Has anyone blocked off their cowl opening?

[johnbendik]

I have to park my Eagle in my driveway, under a tree, and I'm getting real tired of plucking leaf fragments out of the cowl vents.  They get trapped between the slits in the sheet metal and the 1/4 inch wire mesh right below it, and can't be blown or sucked out.  I have to get a tool and pulverize them, then try to vacuum them out before they fall into the cowl cavity.  When I had to remove my wiper motor recently (as part of the valve cover replacement ritual), I discovered that the cavity where the wiper motor crank operates the wipers was also filled with debris.

So... I was thinking of making a simple cover out of sheet aluminum to fit over the vents and block them.  I would also remove the windshield washer jets from their current position (below the cowl vents and firing up through a hole in the wire mesh) and mount them to (or inside) the block-out plate.

Has anyone else done this?  Does anyone see any bad consequences of this mod?  As far as I can tell, the only purpose of the cowl vents is do provide a drainage path for water coming down the windshield, and I'm not worried about that.

JB

[IowaEagle]

The cowl vents allow fresh air to go thru the heater/ac system.  They serve an important purpose.

[mudkicker715]

What IE said. Water runoff is not its purpose at all

[johnbendik]

Well, that's why I asked...

I'll have to find a diagram of the layout and try to find another way to accomplish what I want.  I presume that the air intake for the HVAC system must be pretty indirect, given that the vents are pretty much gaping holes facing upwards, and anything can fall in there.  Maybe I can find another way to vent the cowl cavity it that's not such a debris sucker.

Thanks, guys.

JB

[IowaEagle]

Use the Eaglepedia to find what you want to know.  The parts manual is a good start.

[IowaEagle]

Here is a start for you.  http://amceaglesden.com/guide/File:13heater006.jpg

[recomer]

for Mustangs they make a cowl vent cover (see  http://www.mustangdepot.com/OnLineCatalog/SheetMetal/cowl.htm), top item on that page. Maybe make something like that for use while car is parked and remove if before you drive off.

[macdude443]

I'd go with the removable cover.  If water does get down in there, you want the air flow over it to dry it out or you may end up with seam rust that would be very hard to eradicate.

[johnbendik]

Thanks for all the good ideas, guys.

I've decided to make a scoop-like thing to sit on top of the vents, with the top edge of the scoop extending forward to a little past the front of the cowl slits.  That way, debris falling from overhead won't get in the vents, but airflow will still be fine; in fact it should be even better (forced induction!).  I'll have to put a mesh at the front opening of the scoop to keep debris from getting scooped up, and I'll still have to relocate the windshield washer squirters.

Might even look for a 'Cowl Induction' badge off of some old muscle car...

JB

[eaglefreek]

I may be wrong, but you might need to face the scoop towards the windshield due to the way the air is pressurized in that area. Tape some ribbon or yarn to the cowl area then take it for a drive and see what direction they move.

[IowaEagle]

I think eagle creek is correct.

[runs.like]

could turn into a pretty cool looking mod.  a scoop of some kind over the cowl could make an extra mean looking Eagle, if done well.

[IRON HORSE]

Hello, 
       They make a " Jeep CJ cowl scoop" . . in stainless, can see a picture on Amazon . . Will give you an idea.  May even be able to use this item if you block off the vents on either side of the scoop that the scoop does not cover.       Regards,  Iron Horse  

[Amc1320]

I agree john, I'm always picking pine needles, leaves or those maple tree seeds out of there....

I had thought of some type of screen over the whole thing but haven't figured it out yet

[carnuck]

Wish I'd had both hands when I cleaned out my cowl. I took a pic before I hit it with my leaf blower (before I changed my heater out with a broken shoulder)