[Tasty]

Originally Posted by SpitAndDirt

Just some FYI for some of you 96-98 owners. I too had the passenger side leak out of the A/C box. Only my leak was not directly under the fan motor, but during a hard rain, it would leak directly onto the floor mat. So if anyone sat there and it rained, my passenger's socks would get dripped on. Anyway, the problem with mine is that prior to my ownership, someone had tried to gain access to the heater core by removing the plastic panel that is at the lowest point of the A/C box. They ended up cracking the plastic to an extent that without really close observation, the leak looked as though it was coming from the bottom of the windshield. Shadows and dust masked the real culprit. I presume they were trying to access the heater core without removing the whole dash carrier. I needed to replace my evaporator anyway, so I ended up pulling the entire dash out and cleaning everything. When I disassembled the A/C box I discovered the crack. I siliconed the crack from the inside and I haven't had a problem since. I should also warn everyone that the rubber seals in and around the A/C box tend to not be perfectly installed even from the factory, also contributing to leaks. Just my personal experience. And one more thing, my A/C box was filthy. There is a wire screen that is installed after the evaporator. Is helps to keep condensation from coming through the vents and spraying you in the face. Dust, dirt, grime, and small bugs all were found trapped in the evaporator and screen. If your A/C doesn't seem as efficient as you think it should be, and you've already tried swapping the fan in hopes of getting more airflow, you might just have to end up doing a full cleaning of your A/C box. My evaporator surface area was reduced to nearly half because of the buildup. Hope this helps someone. -Chris

So there is no other way to access the evaporator than to remove the ENTIRE dash? I want so badly to clean my evaporator because EVERYONE who has done it claims major performance gains in A/C system. There has got to be an easier way than taking the whole dash out. What a pain, especially if GM knew it would get dirty.