Cowl drains?

My floors keep getting wet..

When i bought rusty #2 the floors were soaked, i thought maybe someone had left the windows down or something...

So i dried it out, and now after the rain we had its wet again.

Its basically the floorboard, both sides, trans tunnel and behind the seat, as well as dash and seats are dry.

I read it could be either 1) Firewall Rot, or 2) Plugged cowl drains.

I dont think its option 1, because the firewall has no rust at all.

Now, my question is, where are the cowl drains and how do i get to them? Im assuming there is one on both sides?

Any help is apperciated. Truck is a 87 Ranger.

possibly just drains....most likely its rot....



easy button is to pull the fenders to get to the flaps.. whats it look like from the top? squirrel living in there?


be prepared to cut and weld. working on the b2 right now.....i will take a pic and try to post if fer ya...its gen 2 though...little different...

bobbywalter said:

possibly just drains....most likely its rot....



easy button is to pull the fenders to get to the flaps.. whats it look like from the top? squirrel living in there?


be prepared to cut and weld. working on the b2 right now.....i will take a pic and try to post if fer ya...its gen 2 though...little different...

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Not a squirrel, but it looks like a tree used it as a toilet for the last 10 years.

Ill look into it further once i get it back home, it was in the parking lot at my mechanics yesterday i just stopped to check the floor.

Where do they rot at? Im not very handy with a welder but im a mean sumbitch with tinsnips and a tube of seal all.

There are two galvanized covers on the engine side of the firewall, slip them off and you can reach in and clean it out so you can see what is going on.

I try to pull mine off once a year.

When I have my windsheild out to reseal it when I paint my truck I am really tempted to grab cowl grille off a second gen...

85_Ranger4x4 said:

There are two galvanized covers on the engine side of the firewall, slip them off and you can reach in and clean it out so you can see what is going on.

I try to pull mine off once a year.

When I have my windsheild out to reseal it when I paint my truck I am really tempted to grab cowl grille off a second gen...

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Hmm, i didnt know there were 2 covers, i know theres one right in the middle, guess i never paid attention.

If it is rotted, whats the best way to seal it back up? I dont wanna hack to far into it, but i figured some sort of silicone should do the job unless theres a fist sized hole somewhere. In which case ill figure something out. I sealed a square water troph one time with sheet steel, and some gasket material and some rubber o rings....maybe i could do that?

rusty ol ranger said:

Hmm, i didnt know there were 2 covers, i know theres one right in the middle, guess i never paid attention.

If it is rotted, whats the best way to seal it back up? I dont wanna hack to far into it, but i figured some sort of silicone should do the job unless theres a fist sized hole somewhere. In which case ill figure something out. I sealed a square water troph one time with sheet steel, and some gasket material and some rubber o rings....maybe i could do that?

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There is that one and there is one that your clutch reservoir is mounted to on the DS.

I also pull my blower motor and make sure the airbox is clear over there, some have had problems with the blower motor resistor lighting leaves on fire. Probably a non issue with an A/C truck since the evaporator will keep them from contacting the resistor but I imagine airflow would still suffer.

It can get really bad as far as repairs go. Beyond silicone.

85_Ranger4x4 said:

There is that one and there is one that your clutch reservoir is mounted to on the DS.

I also pull my blower motor and make sure the airbox is clear over there, some have had problems with the blower motor resistor lighting leaves on fire. Probably a non issue with an A/C truck since the evaporator will keep them from contacting the resistor but I imagine airflow would still suffer.

It can get really bad as far as repairs go. Beyond silicone.

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Yeah, mines an AC truck, but ill check it out anyways.

I hope its not rotted to bad...its odd though rusty #1 never leaked (except the windsheild) and this one is 100x better then my old one.

rusty ol ranger said:

Yeah, mines an AC truck, but ill check it out anyways.

I hope its not rotted to bad...its odd though rusty #1 never leaked (except the windsheild) and this one is 100x better then my old one.

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It can actually get bad enough to entertain the windshield seal.

85_Ranger4x4 said:

It can actually get bad enough to entertain the windshield seal.

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Rusty #1 leaked at the top seam, drivers side. Started shortly after i got the windsheild replaced (circa 96 ish) driving home in a blinding rain storm from friggin detroit. It leaked pretty decent to till i sealed it.

Either way, i am thinking (hoping) that this one isnt rotted that bad, the rest of the truck seems pretty solid except for the normal door/wheel arch stuff. I guess worst case i can rip the carpet up and put a rubber floor in, or replace the cab.

Im not very handy with a welder but im a mean sumbitch with tinsnips and a tube of seal all.[/QUOTE]

This cracked my shit up!!! hahaha

91stranger said:

Im not very handy with a welder but im a mean sumbitch with tinsnips and a tube of seal all.

This cracked my shit up!!! hahaha

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Its true

Seal All is amazing stuff, ive sealed radiators, gas tanks, trans pans, work boots, all matter of shit with it.

Only time it failed me was when i tried to seal a tire sidewall (on a lawn mower) with it after i sliced it open on a rock after driving through the shallow end of a pond (dont ask). It held for about 3 or 4 rotations then came apart. So i just innertubed it.

the sad thing, is the only reason they rot is because of seam sealer....


if you could produce them in mass without using seam sealer i guess they would never go bad and there would be no reason to buy new trucks...




holy fawk did i open a can of worms....

bobbywalter said:

the sad thing, is the only reason they rot is because of seam sealer....


if you could produce them in mass without using seam sealer i guess they would never go bad and there would be no reason to buy new trucks...




holy fawk did i open a can of worms....

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In my opinion rot is a poor reason to buy a new truck anyways

When one old truck of mine rots so bad its no longer fixable, i simply find a less rotted old truck

Someone has to buy new ones or you would run out of less rotted ones.

@Rusty: Pond mudding? I’m asking. lol