Front Evaporator leak

[1FAT201]

Hi guys. Sorry if this has been asked, but I have searched and searched to little/no avail.
My 200 Series is leaking water from the seal where the evaporator meets the drain going through to the outside of the tunnel. The Drain has been unblocked, but the issue remains, resulting in water seeping down the back of the drain and into the seam of the tunnel which then channels down either side of the tunnel into the footwells. I know it's not a windscreen/roof rack leak, as you can physically feel the water at the job and is been hot 35°C here, with no washing or rain.
My question is how do I get to the seal to either replace it, or am I able to wrap it in silicone tape or silicone sealant?

I'm a bit devastated as I've only had the car 3 weeks and as the previous owner barely drove it, the issue didn't present itself prior.

Thank you in advance.

 

[1FAT201]

Can anyone please shed some light on this? My Air con is leaking so much water into my car, I'm going crazy...

 

[grinchy]

Can you help us better understand where the seal has failed? Perhaps then we can look at some part diagrams to see what parts are available?

I did look at the FSM and didn't find a failure mode for this type of water leak. The standard troubleshooting seems to focus on air flow, air temps, etc.

 

[1FAT201]

Hi. Thank you for your reply, not sure where my reply has gone.. attached is where is leaking from

 

[1FAT201]

Was this helpful, Grinchy?

 

[bloc]

Can anyone please shed some light on this? My Air con is leaking so much water into my car, I'm going crazy...

In a few years of close attention to this forum only a few people have posted thinking they had this issue, and most of those found out it was actually a roof, windshield, or cowl cover leak. If you do have a leak at the evap drain that is a new one and probably why you aren’t getting much help.

Do you know whether the AC in your vehicle was ever serviced? Most of ours don’t suffer that issue and I wonder whether the stock seal was ever disturbed

 

[bloc]

Also if you post the 12-14 digit chassis code (VDJ201L-GNxxx for example) we can try to identify the part number of the gasket, though after doing a quick look some of those AC box parts are quite small and difficult to resolve on the diagrams.

 

[1FAT201]

In a few years of close attention to this forum only a few people have posted thinking they had this issue, and most of those found out it was actually a roof, windshield, or cowl cover leak. If you do have a leak at the evap drain that is a new one and probably why you aren’t getting much help.

Do you know whether the AC in your vehicle was ever serviced? Most of ours don’t suffer that issue and I wonder whether the stock seal was ever disturbed

I know 100% it's leaking here and not draining. I have a car Chamois around it soaking the water up at the moment. I'll have to get the vin for you. Thank you for the reply.

 

[grinchy]

Do you have good access to the area? Can you wrap it all the way around, for example? if so, there is little harm in adding your own seal temporarily.
Something like this Seal self fusing silicone tape could be a candidate:
Amazon product ASIN B08B3JSJF3
Or brew up your own seal using silicone caulking or a plastic weld?

The next alternative is to haunt the parts counter at the local dealership and try to get the seal identified, and then install it . . .

 

[bloc]

I know 100% it's leaking here and not draining. I have a car Chamois around it soaking the water up at the moment. I'll have to get the vin for you. Thank you for the reply.

Note that I haven’t had as much luck using non US VINs, try to get the VDj200xxx number with a dash in the middle from the sticker in your door jamb. For instance mine is URJ200L-GNTEKA and should be the same as all US 200 LCs from that year, because we had so few options and it is more an identifier of the specs of the vehicle . but the VIN is more digits without a dash and unique to my vehicle.

 

[1FAT201]

Do you have good access to the area? Can you wrap it all the way around, for example? if so, there is little harm in adding your own seal temporarily.
Something like this Seal self fusing silicone tape could be a candidate:
Amazon product ASIN B08B3JSJF3
Or brew up your own seal using silicone caulking or a plastic weld?

The next alternative is to haunt the parts counter at the local dealership and try to get the seal identified, and then install it . . .

Unfortunately there's very little access... I'm worried if I do deal it, will the water just back up more as it's not draining correctly.. catch 22...

 

[grinchy]

Unfortunately there's very little access... I'm worried if I do deal it, will the water just back up more as it's not draining correctly.. catch 22...

I hear you. But wouldn’t it drain out the already verified to work AC drain? Maybe you can find the internal water source and use a string to direct it to the drain?

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

A few diagnositc thoughts:

1.) Can you verify that the leak only occurs with the AC on? In other words, can we eliminate the possibility of a roof/windshield leak?
2.) Can you verify that it's a water leak and not a coolant leak?

If so, then it is probably just a seal that goes around the "cooler cover" part # 8889160090. I've never repaired/replaced this, but it's worth checking to see if it is easily accessible from the passenger foot area. If so, I'd try to remove the cooler cover and inspect for any deformities in the seal. A replacement of this part is very cheap ($12 USD on Partsouq). Repair with silicon or similar product would also be a cheap alternative.

A similar problem was quite common on the 100 series, but so were leaks in the windshield.

 

[1FAT201]

A few diagnositc thoughts:

1.) Can you verify that the leak only occurs with the AC on? In other words, can we eliminate the possibility of a roof/windshield leak?
2.) Can you verify that it's a water leak and not a coolant leak?

If so, then it is probably just a seal that goes around the "cooler cover" part # 8889160090. I've never repaired/replaced this, but it's worth checking to see if it is easily accessible from the passenger foot area. If so, I'd try to remove the cooler cover and inspect for any deformities in the seal. A replacement of this part is very cheap ($12 USD on Partsouq). Repair with silicon or similar product would also be a cheap alternative.

A similar problem was quite common on the 100 series, but so were leaks in the windshield.

I have 200% confirmed it is the aircon causing the leak. It's not the windscreen leaking and only occurs when the ac is being used. Is very clear, clean and cold water.
The issue is, water isn't draining, so backing up and leaking at the join in the housing/ drain tube..
I'll look up the part you suggested, thanks.

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

I have 200% confirmed it is the aircon causing the leak. It's not the windscreen leaking and only occurs when the ac is being used. Is very clear, clean and cold water.
The issue is, water isn't draining, so backing up and leaking at the join in the housing/ drain tube..
I'll look up the part you suggested, thanks.

I'm glad that you can eliminate leakage and coolant, as those are more severe issues.

If you have a borescope camera, you might be able to see if something is blocking the drain...or if the box is full of yuk. I've used a cheap amazon one with success in other projects. Apologies if I'm recommending throwing money at the problem, without a clear diagnosis. Maybe you can borrow one, if you don't have one. It would certainly beat ripping the dash apart to diagnose your condensation drain problem. Not sure how easy it will be to snake into the heater box, but if you have access to one, it's worth a shot.

 

[1FAT201]

I'm glad that you can eliminate leakage and coolant, as those are more severe issues.

If you have a borescope camera, you might be able to see if something is blocking the drain...or if the box is full of yuk. I've used a cheap amazon one with success in other projects. Apologies if I'm recommending throwing money at the problem, without a clear diagnosis. Maybe you can borrow one, if you don't have one. It would certainly beat ripping the dash apart to diagnose your condensation drain problem. Not sure how easy it will be to snake into the heater box, but if you have access to one, it's worth a shot.

I do have a bore scope, I wonder where I could get into it. I'd almost drill a holes and plug it after...

 

[CharlieS]

Is there any way to go at it from the outside where it drains? If so, maybe run a length of string trimmer line up through to clear it out?

 

[grinchy]

The Drain has been unblocked, but the issue remains

OP said in first post the drain is functional . . .

 

[CharlieS]

OP said in first post the drain is functional . . .

But he also said “The issue is, water isn't draining, so backing up and leaking at the join in the housing/ drain tube..” in post #14.

 

[1FAT201]

Is there any way to go at it from the outside where it drains? If so, maybe run a length of string trimmer line up through to clear it out?

Toyota already did this.. it's still not draining correctly, and leaking at the join...