And going back to the upper grommets, I am still not sure what purpose they serve in our trucks. It has been said to prevent water from splashing into the fresh air intake (passenger side) but that seems like an odd place to try and prevent that. For that, a better solution, and one I assume Ford intended initially, would be to place two speed nuts in the metal diverter up there and fabricate a shield.
Has anyone heard of other reasons for the grommets?