Cowl drain udders
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 115
From: Odessa FL
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Cowl drain udders
Well I had read a number of windshield wiper motor threads and the general recommendation was to make sure the drain udders on the driver’s side under the cowl were not clogged. Always made a mental note to check mine but never seemed to get around to it and not having a wiper problem it never became a priority either. Today I just happen to be cleaning leaves out of the cowl area and by chance decided to at least check them out. Wow, both were solidly clogged and filled with water. Thanks goodness the water had not yet backed up to the level of the cowl and the wiper motor. So the moral of the story is don’t put it off and make it a regular routine maintenance item. It is easy to do and could save you not only some money but the aggravation of dealing with non working wipers or ones that won’t shut off. Just a thought.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
And DO NOT pull the passengers side OUT. Just disconnect it and use a garden Hose to FORCE the crap out. The tube is like 20 feet long and a bitch to get it back in right!
Ive seen one of these on a late night horror show where it comes out of the dark and eats things!!!
Ive seen one of these on a late night horror show where it comes out of the dark and eats things!!!
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 115
From: Odessa FL
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
And DO NOT pull the passengers side OUT. Just disconnect it and use a garden Hose to FORCE the crap out. The tube is like 20 feet long and a bitch to get it back in right!
Ive seen one of these on a late night horror show where it comes out of the dark and eats things!!!
Ive seen one of these on a late night horror show where it comes out of the dark and eats things!!!
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 319
Likes: 13
From: Macomb Michigan
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
Further, by adding the acid mat you will not eliminate the problem as the acid flows down the battery cable to the computer located below. You will not see the damage until it is all over. Use a gel battery like a Optima and you eliminate the problem completely.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,498
Likes: 680
From: The beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast!!
THANKS!!! I read this post and quit watching a boring football game, went out to the garage and cleaned the driver side udders. They were FILTHY! Tomorrow I'll flush the passenger's side like Bill Curlee recommends. I really appreciate the timely advice.
Intermediate
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
From: Miami Florida
Well I had read a number of windshield wiper motor threads and the general recommendation was to make sure the drain udders on the driver’s side under the cowl were not clogged. Always made a mental note to check mine but never seemed to get around to it and not having a wiper problem it never became a priority either. Today I just happen to be cleaning leaves out of the cowl area and by chance decided to at least check them out. Wow, both were solidly clogged and filled with water. Thanks goodness the water had not yet backed up to the level of the cowl and the wiper motor. So the moral of the story is don’t put it off and make it a regular routine maintenance item. It is easy to do and could save you not only some money but the aggravation of dealing with non working wipers or ones that won’t shut off. Just a thought.
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Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
YES,,, there are THREE udders on the drivers side. Just a reminder, you can easily POP them in and out.
You can see the tip2 of front two in this picture:
Here is what came out of mine and it STINKS!
This shot shows you how far back the third one is:
BC
You can see the tip2 of front two in this picture:
Here is what came out of mine and it STINKS!
This shot shows you how far back the third one is:
BC
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 176
Likes: 32
From: Pennington NJ
Found water on driver side after rain. Thought it had to have some thing to do with rain drains. Had similar issues with other cars I've owned. Had no clue where these are on my c5. Searched all over with no success. Thanks to everyone on this forum I found out where to look. Found the so called rain utters including the passenger side. The drivers side were all completely clogged up with what looked like damp mud. These had to be the cause of the water on the driver side floor. I was going to check passenger side but could not find my 8mm wrench to detach battery cables. My 8mm socket was too big to get into the space. Instead I removed the battery hold down and was able to move the battery aside enough to get my hand in there to remove this udder. It had some mud in there too but nowhere near the amount in all 3 driver side utters. Looking forward to a dry driver side carpet next time it rains.
Thanks to everyone.
Thanks to everyone.
Last edited by mwestc5; Feb 22, 2018 at 09:44 PM.
8th Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Melbourne Florida
Cowl vent trash
Cleaned the cowl drain udders today, thanks to all the excellent posts on the forum
When I started to put them back I stuck my finger up into the cowl area thru thru the opening, seems to be a lot of junk in the cavity that needs to be flushed out befoare putting the drain hoses back or else they are going to star s filling with the leaves & trash that is in the cavity.
I’m going to try flushing it out with the garden hose before I put the drains back on.
Could I be exposing the wiper motor or anything else to damage by doing this with noa drain hose in place.
Ragtoplovr
When I started to put them back I stuck my finger up into the cowl area thru thru the opening, seems to be a lot of junk in the cavity that needs to be flushed out befoare putting the drain hoses back or else they are going to star s filling with the leaves & trash that is in the cavity.
I’m going to try flushing it out with the garden hose before I put the drains back on.
Could I be exposing the wiper motor or anything else to damage by doing this with noa drain hose in place.
Ragtoplovr
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Cleaned the cowl drain udders today, thanks to all the excellent posts on the forum
When I started to put them back I stuck my finger up into the cowl area thru thru the opening, seems to be a lot of junk in the cavity that needs to be flushed out befoare putting the drain hoses back or else they are going to star s filling with the leaves & trash that is in the cavity.
I’m going to try flushing it out with the garden hose before I put the drains back on.
Could I be exposing the wiper motor or anything else to damage by doing this with noa drain hose in place.
Ragtoplovr
When I started to put them back I stuck my finger up into the cowl area thru thru the opening, seems to be a lot of junk in the cavity that needs to be flushed out befoare putting the drain hoses back or else they are going to star s filling with the leaves & trash that is in the cavity.
I’m going to try flushing it out with the garden hose before I put the drains back on.
Could I be exposing the wiper motor or anything else to damage by doing this with noa drain hose in place.
Ragtoplovr
I keep the udders OEM and just check them often.
BC
