A loose bolt in the cowl?

So, hypothetically, let's say I have this friend... He's good people, owns a Maverick, and he's lucky enough that his cowl is not at all rusted or else this would be easy...

Further suppose this friend of mine, who's good people, isn't always the sharpest tool in the shed, and is believed to have somehow dropped a bolt that once held a windshield wiper into the "twilight zone" behind the dash somewhere, and now when he makes a really hard turn it rolls around in there producing an infuriating little sound in his otherwise rattle-free automobile.

Since he's fully removed the heater/fan controls, ashtray, cluster and everything in between, then drove around dashing back and forth, pitching and rolling, weaving as if dodging invisible cones at an autocross, heard that sound that he used to swear was behind the cluster but neither saw nor felt the cause of it, let's say he can only conclude that the son of a b!tch is in the cowl.

How, assuming said sumbitch is in my friend's cowl, would he ever hope get that out?

Thank you.

 

poke around with a magnet from under the dash. Thats where I would start

 

I just love to read your stuff Drew ,this time you have me doing thisout load ,it appears your friend has a problem that with time and alot of trouble shooting he will figure it out

 

Take a fender off and go in through the drain with a magnet on a stick?

I know you probably didn't want to hear that ...

I am also guessing that the nut that "your friend" lost is too big to fit back up through the slats in front of the windshield ... but then again ... how did it get in there in the first place?

 

So did the bolt enter the cowl through the vent slots?
You could place a magnet on the bottom side of the cowl under the dash. Then drive the car like you normally would. Hopefully at some point the bolt will be attracted to the magnet and no longer roll around. You could then see what it was and extract the bolt.

 

turn the car upside down and shake it all around.

 

Bolt didn't get in there through the cowl vents... Back during the wiper linkage saga, it seems one of the three bolts that holds the driver's side wiper assembly on, backed out and fell into never-never land behind the wiper mount, which I can only assume means it's in the cowl. Shining a light through the cowl vents and peering through it, I can't confirm it's in there though. Too bad I don't have any proctologist friends or I'd borrow one of those things they do colonoscopy with. But, come to think of it I doubt proctologists have any friends at all, so it's no wonder. I did try reaching up through the vent under the dash but I can't really move my arm in any useful way once my hand is in there. I could perhaps get my son to do it... But he will require extensive training, and he hasn't even mastered the toilet yet. Outlook is grim on that plan, but he does at least have a desire to help in the garage. He knows how to use wrenches, albeit not for their intended purpose, and he did once put most of the lug nuts of a Corvette into its fender vents. I believe he just didn't think a simple brake job was sufficient challenge for his dad, and wanted to see if I could get the wheel well liner off an expensive car without breaking it. After a nice easter egg hunt, of course... No, scratch that, my young pupil is not yet ready for digging around in dashes.

Maverick1970, I like your magnet idea. I think I can get some rare earth magnets out of some old hard drives for that...

 

Sounds like a loose nut behind the wheel to me...

 

That too.

 

There is no way the wiper arm bolt can fall into the cowl from inside the car. If your sure there is something in the cowl, more than likely, the nut that is supposed to be welded on the cowl for the wiper bolt, broke off. If you cant work it out with a magnet, and I doubt you can, here's what I would try. If it is a non factory air car, I would try to take a hard enough turn to make it go over to the drivers side. Then remove the inside air vent. You can get your fingers in and reach over the top hat to try and fish it out. Wrap your fingers with duct tape, sticky side out. If it is an ac car, force it to the other side and pull the heater box.

 

Well I'm actually not sure it's in the cowl, and I'm not even sure it's a bolt. That's just my best guess after tearing into the dash and searching for a couple of hours, then driving around with no cluster and still hearing it.

Actually the last thing I did last night was get elbow deep into the vent, and although I didn't dig out anything that looked like it might be the culprit, I did pull some good sized chunks of loose sealant material of some kind. I haven't heard the sound again today, so it could be that. Then again I also haven't let Mr. Hyde behind the wheel yet...

 

thats nothing my friend dropped a bolt while working under the hood. it was in the carb and the secondarys to top it off... well the car started fine... but didn't find out where the bolt went until he romped on it...lol! just be happy it went in the cowl...lol!

 

I need more friends like you. You do all this to help a friend.bananaman You're the man!!....I had the same type problem with a 67' Stang I had. I tied a magnet to a string ansd hung it throgh the cowl, It stuck to the firewall side, but I left it in place for a few days. The rattleing stopped and I found the magnet had captured the loose nut I did not even know was there. I could not fish it out, and had to take off some other parts to get to it, but at least I found it. Good luck with the hunt on "your friends car".

 

Update...

The damn rattle came back. It had been so normal that I mostly ignored it, but then I changed my front shocks and my rear springs. This caused the car to ride really nice and cease all that stupid body roll nonsense, diving and squatting, etc. After that, for some reason I found myself slinging the car around corners at a high rate of speed, sometimes with a bit of tail action, so the dash/cowl rattle thing became really annoying again.

If you ever have a similar problem, the solution for me was rare earth magnets. Regular magnets didn't help, but these are strong enough to hurt people when treated carelessly or used creatively, and after a few random placements of them, I have imprisoned this little gremlin just above the radio. I still don't know WTF it is and I can't reach it (yet), but the noise comes back when I remove the magnet, so the magnet stays there until I decide to pull the radio.

 

does your stereo have a tape deck? if so i bet that magnet will erase the tapes. but you probly dont. just the funny thought that poped in my head when you said where you put it.