The autumn leaves have blown inside the hood vents at the bottom part of the outside of the front windshield. What is the easiest way to get these all out? Vacuum or blow out (would that even get them all?). And where do they go when you cannot see them anymore? I don't have to disassemble the darn dash or fenders do I?

Thanks Bruce

A match works nicely.

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

What annoys me about autumn are wet leaves falling on a wet car and then "bleeding" onto the paint. Of course a good coating of wax should protect the car, but my paint job doesn't hold wax well.

Here's a way I connected the vacuum cleaner as Michael suggests. Next time I'm gonna try some compressed air too.

This is a real source of rust on 240s kept in the woods! Seems like every one I buy is from the land of pine needles, acorns and holly trees.

Hey Art -

In the picture, is the hose really big enough to suck out the leaves, needles, etc? It looks small for that. Looks like a good idea, otherwise.

Regards,

Bob

:>)

PS The disclaimer is there for those who need it, you don't qualify. Sorry

Bob, you're right on. It works, but isn't what I'd design it to be.

The hose is that vinyl 7/8" ID stuff you see in the home center on reels. If I suck up an acorn that managed to fit through the cowl vent, it might get stuck where the vinyl meets the vac tool.

Much of the debris is small, but often a large tough leaf will just get stuck on the end. So I pull it in and out -- reminds me of liposuction I saw on TV -- and try to direct the kink in the hose to keep the end in the bottom of the channel.

I think a 1" clear flex tubing like you see on respirator equipment would work better. Anything larger would be difficult to thread very far into the channels.

Art Benstein wrote:

I think a 1" clear flex tubing like you see on respirator equipment would work better.

Art,

how about a flexible electric conductor tube?

Radio Shack may have that size; but all electronic component stores have that type of hose(not split of coarse).

You have a good idea there.

For myself, I use high pressure water in the air inlet and let the stuff dry a little where ever it ends up. Then I suck up the stuff that ends up in the door sills.

If you pull the carpet up along the door sills, you can access some large round plastic plugs (1.5-2" diamter) that pop out, revealing leaves. I think this is where they end up when the fall down through the cowl vent. On my 240, if i pour water down each side of the cowl vent, it drains out just behind the front wheels. You might want to make sure your drains are clear. I know that for the 240, there is a Volvo part that is a plastic vent cover (one piece for pre-'86, two pieces for '86-'93). I don't have the part number, however.

I've been reasonably successful (the last few years) using the leaf blower as a vacuum.

Apparently they eventually drop down and plug up the drain hose at the evaporator--a nasty cleaning job.

For 700/900 cars, remove the cowl screen (see the FAQ for instructions) and clean out the chamber beneath. This is also a good time to re-affix the screen that keeps the area clean.