Started the effort to clean out the water drain areas under the cowling just above the blower motor. Removed the wiper blades and started to get my small puller to remove the wiper arms. Had the wiper arms pulled up after raising the hood.

Then one of my neighbors (Karl is probably in his mid-to-late 80's) came by and asked if I could look at his riding mower. He said it wouldn't start. Heard just a 'clicking' noise when he turned the ignition key. Checked the battery - good. Told him I thought it was the solenoid switch. Turns out the Cub Cadet has one like the Ford products used to use. Took it off for him & told him to go purchase one from local Cub Cadet dealer.

I then went back to my XFire to continue working. Had to run an errand or two so I decided to postpone my work until after finishing up the Cub Cadet. Went to lower the hood and forgot that I had raised the wiper arms on both sides. Lowering the hood twisted the wiper arms. Looks like they're just cast pot metal with a black powerdercoat. They twisted REAL EASY!!! Anyway - ordered new wiper arms from OE Discount Parts. Should be delivered within a couple of days. What a PUTZ!!!!

The Cub Cadet mower is running. Neighbor is happy!! I'm still a PUTZ!!!

 

yes, but your a helpful putz!!....

 

Dennis,

If you are able and have time, do what I did and paint the entire windshield cowl and wiper arms body color. It is something almost no one notices on my car, and then when they do notice, they think it is pretty trick. I love the subtle accents

 

I'll give that some thought. Going to have the parts off anyway fixing the water leak above the blower motor.

Later,

 

Got my new wiper arms today from OEDiscountParts.com (Skyland Automotive in Asheville, NC). Mike Lewis was able to save me some money by X-referencing the PS arm to the M-B Part Number. The MOPAR part for the DS was in stock, but the PS wasn't. Turns out M-B had the PS wiper arm in their warehouse.

 

For anyone interested, the XFire Shop Manual references using a Battery Terminal Puller when removing the wiper arms. The wiper arms are mounted on a tapered spline and they recommend a small puller to pull the arm off the spindle.

I had to go out & get one as I tossed my old one 5-6 years ago because I thought I'd never need it again. It was so little!! DUH!!!

Anyway, found a really nice unit from Sears online and just got it late last week. Perfect for performing the task needed. Description attached.

Later,

 

Well, I finished cleaning out the drain cavities under the windshield cowling earlier this morning. Kinda of a PITA getting the cowling out of the way enough to access all of the drain cavities. As has been reported by others, the two cavities on the passenger side were fairly full of debris and had to be vacuumed out. I checked the operation of the small hinged door between the two cavities and everything looked okay. Water drained as it was suppose to when I tested afterwards.

I then found a small pool of water standing on the driver side and soaked this up. Upon further inspection, the oblong drain opening on this side was stopped up and had to be vacuumed out. I also noticed that the oblong rubber grommet opening was installed improperly. This grommet has a recessed groove all the way around that seats against the edge of the opening. Apparently at the factory, it was not properly seated and water could bypass the drain. Not sure where the water would exactly drain to, but I corrected the grommet installation anyway.

I'll get into the PS inside part of this drain problem this weekend sometime.

Oh, and I want to thank all that have previously laid out repairs for this water leak in the passenger side footwell. Folks have been good enough to point out that the two drain cavities under the passenger side cowling need to monitored and cleaned occasionally, especially if the car is left outside unprotected. And FWIW, the XFire shop manual also points this design problem out and states to clean these cavities periodically to avoid any water leakage into the passenger side footwell. DUH!!!!

Later,