DIY: Removal of Cowl and Heat shield

[FG2BoostCoupe]

I know there used to be one of these but the pics are gone and I keep reading a lot of posts and it seems like people are having problems with this so here's how it goes

Tools:
10 mm socket
12 mm socket
panel popper if you got one



-Remove the 3 plastic clips circled in red
-Pull the weather stripping off the side cowls circled in yellow
-Pull up on the cowl upwards from the front and work your way to the windshield, the first time its going to require a pretty stiff tug, there are a few plastic that run along the bottom of the windshield and it snaps into the side cowl on the both side.
-Pull up on the passenger wiper and pull the plastic cowl straight out



-Heat shield removal
-Remove the 5 10mm bolts circled in red
-Remove the 4 12 mm bolts circled in green
-Pull the black metal heat shield straight towards you, there is foam gasket tape on it that sticks to the body, give it a stiff tug



Voila now you have access to plugs, coil packs, valve cover, and even the oil filter. Total removal time is around 20 minutes taking your time. I hope this helps some one out

[a1rfreshener]

very nice... haha doing this blind is like a good 30-40 just to change the damn plugs!

[rationull]

Is it just me/my car or does anyone else have a horrible hell of a time trying to get all the plastic pieces aligned correctly when reinstalling the cowl cover?

[|-Goku-|]

Does removing the cowl, really give you good access to the oil filter?

[michinsi]

Originally Posted by |-Goku-|

Does removing the cowl, really give you good access to the oil filter?

No. Just go from the bottom

[Lek]

Anyone say how to install a Cusco strut bar from this point.

[habitat]

very nice, thank you for the DIY!

[Lek]

Is it just me/my car or does anyone else have a horrible hell of a time trying to get all the plastic pieces aligned correctly when reinstalling the cowl cover?

This DIY helped me a lot to install my Cusco strut bar, but It took 3 attempts to align the plasic perfectly.

[tony_routh88]

all the new cars have so much stuff to remove to do something simple like a spark plug change

[Bouncing_Soulz]

aligning that plastic piece back is a major PITA, it just takes some umph and you'll get it back right.

[tony_routh88]

So its more forcing it in or lining it up?

[fg2onspray]

i just yank my cowl off and the heat sheid is now only down with 2 12mm bolts.. takes about 1 min 30secs to get it off and get started..

no problems with rattles or anything like that.. its pretty stupid to keep all those bolts in there if ur like me and taking it off all the time to work on stuff..

[tony_routh88]

Lol I might do that, at least until I figure out which plugs work best for me

[rationull]

Originally Posted by Bouncing_Soulz

aligning that plastic piece back is a major PITA, it just takes some umph and you'll get it back right.

Try as I might I haven't been able to get mine to line up just right after taking it off. It's only been off a couple times, though. Right now it looks fine on the passenger side but on the driver side the pieces are close at the top (closest to driver) but gradually open up to about 1/8" gap at the very botton (right next to the top of the hood). I'm talking about the seam between the large center cowl cover piece and the corner piece that surrounds the wiper arm pivot.

Not a big deal but it annoys me a little and something's clearly misaligned because to fit like this it has to be under some tension.

[Bouncing_Soulz]

Originally Posted by rationull

Try as I might I haven't been able to get mine to line up just right after taking it off. It's only been off a couple times, though. Right now it looks fine on the passenger side but on the driver side the pieces are close at the top (closest to driver) but gradually open up to about 1/8" gap at the very botton (right next to the top of the hood). I'm talking about the seam between the large center cowl cover piece and the corner piece that surrounds the wiper arm pivot.

Not a big deal but it annoys me a little and something's clearly misaligned because to fit like this it has to be under some tension.

What I normally do is pull up on both sides of the cowl, both the removable side and the side that I didn't take out and make the tabs mesh back.up and then push them back together and whack the cowel.

It just takes some practice to get it right, its not broken and you aren't going to hurt it if you hit it, just don't knock the crap outta it and you'll be ok

[rationull]

Originally Posted by Bouncing_Soulz

What I normally do is pull up on both sides of the cowl, both the removable side and the side that I didn't take out and make the tabs mesh back.up and then push them back together and whack the cowel.

To be clear, are you saying that you normally pull up the wiper pivot trim in addition to the cowl cover, align those parts together, and then snap the whole thing back down?

[Bouncing_Soulz]

yupppp

[Bouncing_Soulz]

game on!

[rationull]

Great! I think I'm going to do a valve adjustment and maybe replace the PCV valve once I hit 60k miles. I'll have to give your method a try.

[KiNGPiNG]

with your help I was able to reconnect my windshield fluid line