That plastic piece under the windshield wiper arms is called a cowl.
To remove it, do the following:
Tools: You will need a "battery terminal puller" to remove the wiper arm.
Often, a small three-leg puller will not work. The horizontal part of the legs
are often too thick and the arms are often to "bulky" to fit into the very
tight areas required. Pep Boys and Autozone sell (used to sell?) a cheap
"battery terminal puller" for a few dollars. Those are the best. They are
very small and compact. The puller does not have to be very strong.
However, when my puller "decided to play hide and seek" with me, the only
one that I could find is the beefier battery terminal puller (had springs and
the whole deal) for ~$10. That puller *barely* fit in the available area.
But, it did fit. Of course, about a month later, my smaller puller came
out of hiding :-) and I did see at least one part store selling that cheaper
and smaller puller.
Turn the car on and put the wipers around the middle of their sweep.
At the end of the arms is a push on plastic cap. Remove that cap.
Look at bottom of the arm on the *side*. You will see a small *hole*.
Get the correct size drill bit to
go into that hole.
Lift up the arm. Align the outside hole with the side hole. Put in the
drill bit to keep the arm elevated.
Remove the nut holding the arm down.
Put the "battery terminal puller" on the end of the wiper arm. Gently
pull the end of the arm off the stud.
Note: Some cars/models may need the wiper arms fully down, in the middle,
fully up, to get enough access with the battery puller.
Repeat for the other side. Note: Some cars/models may need the wiper
arms fully down, in the middle, fully up, to get enough access with the
battery puller.
Remove the Cowl
Remove all of the screws holding the cowl in place.
Carefully, get the ends of the cowl from under the moldings at the side
of the wind shield.
Clean under the Cowl Area
Go the passenger side. Find the fresh air vent. Find the DRAIN hole.
You may not be able to see it. But, water should flow right down. Use a
vacuum and CLEAN that whole area. If you have a Shop Vac, then you can
also blow that area clean.
Clean ALL of the area that is under the cowl. Use Simple Green or
whatever if there is caked up dirt and grime. It must be clean to prevent
the drain holes from clogging.
Look at the gasket and the metal under the fresh air vent assembly. They
should look good. If not, remove the assembly. For *minor* rust or gasket
problems, you can use Ultra Copper or Ultra Blue silicon sealer.
Look at the gasket that is under the top of the cowl. Often it breaks
apart. A good gasket will prevent some of the water from entering the cowl
area. You can get a replacement gasket at Home Depot in the area where
they sell the weather seals for doors and windows.
Reassemble
Reassemble in the reverse order. The bolts the hold the wipers on do NOT
require a lot of force. Just make them "snug".
Also, lift the carpet where the leak is. Remove ALL of the under padding
that you can. That will just add mold and mildew and keep moisture.
Plus, it smells BAD! Once you fix the leak, go to Wal-Mart and get some
*automotive* carpet for about $6. Cut to length and shape. Put one or two
layers UNDER your carpet to bring the carpet back up to the correct level.
