cowl drains

My wagon sat, partly under some trees for about a year until a couple of weeks ago. I have washed the outside and it cleaned up pretty well. There was a lot of leaves and sticks down in behind the back edge of the hood. I'm thinking about removing the plastic "screens" at the bottom of the windshield to clean out anything that may have gotten in.I would like to know that the drains are clear. Anybody else done so? Any tips or warnings? Thanks.

It's just a few screws holding it on. If I recall I had to remove the wiper arms first.

There is a row of screws under the rear hood seal. Then some push fasteners along the windshield, and there is a screw under the little cap on the end of each cowl piece. You do not have to remove the wiper on the driver's side to take the cowl completely off, and you can do the cleaning by rotating the rotating the passenger's side up on the windshield. The push fasteners tend to pull through the cowl, and you will probably have to get some replacements. They are available at most parts stores.

I blew mine out, with air, from the bottom, first. Then a good spray down with a long pickup nozzle and Dawn dishwashing liquid/water mix.

Followed by a rinse with a garden hose (up and down) and a blow dry. Left an amazing amount of crap on the driveway...

Paul
(do this BEFORE you clean the engine bay, I wasn't that smart, the first time... )