Kickpanel vent cleaning

[jumpsoffrock]

I have a non AC truck and am trying to clean out the passage for the kickpanel air vent but I can't find any how-to's regarding exactly how big the passages are, how they are shaped, how to access them and clean them thoroughly.



Any advice? There must be a "map" that shows the passages

[Greasey Harley]

What I do:
Remove the seat, carpet/floor mat
open the kick panel vents
run a garden hose full blast in the cowl, pointing it down at the vent.
let it run, all kinds of crap will run out of the vent onto the floor.
repeat for the other side.
while you're in there, cram the hose down in the cab corners (behind the seat) and flush out all that muck too. (this will also flush the rockers out). Just let it run 'til it runs clear ...then let it run some more.
Let everything dry thoroughly before you reassemble. Do this in the summer and everything dries out fairly quickly.
The amount of crap that comes out the first time this is done to an old truck is incredible. This is one of the first things I do when I get an old truck.

[LockDoc]

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I take the fresh air vent doors out and use a shop vac and air hose to clean them out. Wear safety glasses with the air hose....

Type "remove kick panel vent doors" into the google search box above, click on the circle in front of "67-72chevytrucks.com" and click on the Google button.

LockDoc

[Jason Banks]

Here are some pages showing what it looks like in there:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...98&postcount=7

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...9&postcount=15

I like the shopvac idea. You can see how the metal beneath the vent slopes to the rear. That is where the 'drain' is. I'm not sure if you can get to the 'drain' with the fender installed, but you could almost certainly blast it with some compressed air while the shopvac is running inside the vent.

That 'drain' is the only exit for anything that gets inside the cowl. Can collect leaves and pine needles that will hold water and rust it out down there.

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
I take the fresh air vent doors out and use a shop vac and air hose to clean them out. Wear safety glasses with the air hose....

Type "remove kick panel vent doors" into the google search box above, click on the circle in front of "67-72chevytrucks.com" and click on the Google button.

LockDoc

I just did mine exactly as you describe. Blazer came from a dry are so it was all dry leaves. I thought I got everything (even used an inspection camera) but a couple leaves blow out when I am driving.

Easier with the seat(s) out.

[jumpsoffrock]

OK got the door off on the passenger side and spend a while vacuuming it out. Now I need to blow some air through it.

Thank you all very much for the input.
Water is a good idea for later when I'm working with a bare cab.

[cj847]

While I had my wipers and cowl off, I stuck a vacuum down from above and it worked good. I also vacuumed from the inside. Since then I keep it away from trees as much as possible.

[May70]

Its pretty much an upside down U shape from the cowl down inside the fenders to your kick panel vent. The pathway is the same with or without the vents (some trucks dont have them). You can reach in there and get most of the big stuff. There is a small drain hole up against the cab that gets clogged often. If there is a lot of loose or small debris its best to suck it out with a vacuum because it will run down your pillar and likely get stuck in the inner fender support....Which will then start rot in that location (which is typical).

[KevinK7]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
I take the fresh air vent doors out and use a shop vac and air hose to clean them out. Wear safety glasses with the air hose....

Type "remove kick panel vent doors" into the google search box above, click on the circle in front of "67-72chevytrucks.com" and click on the Google button.

LockDoc

Same here, ...and as noted, get them safety glasses on
You can blow the air in from the inner vent, or from the cowl area, noting when blowing from inside, I stuffed a rag (towel) in the middle of the cowl area so the 'crap' wouldn't end up on the opposite side

[mkmc69]

Almost makes you wonder if you should drill drain holes in the lowest part of that vent well.

[Grumpy old man]

Once you have it cleaned out consider going a little bit further and use a wire brush to clean all the seams and corners that you can reach , Then use high pressure air and the vacumm again . Then using a paint brush give it all a good coat of epoxy primer let it dry and seam seal all the seams / cracks /etc and spray some good Black semi gloss paint to finish it off . A set of cowl screens will help from it getting clogged with debris again . Don't forget to grease your wiper transmission before closing it all up .

[LS short box]

Any time using compressed air wear a good mask. Rat and mouse droppings are not good. On my 68 the cowl and vents were filled to the top with pine needles along with rat and mouse houses. I pulled as much as I could out by hand and then vacuum. Then water hose. Then a couple of gallons Pine Sol into each vent.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by mkmc69

Almost makes you wonder if you should drill drain holes in the lowest part of that vent well.

GM provided drainage for the lower piece. It was designed to direct air through the vent. It doesn't cover the entire area. Water will flow past it (Unless it is full of leaves and dirt) and not fill the cab with water when it rains. (Photo 1 blue arrow) The water flows out at the bottom edge of the fender through some factory provided gaps (Photo 2 red circle). So part of the process to clean the lower cowl areas needs to include blowing air up from the bottom of the truck through the water drains. (Red circle) An air nozzle with a thin long tip works well for this. (Photo 3)
Basically you blow up from the bottom after you have removed as much debris as you can with your hand, (Kids can be a big help with that.) then vacuum from the inside, then blow down from inside and then blow back upwards from the bottom. Do it over and over until no more debris remains. A flashlight and mirror can help with the cleaning. Both sides will need to be done. When I did my Burban it was a 3 hour job before I was satisfied they were clean.
Unbolting the lower part of the fender can help as the entire area under the cowl vent box and the fender can be full of debris. This will allow you to pull it open some and get all of the debris out.

[jumpsoffrock]

Wow this thread blew up with a bunch of great perspectives and pictures. Thank you everyone!

My current cab is on it's way out so I'm not gonna try hard, I didn't even tough the drivers side. But I'll hopefully be getting a newer less rusty cab in a couple months and will use this info to clean it with a pressure washer while it's getting some rust repair and paint done(by myself, ain't gonna be a show truck but that's ok)