I think I’ve finally solved the problem with the split in the upper cowling failing to seal properly, allowing water to get into the bottom of engine compartment. See attached pictures. It requires the purchase of a 304 stainless steel spring latch – B006IHW06Q. If you do an Internet search on that item number you will see it on Amazon for $19.45.
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Spring-Loaded-Polished-Locking/dp/B006IHW06Q
From the pictures, it should be obvious how this works. The spring load on the latch pulls the two halves of the cowling together, forcing them to mate as intended and keeps pressure on them to stay together.
Be careful about mounting – measure and mark closely. The bottom hole for the vertical piece should be just above the support rim inside the cowling, allowing space for the SS flat washer. I used #5 X 12 mm metric SS pan-head screws. (A bit longer is OK.) The screws should be secured on the inside of the cowling with a SS flat washer, a SS lock washer, and a SS nut. You don’t want to make this extremely tight, because it will likely warp the cowling over time. I figured I wanted the springs to be about half of their total compression play, and located the vertical latch accordingly.
If for some reason this fix doesn’t prove permanent, I’ll post the reasons. But I see no reason why it would fail over time. Hope this helps all those owners out there who have been frustrated by this problem. Now, I wonder why Honda engineers didn’t come up with this simple fix.
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Spring-Loaded-Polished-Locking/dp/B006IHW06Q
From the pictures, it should be obvious how this works. The spring load on the latch pulls the two halves of the cowling together, forcing them to mate as intended and keeps pressure on them to stay together.
Be careful about mounting – measure and mark closely. The bottom hole for the vertical piece should be just above the support rim inside the cowling, allowing space for the SS flat washer. I used #5 X 12 mm metric SS pan-head screws. (A bit longer is OK.) The screws should be secured on the inside of the cowling with a SS flat washer, a SS lock washer, and a SS nut. You don’t want to make this extremely tight, because it will likely warp the cowling over time. I figured I wanted the springs to be about half of their total compression play, and located the vertical latch accordingly.
If for some reason this fix doesn’t prove permanent, I’ll post the reasons. But I see no reason why it would fail over time. Hope this helps all those owners out there who have been frustrated by this problem. Now, I wonder why Honda engineers didn’t come up with this simple fix.
