to pretreat the louvers prior to installation. This was a simple procedure. I placed the louvers on a crate in the driveway and sprayed a liberal coat of Fluid Film corrosion inhibitor prior to installation. This will do two things for me, one act as a water barrier and two as a lubricant to keep the louvers from chaffing the paint.






Then take the louvers back to the hood and install making sure not to over tighten the screws and nuts.

While I had the hood off and grill vent that protects the wiper motor I decided to do a simple mod and get rid of the finned push rivets. I hate them with a passion because they do not want to come out. So after checking my spare parts bin I found some front grill clips. So with a hole gage I found that they were 3/8 in diameter and there is enough spare material around the mounting holes that it would work. With a cordless drill and a 3/8 bit I enlarged the holes to accept the grill clips. Now when I get ready to remove that piece again it will be a lot easier. Here are some pictures.





Thanks for viewing and if you have questions by all means ask.

R/
Will

Edited to re-orientate the pictures

jkdoppler

I would be very hesitant to scratch that nice hood too, great to see it turns out nice! Well done

FlexyJK

Any reason you went with CC over Poison Spyder? Just curious.

robsjeep9

Curious too? Don't really like how this one looks like a big fat M .... Why the two slit openings?

FlexyJK

Wonder if they did that because it would have looked too much like the PS? Hmm..

robsjeep9

It wouldn't be the first time a company did that ... So I guess making it look ugly was an option they chose

Canvas

Well the reason I went with Crawler Conceptz was the price and the second is looking from inside the Jeep it makes a W.

R/
Will

Canvas

Must have missed the memo stating which parts and accessories I can buy. Please be sure to inform me where I can buy them too. Do not want to get banned for supporting a business that does not pay JK-Forum.

Is this the Wayalife forum?

FlexyJK

It was just a question. Could have just said the price or because you liked it better.