Cowl drain tubes

[clusterbuster]

I inspected the cowl drain tubes last week on my 300 and sure enough there wasn't anything left of them except a couple of shards of broken up rubber. I would like to thank Rich for his information about the location and inspection of these tubes. My new floor would have been a bathtub if I didn't replace them. I ordered a set off E bay last week and they arrived today. One does not need to remove the fenders to do the job, but it's highly unlikely that it can be done without taking the hood off. My hood is off, so I used a fender cover to cover the top of the radiator and crawled into the engine compartment and took out the two screws on the cowl side holding the retainer over the rubber flange. Note they are #8 phillips screws and not hex head. I had to use a mirror to find this out. Once the screws were out I pryed the retainer off and then went inside and pulled the insulation down to gain access to the rubber tube clamp. The clamp was fused to the metal tube so I carefully freed it up and cut a 3/4 inch wide piece of 80D sandpaper and wrapped it around the tube and cleaned all the old rubber off. I then lubed the inside of the new tube so it would turn easily on the metal tube when installing the retainer and screws. Installing the retainer screws was the hardest part of the whole thing. Probably took me a half hour to align and get them started. I have one side completely done and one screw to go on the other and then tighten the clamp under the dash. One thing I didn't mention is a person should take a long screw driver or punch and tap the retainer screws up under the dash to make them easier to be removed. Mine came out very easy after I did that, using a stubby phillips screwdriver.

[RICH MUISE]

 

[jarhead1986]

WOW RICH! Never had so much respect for a smiley face!

[RICH MUISE]

them's my favorites...they sure put a smile on your face.

[sprink88]

anyone have a picture where they should be. I cannot seem to find mine (sure they are gone then).

[RICH MUISE]

I do..I'll look for them and post them. pic from inside is where they go, they're just not on at this point. Outside pic is installed. I used a plumber's floor flange to replace my rusted original flanges.
Hasn't been mentioned yet, but they are also clamped of course to the cowl tubes with hose clamps.

[Ecode70D]

Good pictures Rich.

[6cyl57]

them's my favorites...they sure put a smile on your face.

X2 . and thanks for the heads up on the drain tubes guys. I have to check mine. Now that I know where to look.

[sprink88]

next time I crawl under the dash I can know what I am looking for. THANKS! they must be there. Had to drive in the rain (not a downpour) once. And floor stayed dry. But still worth a check!

[RICH MUISE]

For the guys with assembled cars, it would seem like we could replace those tubes from the inside once you got the old screws out (hacksaw, chisel, punch them thru?). I would think you could use a sealer to seal the rubber flange against the inside of the sidepanel. You could even put the retaining ring on the inside...one screw would do. Maybe not the best way...but for some of us older guys with bodies that don't cooperate like they use to, it would be a better alternative than not doing anything. Just a thought.

[clusterbuster]

Anyone looking for the cowl drain tube location, Milo57"s podcast post has a real nice picture of the hole in the side of the cowl where the rubber tube goes in. It shows up nice with the white paint.

[Ecode70D]

I'm sure glad that I did mine when the front fenders were off.  It does not look like fun when it is all together.

[57AGIN]

Guys:

The thread on the cowl drain tube is a good one.  Here are a couple of shots of my 57 300 when it was disassembled and going back together last year.  The final shot is of the finished driver side cowl drain tube connected to the fenderwell and draining to the outside of the fenderwell.  Rick came up with this method of keeping the back of the fender at the bottom from becoming the gathering spot for dirt and then being wet every time the car is washed or rained on turning the dirt into mud.  We've all experienced that lower fender as being rust prone. Draining the cowl to the outside of the car just seems like a good idea and not too difficult to do. 
No it isn't stock, it's better than stock (IMO).

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Guys:

Here is one more photo of my cowl drain on the passenger side when I bought the car back in 1998.  Also included is one photo of the floor board at that same time, the old rubber floor mat is pulled back and the kick panel is at the top of the photo while the rusty floorboard is at the bottom.  All has since been replace on this "California" car.

Bob
57 AGIN

[6cyl57]

Thanks 57AGIN, I like the idea of moving the drain to the in-er fender. I checked mine...
they probably look like the day they were put on . Yes I am a lucky  bastage .