Need some help. I am trying to fix the cowl cracks on my D350 and called Dodge and they do not make either side repair kit. Other than welding the cracks does anyone have any other ideas or know of another place to get the cowl repair pieces?

John

 

You're pretty much stuck with fabricating your own, check in my photo gallery to see what I did.

 

Here are some pics from when I did mine.. Not that hard, just a little time consuming.. Basically, I made two cardboard templates then used some metal plates then formed them to the countour.. Then spot welded it all in.. I also used a big vise to draw the cowl back to the cab..

 

DNR,

Did you patch the hole/slot in the last picture. Looks like you welded a crack but was wondering if you put a patch over it also. I like what you did and will infringe on your copyright . Also I think I know tha answer to this question, but would it be a goo idea to accomplish this on the other side even though it is not cracked?

John

 

No I didn't put a patch over it... Maybe should have, but I figured it was pretty reinforced now, so I left it.. The passanger side was hit and it was all collapsed in, so I had to approach that side a bit differently.. Feel free to copy all you want, I got my idea from Archer2.. Dodge used to offer patch pieces back in the day, but not anymore.. If you have the truck all apart, I would do both sides.. But if you are tearing it down just to do it, just do one side at a time.. But keep your templates you make, should be able to just flip them for the other side and it will get you real close.. Good luck

 

This thread has been quiet for a bit, but I'm going to revive it. About to do the cracks on both sides of my truck, was wondering if the geometry or anything changes as the cracks develop? In other words, does the front end sag, or fenders move or anything like that need to be checked before welding them back together?

 

I like the idea here except one thing...won't the heat and the weld itself will induce cracking? I need to do mine and am looking into the industrial adhesive they use to bond doors and panels on new cars. Anybody look at that?

 

The adhesive only really works with 2 pieces of flat metal. They over lap them about an 1" and then glue that edge. It wont hold very well if the metal is uneven such as the corners around the cowl. I have to do mine soon and thought of that but decided against it because I don't think it will bond well enough. My .02

 

My 92 has the cowl cracked on both sides also. At some point I too will have to do the same fix. Man I hate to tear her down just to do the cowl work. But I guess that's the joy of driving a classic ole ride.

 

I spoke to a local body shop, and one tech said that he's done the cracks before. They weld the pieces back together, 5 hrs each side including tear down and reassembly. Just over $1k for the repairs, I'd attempt it myself, but I'm not sure if I trust my welding skills just yet.

 

Been there and done that! I tried welding the cracks alone and they just re cracked again in a short time. That was back when we could still get the repair pieces from dodge. When I got those from dodge, there were less than a dozen left in the dodge inventory.

I have another one to do soon. I would reinforce the cracks like someone here on the list did a while ago.

Also next time I would just remove one fender at a time and leave the hood attached. Keeps things aligned better.

Tom