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7th gen Cowl panel swap.

Fordzilla80

Ranger Lariat
6,372
262
Narnia
Alot of you are probably aware of the fire risk that 7th gen F-Series trucks have with the giant slots in the cowl panel.Alot of times,leaves go through the slots and collect behind your kick panels.This presents a fire risk due to the wires being in that compartment behind the kick panels.There are a couple things you can do to stop this from happening.You can put some screen under the cowl panel,or swap to a cowl panel from an 8th gen.The 8th gen cowl panel is the exact same,except that instead of large slots,it has a bunch of small holes drilled into it.If you choose the screen method,you will have to remove the cowl to get to the underside.Once you remove the cowl(see below for steps),you'll want to grab a shop-vac and remove all the leaves from behind your kick panels.Now comes the job of attaching screen to the underside of the cowl panel.What you need to do is cut some pieces of screen to size that fit over the slots on the underside of the cowl panel.You will then need to find a way to glue the screen to the cowl panel.There are alot of things you could use to do this.I didn't choose this method of keeping the leaves out,so I have no experience with what's ideal.After you have attached the screen to the cowl panel,let it dry.Once it's dry you can now put the cowl panel back on the truck.Installation is the reverse of removal.

The next method is what I chose to do.The whole reason I decided to swap is because my truck had a distinct moldy smell in the cab.My truck has the optional vents since it has no A/C,so I figured that's where it was coming from.When I opened the vent(which is where the kick panels are on A/C equipped trucks),I could see that there were leaves piled up in the compartment.So I got to work.I went out to the junkyard and grabbed a new cowl off an 87-91.The 8th gen cowls have the exact same lines as the 7th gen cowls.The only difference is in the aforementioned small holes.If the donor panel is a different color than your truck,you will want to sand it down and repaint it to match your truck.These next steps are for removing the donor cowl panel from the donor truck,and for removing your cowl panel on your truck.The first thing I had to do was remove the wipers.The next thing you have to do is remove the antenna mast,and the base.My truck is a radio delete truck,so I was able to skip this step.The next step depends entirely on personal choice.I found it was alot easier to pull the cowl panel off with the hood off the truck.It can be done with the hood on,but it's very difficult,and you risk scratching and bending the cowl panel.The next thing to do is to remove the hood to cowl seal off the front of the cowl.You also need to remove your windshield washer nozzle hose,since the nozzle is a part of the cowl.After that,you will need to remove the remainder of the screws from the front and the top of the cowl panel.Once all the screws are removed,you will be able to pull the cowl out.The back of the cowl is tucked under the windshield molding,so you will need to pull the cowl forward,and then up.After the cowl is removed,you can now access the compartments behind the kick panels.Stick the shop-vac hose between the fender and front firewall(you'll see the space) and turn it on.You can also remove the kick panels(and vents if your truck is equipped) and remove the leaves from there too if you wish.You can also take this time to clean off the area under the cowl,and inspect your windshield wiper system,as well as vaccum out any extra leaves.After everything is clean or to your standards,you can put the new cowl on.I plan on putting a radio in my truck one day,so I grabbed a cowl with an antenna,the base,and the cable.I also grabbed the cowl to firewall seal,as my original one was deteriorated.The donor seal was in perfect shape.Putting the new cowl on is the reverse of removal.Be careful not to bend the tabs on the new cowl,as they are what supports the cowl,and also where it screws into the firewall.It might take a little adjustment to get the cowl just right.Once you get the cowl on,you can put the hood back(if you removed it),and also the wiper arms.You can also add the antenna base and mast at this time.Make sure when you remove the cowl you keep track of the antenna cable so you don't lose it.It's a pain to fish it out if it falls in the small space.If you chose to remove the kick panels and air vents(if equipped),then you will need to put them back also.Now,you should be done.Sit back,open a cold one,and have the piece of mind that those leaves won't pile up behind your kick panels anymore.

Here's some pics from the swap.

Here's the donor panel..
modelsandemblems637.jpg


Here's the old panel and the new panel side by side.You can see the difference...
modelsandemblems644.jpg


Here's the truck with the cowl removed...
modelsandemblems646.jpg


Another shot..
modelsandemblems354.jpg


This is the space where you can stick the shop-vac hose down to get to the leaves...
modelsandemblems647.jpg


Here's the new cowl panel on the truck...
modelsandemblems649.jpg


Here's the new hood to cowl seal on the new cowl..
modelsandemblems650.jpg


Here's everything back together.I chose not to paint the cowl,because I'm gonna have the truck repainted anyway...
modelsandemblems654.jpg
 

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