I thought I would follow up on my previous post about replacing scuttle drains, in case it may be of use to others. Turns out it wasn't the nightmare I had envisioned, but to be sure the driver's side drain replacement was quite tedious and tested my patience. Didn't need to take the dash apart, just the glove box insert for the passenger side. And also didn't need to take the front tires or wheel well liners off either.
The first photo shows the condition of the original drains - one was cracked in about eight places, and the other was completely severed where it exits the firewall. No wonder water dripped on my toes every time it rained. As I really wanted to get the replacements in place sooner than later, and also cringed at the cost of new OEM drains, I decided to try my local hardware store. I found a 1" ID rubber utility hose and bought four feet (two feet for each drain). They fit perfectly within the rubber grommets of the firewall, but needed a bit of liquid soap to get then to slide easily enough to push them through. Then from beneath the car I was able to reach up into the openings in the wheel well liners with a pair of long-handled channel lock pliers and pull the ends down to their positions near the suspension spring pans.
Beneath the glove box the bend was just too tight, and the hose crimped flat. Down to the hardware store for a 1" PVC street elbow. The hose end fit as it should, but as the drain flange on the scuttle pan is metric, and the elbow SAE, I needed to very carefully bore out the flange on the elbow using a 30mm forstner bit (second photo).
So, for those not concerned with using OEM parts exclusively, and not entering your Alfa in your local Concours d'Elegance, its a good solution for an everyday driver like mine. And it only cost $13, vs $75 for OEM with shipping.
![1607559]( "1607559")
![1607560]( "1607560")
The first photo shows the condition of the original drains - one was cracked in about eight places, and the other was completely severed where it exits the firewall. No wonder water dripped on my toes every time it rained. As I really wanted to get the replacements in place sooner than later, and also cringed at the cost of new OEM drains, I decided to try my local hardware store. I found a 1" ID rubber utility hose and bought four feet (two feet for each drain). They fit perfectly within the rubber grommets of the firewall, but needed a bit of liquid soap to get then to slide easily enough to push them through. Then from beneath the car I was able to reach up into the openings in the wheel well liners with a pair of long-handled channel lock pliers and pull the ends down to their positions near the suspension spring pans.
Beneath the glove box the bend was just too tight, and the hose crimped flat. Down to the hardware store for a 1" PVC street elbow. The hose end fit as it should, but as the drain flange on the scuttle pan is metric, and the elbow SAE, I needed to very carefully bore out the flange on the elbow using a 30mm forstner bit (second photo).
So, for those not concerned with using OEM parts exclusively, and not entering your Alfa in your local Concours d'Elegance, its a good solution for an everyday driver like mine. And it only cost $13, vs $75 for OEM with shipping.
