Is it possible to use an Inspection Camera with a flexible cable to check the condition of the cowl vents on a Maverick? Has anybody tried this?
If your going to use a borescope camera...Best to remove the front fenders so you can go in through the cowl drain, and get a real good look at the cowl hats/sheet metal...
If you remove your fenders and turn out all the lights in your garage (or wait until night) shine a flashlight from the vents above and look through the drain holes. You can see everything pretty clearly
turn out the lights, put a light under the dash and look down into the cowl...this will show you holes...
I have done it, if you pull your fenders it is really easy and there are two places (at least on mine) that you can look into, the drain of course but also a plug just above and beside the "hat" that will let you see it all, glad to report on mine it was all good, still could see the galvanizing on the hats, I did see alot of leaves and trash in there though, I used an inspection camera and my laptop.
Thanks for the information guys. This is my first Maverick build which is a rust free car from Arizona. There is no rust on the floor under the dash. I have done the water test through the grill and nothing comes in the car, it runs out the bottom of the fenders and into my shoe. I plan to remove the fenders, clean everything and use the camera to have a look see. It beats drilling all the spot welds if I don't have to.
Still, it doesn't hurt to look in there and see if the surfaces are protected, or just plain, exposed, surface rusty metal. Especially in Ontario, those are going to rust through pretty quick. I just tore the cowl off my 2004 Dodge Ram and found a couple of areas that are starting to develop surface rust, so out comes the can of POR-15, to stop it before it gets bad!
You can see pretty much what you need to see with a mirror. Just slide it through the grill bars and a good flashlight shining on the mirror will guide the light around.
My car came from Texas. Same condition. My cowl doesnt leak but does have some light corrosion as expected. I didnt touch it. It doesnt really see rain and certainly no snow or salt. My car looks exactly the same as the day I put it back together. The key is no road salt and good storage. Your choice but I chose not to tear mine apart. No point.
Holy Cow is this a sore subject!, someone many moons before I bought the car, got the great idea to fill the area with blow and foam. What a mess to remove! it ate the hats and opposite side! very easy to see holes from top with fenders removed. What a pain to clean out!
