(The plastic trim peice at bottom of windshield where the wipers mount)

Mine has been cracked in the middle for so long, but I am finally getting tired of looking at it- Has anyone had any luck repairing theirs? If so any tips? I understand replacing it outright is a huge PITA. Thanks as always.

 

Replacing it would be expensive, but I'm not sure how hard it would be. Doesn't look too bad. Mine was replace by insurance when my windshield was replaced.

Center Air Intake Moulding Assembly (Genuine Part # JAK000010PAM) - Land Rover body panels/fittings/trim exterior from Atlantic British

 

Thanks Jafir- I've looked at the new part online as well and it is $$$, but in talking with a few people that have replaced theirs, was strongly cautioned about undertaking it. Most broke either one or both side windshield finishers while trying to remove/replace them for the install of the new cowling.

 

On Ebay there is a company called Miami British (Monte-rovers) which periodically posts on Ebay windshield cowls. They offer one that is O.E. and a fiberglass piece which is cheaper. I have not replaced mine as it is cracked in the center too. The hinges push against it from the hood being raised and over time stresses the plastic. Combined with the heat and year's of elements it eventually cracks. If I replace mine one day I am going to consider possibly notching out the points of contact of the hinges. I thought about placing a rubber strip over the crack to hide it and allow it to flex as a temporary fix. The plastic is disintegrating where the foam filter is housed. It's in such bad shape I may just leave it until the whole piece is replaced. I'm not going to spend A.B's price for a new one. I'd rather put the money into my budget towards sliders or a rear steel bumper.

 

Now that's true. The A pillar trim IS a pain, and you can break them if you aren't careful. I got one at a salvage yard and gave that to the glass guys because one of mine was already broken from a previous windshield replacement, and insurance wouldn't replace it for me. I think sometimes the glass shops don't know how to replace the trim correctly. Next time, I'd be tempted to remove all the trim myself, and then drop the car off.

 

If you want to buy a good used replacement, call Paul Grant, number listed below, he should have one for you.

 

I attacked the repair of the cowl today. Very easy to remove because it was in four pcs. Using a plastic welder, I was able to reassemble everything. Took about 3-4 hours and getting the curve right was fun.

The real fun was reinstalling it. There are no real instructions in the Rave manual. So in an effort to figure a way to get it back in, I broke it again.

Finally got it back in by removing the two hood bolts on the driver side and only one on the passenger side. by losening the last bolt, was able to move the hood enough to get the cowl back in. I marked the outline of the hood brackets to make sure they went back exactly.

One thing for sure, having a plastic welder has come in very handy. So far, ben able to repair the grill, interior A post cover and both front mud flaps.

Have fun!

 

The problem with this particular cowl is that there are 4 tabs that slide under the windshield and when glass companies replace the windshield they load it up with sealant and then can't get the tabs to go under the glass and get frustrated and break the cowl. Mother f er

1- So to remove this cowl the hood has to come off. Hint mark where hood is with sharpie first.
2- remove wiper arms
3 - remove retainer nuts & rubber washer off shaft where wiper arm bolts on.
4 - remove center nut 10mm under cowl.
5 - slide cowl toward driver side and then lift out of position. The holes around wiper arm shafts are larger than shaft for this reason. When you do this the cowl will come out from under pass side A pillar when you lift up slide back toward pass side to get out from under driver side A pillar.
6 - it is very important that this cowl goes back on correctly its purpose is to deflect water from running inside your cabin and getting electronics wet. The rubber seal on A pillars & windshield cowl are supposed to be tight on windshield.

That's it then before dropping truck off for glass replacement explain to them that they have close to 2 inches of overlap at bottom of windshield and not to apply sealant on the bottom 3/4 of an inch of windshield.


Thank you for allowing me to share my 2¢

 

lr2001silver, this step by step helped a lot, and I would recommend that we put this on as a sticky under How Tos. Tons of folks find themselves needing to change it out.
I have heard that the rubber gasket is the really important part here, and that a new cowl (or even a cracked one) doesn't have as much to do with water repelling as that rubber does. How do I know if the rubber is good, or is good enough to leave it there and change only the cowl? Does anyone have pics of le2001silver's walk through? I may be replacing mine, and will take photos if no one has done it already. Thanks, guys.

 

Here is a cowl replacement lr3 write up, not sure if it will help anyone