Cabin Air Intake Issues

[moose60]

While on the highway driving into a headwind, pine needles and other detritus would occasionally come flying out of the vents in my truck. This would only happen with a head wind and highway speeds. Looking at the air intake grilles by the windshield I could see that other than the grille nothing was preventing stuff from entering the vent system.

Most of my other vehicles have had what looks like heavy window screen installed behind the intake grille to prevent this. So, I figured that I'd add some screening and giver 'er a cleaning at the same time.

The FSM says that you should pull the hood off in order to remove the piece of sheet metal below the windshield, but with a stubby screwdriver I didn't have to. I found an amazing amount of debris in there. Every time I thought it was clean, I'd run across a clump of needles, leaves and dirt the size of a bird's nest. I probably vacuumed enough stuff out to make homes for 5-8 bird families.

I attached some standard window screen with my favorite adhesive (whatever was in the caulking gun last).

While this panel is off, a person can inspect for rust holes and can check the hidden rubber body plugs that keep water out of the cab. I also used some mystro-seal (very similar to mystro-adhese) here.

[glenlloyd]

Hi Byron
With the outer grille in place (the one you removed) can you actually look through it and see the air intake for the cabin?

sa

[asavage]

Are you kidding? If it's daylight, you can look in the side vents in the cab and see daylight! You can almost see the bottom of the cowl's grille. There is nothing between the cowl and the vent except a ~90° turn.

As Philip & I found two+ years ago, this is only the case if you don't have factory A/C.

Heater only


Heater with A/C

[moose60]

Hi Steve,

On my truck I can't see the intakes with the grille in place. There is a black plastic diverter which prevents water (and prying eyes) from getting in. These are attached to the body separately from the grille. The diverters are different on drivers and passenger side, with the passenger side being much more extensive. They seem to channel air/water towards the center of the truck, away from the intakes near the fenders.

I could take some pictures (with my nifty new camera) if it would help you out, but it might be a few days.

[glenlloyd]

I was just wondering if the diverters were in there at all. It would seem that there was enough pine needles getting in there that they were flowing into the ducts and then into the cabin. If the diverter doesn't have a screen over the inlet I would install something that would prevent debris from coming in.

sa

[glenlloyd]

Are you kidding? If it's daylight, you can look in the side vents in the cab and see daylight! You can almost see the bottom of the cowl's grille. There is nothing between the cowl and the vent except a ~90° turn.

that's crazy....it actually came from the factory this way? I can't imagine someone selling a vehicle that had such direct airflow into the cabin. If the passages are large, and is sounds like they are you could get all sorts of varmits living in your air ducts / cabin!

steve a

[asavage]

I don't know if it came from the factory like that. It was a pretty original truck though, with only 86k on it. That one was the one I sold for $2k a couple years ago.

"My" other two '82s are A/C models, so they don't compare.

I'll have to look closer at the yellow '86 out here sometime.