Hood vent block off panel source? (1 Viewer)

[flyer91]

I'd like to seal off the fake hood vent of my '74 FJ40, and avoid the leaks that the drain system can cause.

Does anyone know of a source for a panel and gasket that can be mounted in place of the louvered grate?

 

[grant5127]

$or...

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Are you talking about the cowl vent?
SOR used to sell a cover but I see it is no longer available.

I am certain it would be easy to cut one out of sheet metal and then seal it with some seam sealer before screwing it down.

 

[flyer91]

Thanks Hugh ... yes I meant the cowl vent.


And now that you have provided the proper name, my search turns up a lot of helpful information that "hood vent" didn't.

Yup, a piece of sheet metal with the appropriate placement of some sealant/EPDM gasket, placed under the louvered cover and screwed down should do it!


Thanks!!

 

[Fast Eddy]

Yea, but won't there always be a ring of water in the crack, rusting away?

I like the idea of getting rid of the drain tubes. Which reminds me that one of mine is missing... Can you still get them?

Edit: pic I found...

 

[slickrock]

I was driving down the highway in a rainstorm ginning like a fool (I figure most of us do driving our 40s) when it felt like an ice giant was pissing freezing pee on my foot. This is when I found out my cowl's drainage were removed by PO. Since our heaters don't pull air through the cowl, I don't understand why the Toyota master planners worked a nonfunctional vent into the original tub design.

Sent from my iPad communicator

 

[MicahMan]

The drain tubes were easy to fix. I bought some prebent hose at Oreilly's (Used to be Checker) and found some that had the bends needed.

 

[bikersmurf]

Yea, but won't there always be a ring of water in the crack, rusting away?

I like the idea of getting rid of the drain tubes. Which reminds me that one of mine is missing... Can you still get them?

Edit: pic I found...

We've got more problems with rust up here than you'll have down in CA... put some sheet metal over mine, and put the cover back on. There's very little space for water to sit. It's been 15 years now, and still no problems.

Even with a cover like the one pictured, you've got just as much of a crack for water to sit in.

 

[skidplate]

You can save some money by making your own. I used a piece of scrap from a sign and some weather strip from Lowes. Narry a leak.

 

[bikersmurf]

"Scrap Metal"from a sign... you've got signs lying around...?

 

[flyer91]

Yeah, I think that any standing water in the space around a cover should not be an issue, but it's probably a good idea to make sure the paint in that area is in good shape.

I guess Toyota just kept the same cowl body panel dies after the change in the ducting.
It does seem wacky to have water enter the cab ...... in the worse possible place ..... then exit under conditions that are so failure prone.
I have to assume the cost to change the cowl panel and/or the mfg process was too much to just eliminate it altogether, or weld a cover in place and make it invisible. (???)

P.S. Fast Eddy, I graduated from Live Oak in 1969.
Was kinda cool to be able to get away with wearing a "69" pin on our block LO jackets, while in high school during the 60's.

 

[skidplate]

Well, I did, but I've used 'em all up making stuff.:

 

[twoyotas]

mine was packed full of pine needles when I got it (guy lived up in the woods above Auburn, CA), and no drain hoses. there was so much dirt and rot that it didn't drip much, but that just means it was sitting in there trying to rust. Once I figured out what the dripping was from, we welded a cover in. I know purist are cringing now, but there is no longer a valley (between plate & cowl) for water to collect in, nor a useless vent tank to collect muck and/or drip on my feet.

 

[TLC76]

I've been meaning to weld a plate in there and smooth it out with some bondo, since my paint is hardly sacred. I beleive this was functional on early models, and rather than block it off they did the easy thing and rengineered to to be non moving, added drain holes, added hoses, added holes and grommets in the tranny hump.....

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

Used a piece of 3/16 Aluminum cut to the size of the original vent. Bull nosed it and countersunk the four mounting holes, even used the original screws. Sealed it up with semsealer and painted it.

 

[pavieSD]

Cowl vent works perfectly on my 1970. The linkage for opening the vent was all gummed up when I bought it and the entire cowl vent was full of dirt and sand. After cleaning it out and overhauling the linkage, it now works fantastic. I use it all the time, to push air into the cabin footbox area, since I don't have a functional heater to blow air down in that area otherwise. I made some drain tubes from some basic straight rubber tubes with the correct ID at lowes/home depot. Simple enough and you don't really need much of a bend to exit them out into the engine bay through the proper hole.

The only issue with mine, is that due to the dirt/sand, my rubber gasket that covers the close out plate is now old and dried out and doesn't seal well. So I still get an occasional drip when driving/sitting in the rain, but in San Diego, that's pretty rare. At some point I will look into getting some generic rubber bulb seal to glue to the underside to give it a better seal and hopefully fix that issue.

 

[sloanstavern]

I am curious , I also have a '74 and have been looking for new drain hoses ( no that I have cleaned the gunk out) - what was the cowl for in the first place?

Bring outside air from the hood area into the cab with out letting the rain in?

 

[flyer91]

Yeah ..... on earlier years the vent worked.
The top of the riser inside the cavity popped up by a lever inside the cab.

When Toyota discontinued that vent on the later years they just deleted the lift mechanism and welded the top closed, leaving the drain system.

I'm just using heater hose for my drain hoses.

But ........ I think I might just cap mine with a sealed clear Plexiglas cover, seal the drains, fill it water, and grow sea monkeys in there ........

 

[pavieSD]

I am curious , I also have a '74 and have been looking for new drain hoses ( no that I have cleaned the gunk out) - what was the cowl for in the first place?

Bring outside air from the hood area into the cab with out letting the rain in?

I would definitely recommend cleaning the gunk out. That's a perfect place for trapped water to start rusting your whole front cowl away. I'm happy to have mine clean and clear, so that air can get in there and properly dry everything after a light rain. It essentially works as a very effective fresh air vent that doesn't even require a fan.

 

[crumbo]

"S**** Metal"from a sign... you've got signs lying around...?

If you're driving a 40 ...signs ain't much of a problem....