What may be under your COWL -

[hward1]

95 land cruiser - under the cowl


i noticed some small leaves under the cowl the other day so i sprayed with the water hose really well inside the cowl and also under the rubber with the hood up noticed alot of dirt did come out -

so today i was trying to see if any other leaves were under the cowl and as i pushed on the end or really i was leaning on the edge of the cowl section to see if i could see anything else - i could hear a squishing sound coming from under the cowl - so i decided to removed the cowl -

removal

1 - removed the wiper arms 12mm nut - arms popped off with not too much force - oh the little plastic cover just pops off i used a plastic blade i had that covers the 12mm nut

2 - i bent a screw driver and was able to remove the small 6 screws holding the cowl on with the hood up they are not on tight so come loose pretty easy

3 - to remove the cowl i was able to put my fingers under it with the hood up and pull it out some - it just slides under the window rubber thats it - be careful not to hit the wiper studs sticking out

here is the pic of one side i couldn't believe it - both sides were like this -- glad i got this done and wanted to post it

1995 land cruiser cowl

• hward1
• Oct 30, 2017

 

[TheAmerican]

Mine was 10x worse than that. Filled with sopping wet black stinky rotting foliage.

 

[Irish Reiver]

I was half expecting you to have found a hedgehog or some other rodent. I did mine a couple of years ago when i swapped out the expansion valve and it was a real collection of debris. The evaporator for the the AC was the real shocker. 20 odd years of dog hair and crap - revolting.

 

[Yossarian]

With all the leaves still falling in my area I'll get to this soon, thanks for the tips.

Another thread was started concerning replacement of the cowl, but includes additional discussion on a small screwdriver to fit in that somewhat tight area.

Cowl vent panel replacement ?

 

[hward1]

no no critters under mine --- nice - great little oem phillips head -- a stubby one would have worked i think and the one that comes with a craftsman set that is bent with a phillips on one end and a flat on the other would have but i didnt have either with me and didnt feel like going to get one here in this CA crazy traffic so i took a old cheap phillips i had and bent it took a little bit longer but the screws are so short doesnt take much effort i would say give yourself a couple of hrs to remove clean and replace and you should have time left over --

 

[riffman12]

Upon reading the thread title I thought I'd see a big hole rusted through. Glad it's just leaves!

 

[Bill F]

With all the leaves still falling in my area I'll get to this soon, thanks for the tips.

Another thread was started concerning replacement of the cowl, but includes additional discussion on a small screwdriver to fit in that somewhat tight area.

Cowl vent panel replacement ?

Horrible Freight has a $2.99 right angle ratcheting screwdriver that works fine for cowl removal, too.

 

[Proven]

Mine was filthy too.

 

[2fpower]

I thought that Toyota had a super stubby screwdriver for this.

 

[Bill F]

I thought that Toyota had a super stubby screwdriver for this.

Yeah, they do - but I think you have to buy their part to get the free screwdriver - I needed to get in there w/o buying the part.

 

[thatcabledude]

Ratchet with 1/4" socket. Insert Phillips head bit into socket.

 

[Yossarian]

Horrible Freight has a $2.99 right angle ratcheting screwdriver that works fine for cowl removal, too.

Totally agree.

 

[gummycarbs]

I had a similar discovery:

It was one of the few areas of my rig with any rust. I hit it with maroon Scotchbrite, then sprayed it with Dupli-Color Rust Fix. Later, it was all epoxy primed and repainted.

I wonder if it would be possible to add some weather stripping on either side of the vents to prevent stuff from building up in the corners. Maybe some porous foam so that air can still circulate.

 

[hward1]

cool stuff

 

[LCNOLA]

Finally got around to checking under my cowl today. There were few leaves under it... This thread reminded me to check, glad I did. Thx!

 

[Rifleman]

Another spot you might want to check for leaves is inside both front fenders. Once those leaves start to pile up under the cowl, some of them will fall off the side of the cowl. They end up trapped down at the bottom of each fender, between the wheel well, and front doors. They can get packed in there, then when they get wet, that can be a great breading ground for rust.

 

[Clydespop]

95 land cruiser - under the cowl


i noticed some small leaves under the cowl the other day so i sprayed with the water hose really well inside the cowl and also under the rubber with the hood up noticed alot of dirt did come out -

so today i was trying to see if any other leaves were under the cowl and as i pushed on the end or really i was leaning on the edge of the cowl section to see if i could see anything else - i could hear a squishing sound coming from under the cowl - so i decided to removed the cowl -

removal

1 - removed the wiper arms 12mm nut - arms popped off with not too much force - oh the little plastic cover just pops off i used a plastic blade i had that covers the 12mm nut

2 - i bent a screw driver and was able to remove the small 6 screws holding the cowl on with the hood up they are not on tight so come loose pretty easy

3 - to remove the cowl i was able to put my fingers under it with the hood up and pull it out some - it just slides under the window rubber thats it - be careful not to hit the wiper studs sticking out

here is the pic of one side i couldn't believe it - both sides were like this -- glad i got this done and wanted to post it

1995 land cruiser cowl

• hward1
• Oct 30, 2017

My 95 LC had to live under a tree for a while. Scared of what the evaporator will look like.

 

[94trilocked]

Keep me finding new things to do... thanks.

 

[Dusten]

Upon reading the thread title I thought I'd see a big hole rusted through. Glad it's just leaves!

That's what it turns into lol

 

[South Texas 97]

Mine too. Cleaned it all out and down the sides of the fenders as well. Then used some air filter material, spray painted it black and put it under the cowl vents.