I posted about this once and got some mixed results but I have some new information and hopefully it narrow down the location of the clog.

When it rains, water leaks into the cabin onto the carpet. Some people had said this was a windsheild leak but it isnt. It rained really bad recently ( Im in WA) and had to mak an emergency stop and water sprayed out of the upper air vents.

I can sometimes hear the water moving around as though its in the dash somewhere. So my question is, where would be the source of the clog if the water was building up to a point where is comes out of the air vents? And how do I unclog it?

 

Check out the air intake plenum under the wiper grille. If the drains clog water can get into the vent system. The drains are two pipes running from the bottom of the plenum and alongside the right and left inner fenders...sorta alongside the engine

Cheers
DD

 

There is nothing in those two holes from what I can see and shoved coat hangers as far as I could down there. Where is the outlet pipe? Have any pics to make sure I'm doing this properly?

 

wow i posted this exact topic like a week ago and noone responded to it lol...eeh maybe noone saw it. but at least i have something to try now. thanks for the suggestion doug.

 

Theres a rubber hose that goes from the firewall to the left front fender. I had the same problem and the hose was pluged.

 

There's two drains from the cowling, one per side. You can get to them by pulling the grille out, or just pull the tubes (they should just slide together) and go up from the front. Mine had an old rag wadded up and stuffed into the pass side drain plug from the previous owner.

Here's a pic if it helps at all...

 

matjohns no offense but i have no idea what you are pointing to in either picture haha

 

In the first picture I drew a line along one of the tubes that drains water from the cowling to the engine compartment. The second picture is just a side shot that shows where the two drains come from.

 

oh so the line is actually going over the hose?

 

Next to it, yeah.

 

Take a tall glass of water and pour it into the intake plenum. Wait a couple seconds. If water hits to the ground behind the front wheels, your drains are clear.

If nothing comes out, or you get a mere drip, the drains are clogged.


Cheers
DD

 

As long as we're talking about drains we might as well mention the evaporator drains as well.

With the car safely elevated, crawl under and look at the floorboards just aft of where the engine and transmission come together. You'll see two drain tubes poking thru the body, one on each side of the transmission. Use a stiff wire (I use a coathanger) and gently probe into the tubes.

Get ready for a gush of smelly water.

These drains can also be reached from inside the cabin if you remove the console "cheek panels". The tubes can simply be wiggled off the evaporator case. You'll want some big towels to soak up the water or some other method od preventing the water from simply pouring onto you carpets.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug, My AC compressor currently doesnt have a belt on it so I would hope that no water would accumulate there. I simply removed the tubes on either end of the drains that attach to the plenum so the water will drain directly into the bay. Hopefully that's better than the carpet in my car.

 

I cleared mine
out today, the drivers side is WAY easier to take off with the outer side of the air cleaner removed.
I could tell before removing them they had crap in them because I could feel leaves and stuff inside when i squeezed them.

Passengers side drain tube

Drivers side at firewall

drivers side tube with half of air box removed

My Pass side tube before being cleaned

After LOL