rain water entering engine compartment

With the exception of the known problem "Hyo Silver" mentioned on the Gen II, there is no problem with small amounts of water in the engine compartment and an occasional hose down. I do not advise using high-pressure though!

I wash my engine bay occasionally just to keep dirt build up from accumulating. This makes the car a pleasure to work on on those rare occasions that I have to do something under the hood. After washing, I go for a drive on the highway to make sure all the water is blown out and the heat of the engine gets the stuff in the cracks.

The problem with the cowl was fixed, but in some of the early Gen II's, a large amount of water from the plenum under the cowl would pour right on top the engine. The problem with this is the recessed ignition coils over each of the spark plugs. Normally this area is dry except when driving in the rain, and in that case, the warmth of the engine evaporates any accumulation. The cowl leak problem caused standing water that would eventually rust the spark plugs and cause misfires when the rust started bypassing the spark voltage. If you have a 2004/2005, this might concern you, but I'm sure by now you've already had the issue if it affected your car.

 

you could just wax the areas where the water sits.

maybe it would shed off by itself

 

I understand what your saying. All my gm's had a channel or lip on that part of the finder so the water that went through the seam of the fender/hood would have to follow the channel down to the front of the finder and then onto the ground.

 

Thanks for the info. My question is this; my wheel well protective cover on the drivers side is missing due to hitting an animal. How long can or should I go without having repairs done, do you think?