65 Riv cowl vent/windshield wiper arm question

[RockinRiviDad]

Tried to search and came up empty handed.

I am prepping my engine compartment for paint and decided to paint up to the cowl vents (old paint flaking off bad in that area too). As I began sanding the cowl vents I found some of the six little screws did not sit flush. I unscrewed them and decided I will pull the vents for better sanding and clean inside the cowl too. I couldn't get the vents off :mad: so I gave up and planned to put them back together but now the screw holes will not line up...the two outer holes line up great but the innermost edge of both vents sits high and will not lay down to allow for the screw holes to align. It seems like it could be hanging up at the windshield washer sprayer spout area. But on closer examination thru the cowl vent with a flashlight it looks all clear...UGH!

Okay...so I thought (that was my first problem) I'll just take the entire cowl off so I can look at the underside of the cowl to see WTH?? Now the windshield wipers arms have me stumped...I've spent over an hour with no luck...I can see what looks like a retaining click which I manipulated to release/slide downward (towards the cowl) approximately 1/4 inch...still nothing...I even got to applying slight upward pressure with a pry bar while pulling upward with my other hand....nothing...

please help

thanks,

David

[steelman]

David, see the attached link to a thread here for wiper arm removal. Stupid question on the alignment, do you have these mixed side to side? I don't think that is possible, but maybe. This should help.

http://forums.aaca.org/f177/removing-wiper-arms-340869.html

[RockinRiviDad]

Hey Happy New Year Steve,

Thanks for the reply and the link. Do u know if that same tool will help with reinstalling the wiper arms? The wiper arm bases are spring loaded & look like it will be tough to reinstall. I was able to muscle them off being careful with a pry bar. I called Doug from Buickfarm.net, he helped with details like pulling the arm up from the end with the retaining click down. I did a little of that and a little jerking which did the trick to get them off. Not as easy as the guy in the link who did it the right way.

The cowl vents are also screwed in from the underside with another three screws which you can't get to unless the whole cowl is removed. The first problem I had with the vents not laying back and screw holes not aligning "was" the washer sprayer spout. The inside edge of the vent was catching the sprayer nut on the underside. For those having the same problem you can screw in the two holes that do align. That will bring both cowl & vent together causing the vent edge to slip off of the nut it was hanging up on.

With everything opened up I see this on both sides. Prob tough to see in the pic. Looks like they were glued to the underside of the cowl & fell off. They are prob meant to help channel water away from the black hole of the fender void. Are those still available to buy? Or have some of you made them out of some similar material? Or can I just leave them out altogether? How important are they blocks on a California car which doesn't see much rain?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys