Removing Cowl/Wipers For Factory STB Install

Hi all,

After trading in my PP '17 GT for an Auto '17 GT, I am looking at adding some of the performance pack parts back to the car. I'm starting with a factory take off strut tower brace and K brace. I am also going to be installing the extra bracket that ties the K brace to the firewall. It is my understanding that installing that extra brace requires removing the cowl, and that requires removing the windshield wipers. I am told that the wipers are a tapered press fit, and can be a pain to get off. I am going to attempt this install this weekend and would like some pointers to anyone that has doe it. I know they make windshield wiper arm pullers. Would it be wise to pick one of these up? Will it work with all the plastic of the cowl surrounding it?

Also, if anyone would like to save me some time, could you point me in the right direction for the hardware and fasteners for this install. It looks like it's just nuts, but being this is a used, takeoff brace kit, I am not getting any hardware with it.

Thanks,
Shawn

You can use gear pullers to get them off. As for hardware, 5 of bolt W717964-S450B.

I bought one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J2R5ES4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Works great!

Thanks BmacIL for sending me the part number for those bolts. Saved me some time there. I assume the rest of the hardware I will reuse off the car (nuts on top of strut tower) Remember the parts I'm installing are take offs and came with no hardware.

I can get one of these type pullers from the local northern tool .https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Windshie...&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wiper+arm+puller&psc=1

I can't tell if it would work well or not, as there is a lot of plastic around the arm itself. If I have to order a puller, I won't be doing it this weekend.

Also, from what people say, there is no way you can install that small firewall bracket without removing the cowl. I am assuming that's correct?

Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn 94 GT said:

Thanks BmacIL for sending me the part number for those bolts. Saved me some time there. I assume the rest of the hardware I will reuse off the car (nuts on top of strut tower) Remember the parts I'm installing are take offs and came with no hardware.

I can get one of these type pullers from the local northern tool .https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Windshie...&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wiper+arm+puller&psc=1

I can't tell if it would work well or not, as there is a lot of plastic around the arm itself. If I have to order a puller, I won't be doing it this weekend.

Also, from what people say, there is no way you can install that small firewall bracket without removing the cowl. I am assuming that's correct?

Thanks,


Shawn

Click to expand...

No need to remove the wipers . Just take all of those plastic retainers off and lift that portion of the drivers side up . Unbolt the bolts and finees the cowl brace into positin . Start with the middle bolt when you are mounting .. work from the driver side first . Position the passenger side mounting on the strut second .. it's apita but manageable with out removing the wipers and all that sealer shit ..

Oh yeah no need to buy bolts either they should be already on the cowl . Ya just can't see them .
Be Cool Stay Cozy ..

Brian V said:

No need to remove the wipers . Just take all of those plastic retainers off and lift that portion of the drivers side up . Unbolt the bolts and finees the cowl brace into positin . Start with the middle bolt when you are mounting .. work from the driver side first . Position the passenger side mounting on the strut second .. it's apita but manageable with out removing the wipers and all that sealer shit ..

Oh yeah no need to buy bolts either they should be already on the cowl . Ya just can't see them .
Be Cool Stay Cozy ..

Click to expand...

To install the firewall to cowl brace you have to remove the whole cowl panel which requires removing the wipers. Yes, the strut tower to cowl K-brace can be installed easily without removing the wipers.

Yeah, I know you can get the two piece STB kit that most places sell under the cowl panel with out removing it. Still looks like it would be a pita though.

Brian V, what sealer are you referring to? I was under the impression that the cowl panel should just lift off once the wipers are pulled. Maybe some clips and such, but I don't think there's any sealer.

Thanks,
Shawn

It seals to the windshield on the drivers side .

That's weird, I've removed a ton of various generation Mustang cowl panels, and have never had any sealed to the windshield. Maybe stuck to the windshield adhesive. Either way, I guess I will be finding out.

When I took the plastic cowl panel off of my 2016, there was no sealer at all anywhere on it. The hardest part was getting the wiper arms off, but the puller I bought made that easy.....

Ok Rob, as far as the cowl removal goes. After all the plastic clips are removed and wipers are pulled, did yours just lift off? Mine seems very firmly attached to the bottom of the windshield. I don't know if it's clips or sealant or what, but I had mine pried up pretty far, and it seemed like it was not even close to coming loose.

With all that being said, I just did this without taking the cowl panel off. If you pull just the passenger side wiper, you can get it up high enough to angle the bracket in. It will take some patience and maneuvering, but without too much trouble I got it in there.

The problem is that conventional wisdom would have you just slide it straight in and bolt it down. That's not how it works. you have to tilt it at about a 40 degree angle to get it under tabs that protrude from the firewall. The bolts go through these tabs and into those weird round nuts that are welded to the bottom of the bracket itself. It's hard to get the cowl panel up high enough to angle the bracket in. You will definitely have to pull the pass wiper. I bought a windshield wiper arm puller to get it off, and I'm glad I did. It wouldn't budge just by taking the nut off. Puller had it off in about 30 seconds. There are faint marks on the windshield for positioning it when you put it back on. With that wiper arm pulled I managed to shove a plastic 20oz Coke bottle between the cowl and firewall to hold it up while I tightened down the bolts. Didn't need anything other than a 13mm ratcheting wrench. I screwed them most of the way in with just my fingers. I had that much room.

I didn't use a torque wrench on these fasteners, but they are steel on steel, so you don't have to worry too much about striping them. Just snug them down good. I would recommend using a torque wrench on the STB to strut tower studs. Torque on the low side too, as I've heard of them breaking off. The studs are welded to the body of the car, so fixing them is a pita.

As far as hardware goes, you will need three additional black 8mm bolts like the one that get removed to take off the faux plastic "brace". The brace bolts to the firewall with 3 bolts, these are the extra ones you need. The rest go in the actual K brace. You can reuse the other 4 bolts that you remove to take off the plastic brace. In total you will need 7 of those bolts, once again 4 of them will be on the car already. The part # is listed above. You will also need two additional nuts for the studs on the driver's side tower. You will only need these if you didn't get a "kit" or yours came with no hardware. I bought a OE take off setup, and it came with no hardware.

After you have this brace in, the rest of the install is cake, and well documented, so I won't cover that here. I just found a lot of conflicting info regarding this brace so I hope this sets it straight for people in the future.

Overall I would give this bracket install about a 4 out of 10 on the difficulty meter if you have some mechanical experience.

Now for some visual aides.


You can kinda see how this works. The brace has to go under the tabs on the firewall. This means tilting the brace up till it hits the cowl, so it has to be up pretty high.

My super high tech cowl holding solution. This gives you an idea of how far up you can get the cowl. It's pretty flexible. Even moved up this much it still had no sign of coming lose from the base of the windshield. Reposition bottle as needed for access. It also helps to remove the engine cover for more clearance.

As you can see there's no problem getting in there to tighten them up.


This is a good view of the tabs you have to get under.

You could probably use a two jaw puller here, but I used this. I didn't want to wait on Amazon to bring me one. I got this one locally at Northern Tool for 13 bucks.

Hope this nails it down for everyone else.

Edit: Just so we have all this info in one post, here are the part #'s for the hardware.

Bolts: W717964-S450B You will need three of these to add to the 4 that will be removed from the car to do the install.

Nuts: W712334-S440 You will need two of these if you bought a used or take off brace kit. The other two came on the car. If you bought a vendor kit you will get them with the kit.

The third bracket that attaches the K brace to the firewall is part number FR3Z-63016A52-A

Shawn

I bought those W715135-S440 nuts (they told me the S440 is just the coating) and they were slightly smaller outside, and a finer thread. I made the parts hooligan look up what they should be and he said...W712334-S440 of course no stock.
I'll be checking a different dealer (and carrying an original). Maybe GT and V6 have different size studs on the shock tower?

Otherwise, you did exactly as I did. Well, my NASA approved holder upper was different! lol

Wiper removal (hold my beer version):
loosen wiper nut, but leave it on to protect threads,
wood block under wiper to support,
tap with rubber mallet or another wood block on top of nut on shaft,
wiper shaft should pop loose.

I was able to install the Ford Performance Strut Tower Brace (M-20201-M) on my non-PP 2016 GT Premium on Wednesday night in about 30 minutes. I did not even come close to needing to remove the wipers in order to remove the two bolts under the cowl.

The one I got from CJPonyParts came with four nuts for use on the strut tower itself. As far as mods go, they don't come much easier than this one.

Now I just need the weather to warm up a bit again so I can install the Ford hood struts and Steeda Rear Subframe Support Brace.

Canuckican, this is where the confusion on this install comes from, and why you get so many different responses. If you read the thread, this thread is not about installing the actual strut tower brace, and black, metal k brace. This is about installing the third bracket that comes from the factory on PP cars, and cars that come from the factory with 20 inch wheels. This brace does not come with any of the kits that are sold by vendors. This is not a part that you installed, hence why you didn't have to mess with the wiper arms.

On another note, I am waiting on my hardware to come from my local Ford dealership today. With any luck it's right, and I can get the correct part numbers for the hardware listed so we can put this one to bed

Oh and so I can finish up my own install as well ha ha.

Shawn