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1989 B2 Cowl fix


av8ranger

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Hey folks, I've had only one other B2 but I've had a few Rangers. This one is an 89 that I'm swapping a 4.0/trans/transfer case/rear axle from a 98 Explorer. When I put the dana 35 from a 94 explorer, I'll have 4 wheel ABS and the electronic cruise control vs vacuum.
But I digress, I've started fixing my cowl leaks. The rust was minimal so I'm just going to encapsulate, fiberglass hair resin for the tiny holes, and reapply seam sealer. So far, I've scraped off the old seam sealer (inside and out) with a screwdriver (actually a freaking hammer and screwdriver, that crap's hard). Most of the inside the cowl seam sealer I found in large chunks at the drain near the drivers fender, like 6-9 inch long sections. I've, scrubbed inside the cowl, the passenger compartment seam, and the engine compartment seam with various nylon brushes, wire brushed the seams (inside and out), scrubbed with soap and water, and dried it out. My hands and arms have seen better days from reaching through inside the cowl to get to the cracks and crevices. I've applied Eastwood's rust encapsulater to the passenger compartment inside seam and can say that it's a very runny product but that's necessary to get down into the crevices. It's behind the dash so I don't really care about the runs. I'll be more careful on the engine side.
On the engine side, I'll hit it with the rust encapsulater, then use a short strand fiber filler (not due to the rust hole sizes but for the strength) to fill the tiny holes and smooth the appearance. Then new seam sealer and engine bay paint.
For the inside of the cowl, I'll be using Eastwood's inside the frame rail rust encapsulater followed by re-doing the inside seam with their brushable seam sealer, and then a top coat of Por-15 Chassis black top coat. I'm hoping it'll last for the next 10 years.
I hit the battery tray while I was at it.
 

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alwaysFlOoReD

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Looks like a thorough job. Thanks for the pics.
 

av8ranger

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Got it all masked up. Taped the cowl vent holes from the inside.
 

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av8ranger

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Two coats inside the cowl and the final one the engine bay side.
 

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alwaysFlOoReD

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4.0, 4.0, 4.6
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Looks like a real good job...kudos.
 

av8ranger

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Thanks. It's a chore but I plan on keeping it a while so it'll be worth it.
 

Jim Oaks

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Looks good. I like to treat rust with a product called Ospho. Works great to neutralize it.
 

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