Hey, kinda stupid question, but wtf do those vent things below the windshield on the crawl do? I was told last year there is a drain in there that gets clogged and thats why my clutch foot gets soaked. I'm hoping to fix this problem before it starts raining.

What i wanna know is can i just cover the damn things up or do they serve a greater perpose? Do they have something to do with the heater, I'm hoping to fix that for some snow runs this year (gonna be a lush about it this year :D)

Originally posted by Destroyer Dychen
Hey, kinda stupid question, but wtf do those vent things below the windshield on the crawl do? I was told last year there is a drain in there that gets clogged and thats why my clutch foot gets soaked. I'm hoping to fix this problem before it starts raining.

What i wanna know is can i just cover the damn things up or do they serve a greater perpose? Do they have something to do with the heater, I'm hoping to fix that for some snow runs this year (gonna be a lush about it this year :D)


i'm gonna guess you meant "cowl" when you said "crawl":D

here is my experience.

those "vent things" are connected to the underside of the grill slats on the cowl, forming a little plastic box with two rubber tubes that right angle out into the engine bay. since the grill's only purpose in life is to be a source for air when pulled in by the heater/blower, water that gets in has to be gotten rid of-hence the little rubber tubes that channel the water out into the engine bay.
unfortunately, leaves and crap also get in and can clog up the tubes, making water back up over the lip inside the box-sending water into the actual blower box.
since there are various connections on the way from under the cowl to floor level, there are places for water to run out.

now having said all that, MY water ingress was NEVER caused by that particular method. since day one, water would always get in from somewhere under there and soak either me or the passenger, depending which way I turned first:p

i could actually HEAR the water as it would slosh from one side of the vehicle to the other. water was filling up inside a hollow space, then coming out. if you notice there are two holes directly under the corners of the windshield, at the top of the firewall/cowl. they are for the radio antenna to pass from the windshield frame through the cowl and into the vehicle.(the one on the passenger side is for right hand drive models)

water gets in several ways:

past poor door seals first, then in between the foam rubber gasket at the bottom where the windshield frame sits, then through either of the previously mentioned antenna holes.

into the windshield frame itself, via cracked wiper arm attachments, poorly sealed holes where the antenna is mounted to the frame, the mounting holes at the top for tie down loop when folding windshield, and least likely-the rubber gasket of the 'shield itself.

in my case, water was getting into the hollow windshield frame itself, partially filling up, than exiting one or both of the antenna holes. i could see the water coming out of them, so i know for a fact that's where it was really coming from (on mine.)

if your's is dumping water onto your fuse box, then left foot, i don't think it's from the heater/cowl rubber tube source. and BEWARE! the water leak in mine eventually shorted out my headlights in the middle of the night, on a very treacherous cliffside highway! (typical, eh?:D )

HTH:)

What the fruck is a crawl? :D

Is that like "robster craws" ?

Or like a "frush"?

Originally posted by dangerber
What the fruck is a crawl? :D

Is that like "robster craws" ?

Or like a "frush"?
It could be, but I think it's more like a "rorry pop" :rolleyes: :D

I got plenty of water coming in and i've tried to find where it comes in with no success so far. The wife sz we got to sell the zuki if the water keeps coming in.....my solution was to buy her a pair of rubber boots.....didn't work....still looking.


As for the cowl or crawl (whatever) thats a great place for mud to get into, if you run wide tires....this mud gets down on the top of the heater core and voila when you turn on the heat in the fall to defrost your windows, you get this steam out of the heater box and no hot air out of the vents.......


Solution, take out the heater core and soak it in the tub to get it clear of all mud.....(make sure wife is not home) ......then you get all the hot air you need.....

P.S. you can blame the ring in the tub on the dog......



92 zukimoo with piston #3 gone, 87 tin top, 88 soft top all covered in mud

Canadians??????????????:D

I filled the stock ant. holes with urathane, so i don't think its coming from there. If i cover my cowl will the heater still work is my main question.

Thank you Uzi 9mm for the help, my left foot and CB is very thankful :D

what i did to keep leaves and pine needles etc out, was to make a little plexiglas cover just barely larger than the size of the grill slots.then i glued on a perimeter of that strip magnet stuff you can get at home depot, to the plexiglas.
just to make sure it didn't get flung off at highway speeds, i added one of those metal toggle bolts in the centre for extra measure.(you know, the kind that you put in ceilings to hang plants etc) you can turn the "arrow head" part perpendicular to the slots and it won't come off, or turn it parallel and it comes right out.
there is enough play to move it back and expose some of the slots when you want to turn the heater on.
the blower/heater won't work very well if you cover the air intake.

i still to this day occasionally get hit in the face by bits of mud and tree debris when turning on the fan full blast:D *ptooey*

I've had mine covered (with duct tape) on the zukimoo for the last 2 years...we get lots of cold over here and the heater has never stopped working, it just can't get the air from the outside......Is your zuki air tight? mine isn't so its not a prob.....the windows defrost like normal.

Having good heat is very important when going from igloo to igloo......

:smokin: we grow the best down here........


92 zukimoo with piston #3 missing, 87tin top, 88 soft top...all covered in mud......CANADIAN MUD!

when its that cold you dont want outside air anyway.............:D