Are your vehicle’s drains plugged?
Several areas that are often overlooked by car owners and their service providers involve drains. There are components and systems on every vehicle that have some type of channel, hose or hole to allow liquid ( usually water) to escape. With mild weather, few of us ever give a thought to these passages, but ignore the fine print in your owner’s manual and you may be in for a nasty surprise — and often some very avoidable repair bills as well.
Wiper cowl drains: At the base of your vehicle’s windshield is an area occupied by the wiper- arm linkages. It’s usually covered by a metal or plastic cover with slots in it to let water run down into a metal tray at the bottom ( usually only a few inches from the top). This water is then allowed to drain out through channels on each side of the vehicle and can be seen exiting just behind the front wheels on most vehicles. If the exit drains on those channels are blocked by ice, snow or a buildup of mud or grit, the water may pool around the wiper links. If the outside temperatures drop, they can encase the wiper mechanism in i ce, rendering it immovable — not something nice to find out when a tractor- trailer blankets your windshield with road-splash.
Certain vehicles experience this more than others; the current Jeep Wrangler is one. To keep things flowing, take the time to remove any buildup at the rear of the front wheel wells, especially if a freezing- rain warning is in effect. The best way to do this and not damage any plastic or scratchable body parts is to simply let the vehicle sit in heated garage for a few hours.
Sunroof drains: Forget to service these drains and you might get a cold shower for your troubles. If your ride is equipped with any type of movable roof glass, it will have a water- collection tray around the perimeter of the opening. For most vehicles this tray has f our water drains, one at each corner. These lead to small- diameter hoses that carry rain water out of the tray and down to lower drains in the undercarriage.
The sunroof t ray will collect water whether the panel is opened or closed. Often these drains will get plugged with l eaves and other tree droppings but are usually returned to freeflowing condition with a little water poured into the tray.
For stubborn clogs, a mild shot of compressed air from an electronics- cleaner aerosol with a small stream of water is all it takes. Avoid t r ying t o poke anything sharp down these drains, because their rubber tubes are easily punctured.
Muffler drains: No, it’s not a mythical skyhook f eature; many vehicles have a small hole drilled strategically at the rear face of their mufflers, especially those that have less water flow in their exhaust systems from mounting and undercarriage configuration constraints. Often drivers only find out about this drain on frosty mornings where the water ( a natural byproduct of combusting auto fuels) creates visible vapours at the back of the muffler.
These handy little holes seldom require any attention, but for those who often drive on unpaved roads, grit may accumulate. If water pooling in the muffler doesn’t get expelled with heat ( from regular highway or full warm-up runs), it can accelerate the exhaust system’s corrosion. It doesn’t hurt to ask your oil- change provider to check to see if your vehicle’s muffler has such a drain hole and to make sure it isn’t plugged.