How do I remove the cowl in front of the windshield?
I checked in my Ford Technical Service Manual (no, not the one that came with the car) but couldn't find any diagrams with the locations of the fastener clips listed.
Does anyone here have a diagram or can tell me how to proceed? Thanks!
First thing I will tell you is be very careful, it is easy to crack the cowl and it costs $250+
remove wipers, raise hood
remove rear of hood seal strip, it just pulls off
carefully pry rear edge of cowl with trim removal tool against windshield, place a shop rag between tool and windshield, take your time, pop each clip working out from the center
once cowl is free of clips flex center of cowl up to get ends to slide out from under a-pillar covers
reach under cowl and disconnect windshield fluid lines
remove cowl
And yeah, I craked my cowl... It was cold out and it cracked easily at the narrowest point at the driver's wiper arm hole.
Thanks for suggesting Haynes and especially for writing down the steps! I'll probably be pulling the car out in the 90-95 degree sun hoping it'll help prevent the coil from cracking.
Two more questions in the hope that I don't have to buy the Haynes manual yet to find out: 1) does the seal strip have any glue attached (doesn't sound like it) and 2) how many clips are there?