Water intrusion...or wet passenger floor

The symptom- damp carpet on the passenger side only. Not really soaked, just damp. And enough that a shop vac shows water droplets inside it's hose....and enough to 'feel'.

I've poked around here and discovered that there could be blockage in the AC drain tube which I did locate in the engine compartment...put a vacuum and hose on it but it didn't produce any water. Was reluctant to put compressed air into it not knowing what's happening on the other end, but that'll be step 2.

2 questions:

1. It's winter here in the Northeast and has seldom been above 30 degrees, so consequently, the AC hasn't been turned on for months. Does the Heater/AC unit still draw condensation when it's heat only? Asking because if it does I'll dig further into the drain tube. Maybe there's blockage.

2. Are there any other known seals/drains that are suspect? I'm thinking back to an old VW that I had where the battery compartment sat just below the windshield and the drain below it would block forcing water up and into the firewall area and collecting on the passenger floor. As an aside, the main computer on the VW is located in a well below the passenger carpet. That was some expensive water.

Everything that is obvious to look at for a leak- door/window,firewall- seems nice and dry.

Thx for any pointers-

 

Possibly the Cowl Sealing

http://crrtraining.com/CRR2/assets/pdfs/techinfo_10.pdf

 

^ Hey, thanks for that. It gives me a few more clues as to what may be going on and places to look.

-off to find the blower motor

 

I'll just put these links here.

 

^thanks for that. Looks like I've got some additional reading to do!

 

Doesn’t the AC unit kick in when you use the defrost setting, even with heat?

 

It's your cowl, tons of posts how to fix.

 

From a quick bit of research here, I'd bet you're right.

Looks like I'll need to remove the cowl and see going on underneath. From the outside it all appears fine, but I obviously can't see what's happening under and where/how it seals. It's hard to tell from the reading if the issue is the cowl itself or some poorly sealed surface underneath. I'm rooting for poor sealing as a quick search indicates that the cowl as a replacement part as shown in the recall fix is approaching $300. a roll of butyl rubber is less

Thx-

 

Something else to check would be a clogged AC drain line. If that clogs, then youll have this same issue

 

Thx for that. I found what I believe is the drain hose and did put a vacuum on it (with no obvious blockage). Haven't dug further into it, but as that is an easy thing I'll start there when the weekend comes and if the weather holds.

 

Yea mine was from a blocked drain plug. When I had my frame replaced I asked them to clean it out and I haven't had any issues since then (middle of summer 2019).

 

...and if anyone can confirm- I'm assuming that this is the A/C drain? This is the passenger side firewall-

 

Sounds like one of your passengers pee peed

 

Yeah, that looks like the one.
It’s the one that likes to drip on the frame when the A/C is on.

You can add a piece of hose and route it to a different location.
Here is a good example
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/air-conditioning-drain-hose.172179/#post-9079408

 

Think Id better go wash my hands

 

$300 bux, lol, it's been years, but if memory serves me right I think it was a piece from Rubbermaid hard plastic bin I cut out and used to fix it.

 

I haven't removed mine yet to see what's hiding underneath. Cowl seems to be in good shape...at least from looking. Planning on removing it when the weather is better and then trying to seal any seams I find. Right now temps are below freezing and with my luck I'd break the frozen cowl and be worse off than before. And out $300

 

It's not a part that you can see without taking everything apart.

Once you take it apart you will understand. It's not that the cowl failed or broke or has a leaky seal. It's the design of the cowl. You can't see it until you open it up.

In simple terms, the way the original cowl was designed, if a high enough volume of water drains through the plastic vents at the base of your windshield, the water builts up in the channel. The cowl on the clean air intake isn't designed for that, so water flows into the clean air/outside air intake for the AC and then flows into the passenger side.

 

Thanks for the description. Makes perfect sense now.

 

Anyone know the part# for the grommet that ac condensation line goes through into the engine bay?