In the last week, there has been a lot of water dripping on the PS floor. My guess is it's a clogged evaporator. How do I check and unclog it? DOes the system need to be evacuated? Or can I disconnect the evaporator enough to unclog it?
A Lot of Water dripping on PS floor
- Thread starter arcteryx
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There should be a black rubber hose going through the firewall to drain the a.c. is it still there? If so blow it out. MIke
are you sure its water?
and i assume you mean passenger side when you say "PS" correct?
if so, i know the bottom corner of my windshield leaks and water drips down behind the ecu and into the pass. floor. (waiting on a seal to replace it) so for now its in the garage.
and i assume you mean passenger side when you say "PS" correct?
if so, i know the bottom corner of my windshield leaks and water drips down behind the ecu and into the pass. floor. (waiting on a seal to replace it) so for now its in the garage.
- Thread starter
- #6
It's mostly water. Not antifreeze. I just had a new head out on less than 1000 miles ago, so it would be nice and bright. yes, PS is Passenger side.
Here is a pic. I am pointing to what was full of water. I traced this up to the ??charcoal canister?? (whatever is in the corner nearest the PS seat) and drained it out. Should I have?
IMG_20110630_155021 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Here is a pic. I am pointing to what was full of water. I traced this up to the ??charcoal canister?? (whatever is in the corner nearest the PS seat) and drained it out. Should I have?
IMG_20110630_155021 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Look behind the passenger side tire and you will see a black tube hanging down. Look hard; you'll find it. It comes through the fire wall.
That is the AC condensate drain. Take some weedeater string or something else appropriate and fish it up from the bottom and clean it out. Your condensate pan is overflowing as the drain is plugged. If you use something really stiff like a coat hanger then be very careful or you can puncture your coils.
Edit: Just reread your post and looked closer at the photo. I think that is the tube that I was describing but I can't be sure. Run the A/C and see if the tube is dripping water underneath now.
That is the AC condensate drain. Take some weedeater string or something else appropriate and fish it up from the bottom and clean it out. Your condensate pan is overflowing as the drain is plugged. If you use something really stiff like a coat hanger then be very careful or you can puncture your coils.
Edit: Just reread your post and looked closer at the photo. I think that is the tube that I was describing but I can't be sure. Run the A/C and see if the tube is dripping water underneath now.
- Thread starter
- #8
@War- yea that appears to be the problem. I tried the hose, but no luck. I disconnected the rubber hose from the evap and will try some weedeater string without going through the tube. Does the charcoal canister ever clog?
- Thread starter
- #9
Update- A little history- 2 weeks ago I got my car detailed. I had no problems before the detail but this occurred after the detail.
My wife drove it today and said it smelled like gas fumes. I told her to stop by the cruiser shop and just have them look at it. In 3 minutes, he figured it out. The outlet hose on the charcoal canister for the fumes was attached to the drain hose of the condensate drain. DOH!
So the detailer must have seen two hoses hanging and thought they went together. Tubes are now separated and problem appears to be solved.
My wife drove it today and said it smelled like gas fumes. I told her to stop by the cruiser shop and just have them look at it. In 3 minutes, he figured it out. The outlet hose on the charcoal canister for the fumes was attached to the drain hose of the condensate drain. DOH!
So the detailer must have seen two hoses hanging and thought they went together. Tubes are now separated and problem appears to be solved.
i had a similar problem, my ac was blowing white fog because it wasnt letting water out of the evaporator, so i pulled it apart and it was full of leaves, i coudnt get the evaporator housing fully apart without breaking the gas lines and i didnt want to get it regassed. so i put a thin extention on the vaccume cleaner and sucked it all out.
took about half an hour from start to finish and worked great. may be worth a shot
took about half an hour from start to finish and worked great. may be worth a shot
On my 85 4Runner and my 97 LC I used a BG Products A/C cleaner kit. The kit comes with two cans, one can of foam for the coils in the evaporator and the other is a can of spray cleaner for the duct lines. The kit also comes with a small connector and hose for the foam can.
You basically drill a small hole in the side of the evaporator housing, attach the connector, and then attach the can to the connector via the hose. You then spray in the contents and it cleans the evaporator coils. I cleaned my coils with a vacuum first and then did this cleaning and an incredible amount of brown gunk dripped out the evaporator drain tube (on both vehicles). I don't remember exactly how you use the duct cleaner but it comes with instructions (some combination of running the A/C and spraying the contents in the intake ducts with the A/C on recirculation).
The kit wasn't cheap ($30??) but I thought it well worth the cost and effort. You can buy it online. I was able to get mine from a local dealership but most won't sell it to you as they would rather charge you $100+ to "clean" your A/C system (using this kit).
I would recommend this kit to anyone with an old vehicle that has never had the A/C system cleaned.
You basically drill a small hole in the side of the evaporator housing, attach the connector, and then attach the can to the connector via the hose. You then spray in the contents and it cleans the evaporator coils. I cleaned my coils with a vacuum first and then did this cleaning and an incredible amount of brown gunk dripped out the evaporator drain tube (on both vehicles). I don't remember exactly how you use the duct cleaner but it comes with instructions (some combination of running the A/C and spraying the contents in the intake ducts with the A/C on recirculation).
The kit wasn't cheap ($30??) but I thought it well worth the cost and effort. You can buy it online. I was able to get mine from a local dealership but most won't sell it to you as they would rather charge you $100+ to "clean" your A/C system (using this kit).
I would recommend this kit to anyone with an old vehicle that has never had the A/C system cleaned.
- Thread starter
- #12
That is probably what I need. I am sure I have 25 years of crud. I have cold AC, but the rear passengers get a little warm in the Texas heat. I think making it more efficient would help. Did you notice a difference after you cleaned it?
I can't say that I really noticed a difference in the cooling capability at the time but I think I did the cleaning when it wasn't too hot outside. I did notice that the A/C smelled better. Both vehicles were smoke free and you didn't really notice the A/C smelling too badly but they were both a bit musty (especially the 4Runner) and the cleaning got rid of that.
Very cold wet water spilling onto my right foot during a corner told me I had to clean out the air conditioner condensate drain on my '95 4runner. It has a short rubber tube through the firewall, then it switches to a metal tube to direct the drain water down, and possibly keep engine compartment air from entering. I couldn't get anything to follow all the bends in the tube so I removed it by pulling it off. The tube was clear so I used a plastic wire tie to clean out the rubber tube going through the firewall. That worked and my hand was quickly drenched with cold water. The location of where the tube goes through the firewall is just and inch or two to the engine side of the inner fender, and an inch or two up from the bottom of the inner fender metal. The end of the metal tube is just below the inner fender metal edge. I did most of the work on the tube by touch as it would have taken a bit of contortion to see it.
I found a good way to clean the AC drip tube. I have a stock 1990 FJ62 with 171,000 on it. Got it 6 months ago on Ebay and LOVE IT!!!!!!! I read through the thread regarding all of the water on the passenger side (PS) of the FJ62. As you said the drip tube was located two thirds of the way down the firewall. What I found to be the easiest was to clean it out when it is clogged, is to go inside the vehicle to the passenger footwell. Under the dash, on the bottom of the plastic covering, you can see the other side of the rubber tube that you saw from the engine side. Disconnect the tube and some water should come out. Take a large zip tie and stick it through the tube though to the engine side. Push it and pull it several times and the ribs of the zip tie will knock out any clog. Take out the zip tie and run it inside the plastic AC box as well to knock any clogs or mold loose. The last thing you should do is twist the rubber tube so the the drip end faces to the middle of the vehicle. This will prevent the drips from always landing on the frame. Reconnect the hose inside the vehicle and you should be good to go with less water on the PS. Hook Em Horns