Cowl Vent Removal With Dual Heater Question

[Norm's Coupe]

Have had the coupe sitting outside. With all the rain we've had the past week noticed the cowl vent was leaking. I have a new gasket from Steel Rubber but never used it since the vent never seemed to leak when I washed the car. But.....now it needs changing.

I removed the bolt on the lever that attaches the cowl vent shaft to the lever. I then removed the cotter pin that was was holding the washer on the rubber bellows where the vent shaft goes through. But..........still can't lift the cowl vent out. Looking in the book both for the cowl vent and dual heater setup I can't see what's holding that thing in. Anyone have the cowl vent out that has the dual heaters in the car. Below is a picture of the bellows and where the shaft goes through it. The only thing I can think of, I may have to remove the screws around the bellows also. Will the cowl vent then come out without any trouble.

[Young Ed]

Norm you didnt remove the screws that actually hold the cowl vent in. Open the cowl went and look through the mesh. If Im remembering correctly there are 2 screws per side that you loosen and then it will come out.

[Norm's Coupe]

Ahhh.......geez, that's so simple, if it had been a snake it would have bit me. I saw those slots but didn't look in them. From the parts book it looks like the whole thing would slide out by simply disconnecting the control lever. Oh well........tomorrow is another day. Will get it out then. That old gasket is so hard it cracks when you touch it. No wonder the thing leaks.

By the way, while under there do you know if Steel Rubber has the gasket for the other vent? If not, I'll check them out. That one seems to be bad too. But.......if I get the top one done, the bottom one shouldn't leak because the water can't get there after I put in the new gasket.

Thanks guys.

[Norm's Coupe]

Decided to go back out and loosen those screws and pull the vent off tonight after all. But........nothing ever goes smooth on an old car. First of all, who ever installed mine evidently didn't do it right because that bottom screw on each side is too low. Have to pull up on the vent hard to get the screwdriver on it straight. That vent has never opened more than about 1/2 inch since I've owned the car. I know they are supposed open higher than that. Anyway got it pulled up high enough to get straight on the screw, then blocked the vent up with a piece of scrap wood to keep it high enough. Still couldn't get the screw loose though. It not only has paint on it, but probably some rust on it. So.....soaked the screws in penetrating oil and will try again tomorrow.

[Byronb3b]

I have been down the same road with my car with the dual heaters, once you have the screws removed and the vent off the car you will be able to see where the brackets are attached at the upper end and free them up with some penetrating oil, your vent should open wide once they are moving again. Does your car have the filters for the air coming through the vent ? Steele does have the seal for the fresh air door, be sure and use weatherstrip adheisive when installing or the rubber will fold away from the opening when in the closed position

[Norm's Coupe]

Thanks Bryon. The screws have been soaking all night. Haven't been out there to try them again yet. Hopefully, it's rust holding them in and not the paint that was sprayed on them. When I did try them last night I had to break out some of the old gasket on the cowl vent opening to get to the bottom screw better. When I did that I also noticed it's going to require a little cleaning up in there, plus repainting that area before just sticking in the new gasket. As for that fresh air vent at the bottom, I'll leave that until next spring. Getting a little cold here now to be out there. At least with the top vent sealed, no water should get down there anyway.

I don't know what filters you are talking about? Didn't see any mentioned in the parts book. I just assumed it was all open inside there. Right now, all I see is the screen.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Thanks Bryon. The screws have been soaking all night. Haven't been out there to try them again yet. Hopefully' date=' it's rust holding them in and not the paint that was sprayed on them. When I did try them last night I had to break out some of the old gasket on the cowl vent opening to get to the bottom screw better. When I did that I also noticed it's going to require a little cleaning up in there, plus repainting that area before just sticking in the new gasket. As for that fresh air vent at the bottom, I'll leave that until next spring. Getting a little cold here now to be out there. At least with the top vent sealed, no water should get down there anyway.

I don't know what filters you are talking about? Didn't see any mentioned in the parts book. I just assumed it was all open inside there. Right now, all I see is the screen.[/quote']

The filter is located in the fresh air housing. It is not relaceable- It's just made of horse hair type material. Here is a pic of one.

Bob

[Norm's Coupe]

Bob, that looks more like burlap to me. If that's all it is, you could almost make one out of more burlap, or even a close knit polyester material.

Regardless, it that's at the fresh air vent at the bottom, I'm a long way from getting there. I'm still trying to get the screws off the cowl vent. Got the two on top loose, but can't get the two on the bottom loose. I'll play with those for the rest of the day. But........if they don't come out by tonight, tomorrow they are history. I'll just drill them out then.

[Oldguy48]

I was successful with "PB Blaster" when I removed mine. Sprayed it, and let it soak for the evening. The next day, had no problem loosening the screws. The stuff does have quite a nasty odor though:eek:

[Dodgeb4ya]

Bob' date=' that looks more like burlap to me. If that's all it is, you could almost make one out of more burlap, or even a close knit polyester material.

Regardless, it that's at the fresh air vent at the bottom, I'm a long way from getting there. I'm still trying to get the screws off the cowl vent. Got the two on top loose, but can't get the two on the bottom loose. I'll play with those for the rest of the day. But........if they don't come out by tonight, tomorrow they are history. I'll just drill them out then.[/quote']

It is a horsehair type of filter behind a screen on both sides.You could use burlap or any modern material to replace the filter that was originally there. It (filter)never should be missing unless mice got to it or you came upon a disassembled case left out in the weather like in a junk yard ect..

Bob

[Byronb3b]

The main reason I mentioned the filters, is that they are removed easily from the top with the cowl vent off, removing them through the fresh air door inside the car might not be impossible, but would be difficult. The filter material in my car was in pretty good shape so I just washed with soap and water and reinstalled, some home heating filter material would make a good replacement and maybe improve air flow. Byron

[1just4don]

Norm, rusted screws give it up pretty fast when you use PB Blaster or Kroil,,,if your using wd-40 not so much.

BUT the secret of getting out the hard ones is to stick the proper screw driver in the slot,,,and rap handle end several times with appropriate hammer and proper strength. if a little rap dont do it rap harder. It does two things,takes the rust dirt and crap out of head end so driver fits head better for good grip,,,and vibrates the threads in the nut portion so the PO goes thru it better and breaks rust bond

for the REALLY stubborn ones I have an impact screwdriver which has a rachet action when you smack it,,,never saw one yet that can survivie THAT. It turns and vibrates all at once

[Young Ed]

Normally I'd agree but I think with the case of the cowl vent the hammering would just lead to bend cowl vent parts. I believe we had to heat mine to get it done.

[Norm's Coupe]

Well........I agree with you Ed. Hammering on this particular part may damage it. Doesn't look like it's very thick sheet metal in there. I thought about heat right away last night. But.......who knows what may have gotten in there over the years, and it may catch on fire. So.........eliminated the heat idea pretty fast too. At any rate.........have given up on those two screws and stopped screwing around with them (no pun here). Tried my left handed drill bits but they aren't long enough to get in there with the drill. Then got out a regular drill bit that's about 10 or 12 inches long. Problem with that is, I can't drill straight in, so........stopped that. Checked my die grinding stones and the shafts aren't long enough to get in there either. So.........time for a new tool tomorrow. Going to pick up one of these. Then that sucker will come off. I don't believe in screwing around that long with a stuck screw, especially when I can't get straight onto it. Found this one online, but I'm sure I can find one in a hardware store locally. It's a die grinder about as big around as a pencil.

Don't think it's rust holding these screws tight. Think it's paint, and the penetrating oil doesn't remove paint. That plus, I can't get on it straight.

[normanpitkin]

i have exactly the same problem on my 48 new yorker ,temporarily i have managed to put on my new rubber seal from steeles anyway.It fits perfectly by the way,the only pity is i didn't order the other rubber seal for the vent in the car!! i await with interest the results of that new tool ,whatever the hell it is!!!

[Norm's Coupe]

i have exactly the same problem on my 48 new yorker ,temporarily i have managed to put on my new rubber seal from steeles anyway.It fits perfectly by the way,the only pity is i didn't order the other rubber seal for the vent in the car!! i await with interest the results of that new tool ,whatever the hell it is!!!

It's a Micro Air Grinder. Found one locally at the Harbor Freight Store after checking their website. What's really funny is. I just found it on their website not 30 minutes ago. Price listed then was $24.99. Just went back to get the link for you and now it's only $19.99.:cool: I just saved $5 because I then printed the page off to take with me after while when I go to the store. I want to look at it first though. If that thing doesn't fit through the slot on the vent, it's useless to buy it. Will let you know after looking at it up close and personal like. Here's the link: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97870

Just went back for a second look. There are two different stock numbers. The $24.99 grinder includes a small bottle of oil and a carrying case. Don't need those. Otherwise, it's the same grinder.

[normanpitkin]

thanks norm ,how does it work ,i am intrigued!

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm,

Forget that tool. Just got back from Harbor Freight. I'm sure it's a nice tool for getting into tight areas. But..........it's not small enough to get in that slot on the vent screen. In the literature it says the tool has a 3/16" air hose and the tool looks the same diameter. But........the tool itself is actually about 7/16" diameter, just a little too big to fit in the slot. They also had an air grinder with a 3" long extension on it for tight spots. But.........the diameter of the extension is also about 7/16" thick. So..........that was out too. Guess it's back to the drawing board.

[Young Ed]

Does anyone have parts for the dual heater setup? My hinges for the second door were rusted off.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm,

I came up with another idea to get in there with a rotary grinding or cut off wheel. Will give that a try tomorrow. Going to hit the hardware store and pick up a piece of round steel the same size as the rotary tool shaft. Cut that off a piece long enough to reach the screw. Then put a coupler on the steel with a set screw, then put the rotary grinder shaft in the other end of the coupler, then tighten that down. Then I'll use the rotary tool to grind the screw head down. Should work as long as I don't apply too much pressure. Don't need much pressure since the grinding wheel or cutoff wheel does all the work anyway. The only problem may be the heat build up on the piece of steel I use. But........it's worth a try. Will only cost a couple of bucks to try it.

[Norm's Coupe]

Finally decided to just cut that slot for the screws. Picked up a flexible shaft for my rotary tool. It's still too big around to fit in the slot, but smaller than the one for the air grinder. Then I'll just use a small cutoff wheel to cut the heads off those two bottom screws. If I just cut a small cut at the top and bottom of the slot reinforcement, I should then be able to slide the small cutoff wheel and the end of the shaft, without making a crease in the screen. Then once I have the vent off, I can solder and the cuts back together, sand and paint the screen to hide the solder joint. Didn't want to cut the screen, but it looks like the only solution.

[Norm's Coupe]

Thanks to Ed and Shel's post with the picture (Shel must have deleted that post), and the new tool, I finally got the cowl vent off.

Had to cut the slot in the screen a little on both sides to get the end of the tool in close enough to grind the head off that bottom screw. I was careful not to crease the screen when I bent it in to get the tool in. I'll repair that slot by bending the screen back where it belongs, then soldering it together. Then grind and sand the solder smooth, then repaint screen. That should hide where I made the cuts. Now that the vent is off, I can see that where the gasket goes doesn't really need painting after all. It's just full of dirt and crud, so will just need to clean it up. That's a job for another day. About an hour or so is enough to putz on the car.

normanpitkin,

I picked up a Rotoflex to attach to my rotary tool. Also picked up a package of the Dremel 1 1/2" cutoff wheels, with a quick disconnect included in the package. That enabled me to make the cuts in the screen you see. The small little cutoff wheels not only break too easily, but they were not big enough around to make those cuts, because of the offset of the screen and top of the cowl vent. The 1 1/2" wheels worked slick and they are a little thicker so do not break that easily. Once I had the opening large enough to get the Rotoflex through the screen, I used a grinding stone to grind the heads off the screws holding the Cowl Vent to the brackets. Only took about an hour or less to do the job.

By the way guys. Where that bottom cut is in the screen is about as high as I could get the cowl vent up. That's what caused the problem. Could not get a screwdriver straight onto that screw, or a drill to drill it out. That's why I had to go this route.

Pays to have the right tools, and if we don't go buy them. The Rotoflex and the Dremel wheels and shaft ran $36 with tax. But........That flexible shaft is neat. Can be used for better accuracy doing other jobs, so it was $36 well spent.