Trying to keep rain and debris out of cowl vent

gg1

gg1

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Ohiopyle, PA, United States
Hello all. I am tired of taking wipers off and messing about keeping my jeep interior dry in the footwells. I just threw a roof shingle with some tape on it during this storm to see if that works. If it does, I am thinking about putting on a cowl scoop facing forward as rain will just run down the windshield and into that spot. I searched this and there are people with reviews saying it works, but I didn't really see anything on the forum regarding this specific idea. Sure I can get in there AGAIN and clean it and mess around hoping it lasts, but what about just putting a scoop on it? $29 bucks. Anyone have any experience with this idea? Thanks.
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Is your cowl drain present and not plugged?

Plastic Y shaped thing behind the valve cover...snaps up into the bottom of the cowl and nuts down in a lower corner.

I'm in Oregon with a 97 with more cowl openings and zero issues.

-Mac
 
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Like Mac said, check your cowl drain.

Is the screen under your cowl vent intact? The screen should keep out debris, which should keep the cowl drain clear, which should keep your floors dry.
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What about the cover over the vent hole?
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If you do go with the add-on cowl vent scoop, have the opening towards tge windshield. Yes, it works better, due to tge low pressure area right there.
 
macleanflood said:
Is your cowl drain present and not plugged?

Plastic Y shaped thing behind the valve cover...snaps up into the bottom of the cowl and nuts down in a lower corner.

I'm in Oregon with a 97 with more cowl openings and zero issues.

-Mac
Click to expand...

Probably plugged somewhat. I have taken the cowl off and cleaned all that out before. Seems to want to leak. I'll take it apart again I guess. I'm just very busy with home restoration and I really just am tired of cleaning that drain, but I guess I'll do it this weekend. I was just thinking of another way of keeping rain out. It only gets the floors wet when it is parked. Doesn't seem to happen while driving. Lots of rain today which is good.
 
JEEPSTEVENANAIMO said:
Crazy i live in a rain forest and have never had this issue with mine.
Click to expand...

Well I had to look it up as I live southeast of Pittsburgh that gets a ton of rain as well, but you guys actually do get more rain than us. Amazing. You get 68" and we get 50", or in Canada 1727mm to 1270mm. Glad you never have had a problem, but a quick search on the web shows countless people have issues. Enjoy.
 
dbbd1 said:
If you do go with the add-on cowl vent scoop, have the opening towards tge windshield. Yes, it works better, due to tge low pressure area right there.
Click to expand...

I think that would just do nothing for rain. It is going to run right into it if I face it towards the windshield.
 
For several years I had that problem with water collecting in the foot well after heavy rains.
I cleared removed the cowl vent and sealed all seams and verified the cowl drain was clear, verified the rain was not coming thru the door seals and then this past spring I finally found where the leak was coming from.
On my 01 the problem was the windshield header seal where the soft top meets the windshield frame; the seal was no longer pliable didn’t seal correctly. I was able to locate an Mopar OEM windshield header seal.
Upon inspection I found the OEM seal had been redesigned with a larger front lip, the seal rubber material felt different and the seal was slightly thicker.
The actual replacement time was only about 2 hours which included folding the soft top back, removing the old seal and tape residue, installing the new seal and putting the soft top back in place.
Since replacing the seal the Jeep has been thru numerous heavy rains and two hurricanes with no leaks observed and no water in the foot wells.
 
I've never had leakage through the cowl. I also now have a Windstar cowl intake and that hasn't caused any issues either. Though I have been extra vigilant with the seals when removing it.

The times I have had water are from door seals or from A/C condensate, especially in cooler temperatures where the defrost is on. (Part of my issue there was low refrigerant, which was causing it to partially freeze up and flood once it melted.)
 
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