Cowl Top Grille

[fastvee]

I believe that is the official name for the cheesy plastic covers over the wiper motor. Ford has discontinued production of those and I haven't been able to find replacements for a 2004 in the aftermarket. Nice replacement grilles are available for Explorers, F-150's, later model Expeditions and many others so I'm hoping someone may have found a source? Fordpartsgiant.com shows 5L1Z-78022A-AA for the RH grille and 5L1Z-78022A69-AA for the LH grille to fit 2004-2006.
Thanks,
John

 

[whtbronco]

Aftermarket support for the Gen2 Expeditions, 2003-06, is very limited. I suspect your only option will be salvage yards.

However, you just might be able to dig through incorrectly identified listings on eBay and find an NOS cowl. I have been successful doing this a few times, but it can take some real time searching listing after listing.

 

[fastvee]

Thanks whtbronco! I have zero confidence I can remove these panels in a junkyard without breakage, and I'm beating myself up that I didn't spend more time with a heat gun before attempting to remove them. This was another attempt to get the windshield washer squirting again and never expected I couldn't find parts for a popular and great running truck.

 

[whtbronco]

Yeah it could be a challenge to remove a used cowl. It's not easy to find a lot of parts for the Gen2's. I suspect that is because it tended to be a family vehicle that were often poorly maintained and thrown away when something significant failed. That's what I have seen in the salvage yards at least. A 4yr run just doesn't entice the aftermarket to produce parts, not to mention rather low sales volume of under 32k units in 2004. In comparison the 2004 F-150 sold over 939k units.

I removed my cowl, but that was due to broken cowl retaining clips. About half were already broken. The others I pried up bending the cowl gently and pushed 1 side of the retaining clip with a long flat head screwdriver. One at a time they all popped loose. Maybe make a temp repair to yours and wait for spring/summer to to try to remove a used cowl when it's warm.

Just like the driver side outer retaining clip I found that a couple of the replacement clips needed to be warmed a bit and spread out to hold properly.

The retainer clips I purchased:

More Information for PRECISION CFK148203

Parts availability or rust will be what ultimately retires mine I'm sure. For instance I looked for several months for replacement rear upper control arms and found none that were new. After driving a 2024 Expedition for 8 days there is no way I would buy a new one. I'll be much less grumpy about maintenance and repairs on my 2004 now.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

On my 2001 I removed the cowling prepped it and painted it black (matte finish). My 2013 was treated with some detailing by the dealer that has faded in 2 years, so I will do the same paint. Unless it is cracked you can paint it. I did find that painting a huge black plastic piece in sunlight is a challenge. Find some shade. Sand and prep the wiper arms as well. You will be glad. Remove the wiper arms, remove the clips in the engine compartment, find all the screws. It lifts off,,,, Gen 2 might have spray hoses to pull off.