Cabin Air Filer?!?!?!?! Help! Ahhh!

[theonly287]

ok so i have 01 zx3 2.0L zetec

heres my problem i put in the cabin air filter and sealed it shut and closed down the latch thingy on the firewall that you have to open to get to the cabin air filter i believe its called the cowl duct or something at least thats what the haynes repair manuel said....heres the problem though i cant get the cowl duct to close completely flush with the windsheild anymore and it makes an annoying squeeking noise eveytime i hit a bump and its driving me FING MAD ....how can i reclose it to make it air tight and flush the the windshield????? anyone else have this problem when replacing cabin air filter???

ps i had no cabin air filter in the duct before i put one in there so i didnt really replace one i more or less added one...what gives with there not being one there in the first place????

[Sponsor]

[02ZX3inPA]

I've heard the cowl duct is notorious for not going back on correctly. Not only will this make a noise, but when it rains it can allow water to enter your passenger compartment on the front passenger side. Since I don't have any experience w/ this (I got my Focus in february) I can't really offer any advice except take it back apart, inspect it closely, and try to find out if there's any obvious reason it isn't closing. (Is there a gasket, and is it crooked, clearance w/ filter, filter crooked?)

[sqrly]

Originally Posted by theonly287

ok so i have 01 zx3 2.0L zetec

heres my problem i put in the cabin air filter and sealed it shut and closed down the latch thingy on the firewall that you have to open to get to the cabin air filter i believe its called the cowl duct or something at least thats what the haynes repair manuel said....heres the problem though i cant get the cowl duct to close completely flush with the windsheild anymore and it makes an annoying squeeking noise eveytime i hit a bump and its driving me FING MAD ....how can i reclose it to make it air tight and flush the the windshield????? anyone else have this problem when replacing cabin air filter???

ps i had no cabin air filter in the duct before i put one in there so i didnt really replace one i more or less added one...what gives with there not being one there in the first place????

PM b16sir91 (mike) and ask him I know he works at ford and may be able to help you with this

[theonly287]

the filter isnt crooked it is placed down in a duct in such a way that it is secure from movement...its just the darn cowl duct wont close....mind you its the top the three tabs are shut down completely...i didnt mention this before but i didnt get the cowl duct competely off i released the 3 front tabs but it would come off on the right side so i lifted it up and replaced the filter thinking what harm could it do...now it squeeks like crazy AHHHHH

[GreenEnvy]

where the two cowl covers meet in the center youll see a circle about 1/2 inch, its a screw cover. pop it out, remove the screw, lift the end of the drivers side cover.
undo the latches at the front of the cover on the passenger side and starting at the fender end stick your hand under it and give a firm tug straight up. theres 3 pins that have to be popped out of their sockets to remove the cover. the simply pull toward the fender to get the tab out of the slot in the other cover.
replace in reverse, except make sure to visually check the pins alignment before seating them. may need to smack right on them with your fist to get them to seat.

after your finished, head to the parts store and pick up a manual.

[nilskje]

After replacing my filter 12 times I have worked my way through 10 kits of latches and 2 new cowl thingis.. The design sucks!(i.e. i have replaced the latches every time , and that works)

[whynotthinkwhynot]

In 05 they did away with the cabin air filter design so now the dash piles up with dust and pollen, and the wind noise from the cowl is annoying as hell.

I'll trade you my cabin air screen for your filter

There must be a new design also, I had no issues getting mine to clip in on the top again.