fire730
02-06-2008, 11:09 PM
If you find out that your passenger side carpet is wet after it rains or you wash your truck and you know it is not a clogged evaporator core drain here is a way to fix the leak without taking out the whole under dash AC assembly. I have performed this repair on a friend's 95 Tahoe and it should be the same on any obs style C/K Truck, Tahoe, or Suburban. Here are a few pics of when I just did it on my 98 Tahoe.
Sorry if the pics are too big. I am better at working on cars than I am with working on computers. :cool:
First remove your wiper arms and take out the screws holding down the wiper cowl and remove the cowl. I don't have pics for this but I am sure anyone can figure this out.
I didn't remove the hood but if you have an extra set of hands it will make it alot easier to seal up the leak if the hood is not in the way.
Here are the tools that I used. Use the screwdrivers to carefully pry out the panel.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior028.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior028.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After you remove the wiper cowl you will notice that there is a cover on the passenger side to keep water from falling straight down into the fresh air vent. This is what you want to remove. The tape is there to protect the paint and the windshield molding if I were to slip with the scraper. DO IT just to be safe.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior024.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior024.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now just use your heat gun and your scraper and get the seam sealer off so you can get this panel out. Be careful when doing this and try not to not bend it too much when you are trying to get it out because this piece does have to be used again. When you are cleaning off the residual seam sealer do not let it fall down the fresh air vent because it will get stuck in your blower motor.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After you get this piece out you will see the hole that is for the fresh air inlet for the AC. This is where the leak is coming from.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior027.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior027.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now you seal it up around the black piece that sticks out past the body metal. Take out the two bolts that hold your rdiator overflow to the firewall because they get in the way when you are sealing the hole. I used bathroom caulk that says it is water proof and stays flexible. In the pics it is still wet. It is supposed to dry clear but after you put the panel back over it you will not see it so it doesn't really matter what it looks like. I used way more than I probably needed to but I just wanted to make sure it was sealed all the way. It does get harder on the side by the fender because it does get a little tight but it can be done.(this is where it helps alot to have the hood off if possible) Just put a big glob of silicone on your finger and fish your hand in there and just seal around the edge of the vent.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior031.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior031.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now I just put some duct tape over the hole and the one next to it so the caulk would have time to dry and I could still drive the truck and not have to worry about water getting into the vent while it was open in case it rained.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior032.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior032.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After the caulk dries just run some water though the wiper cowl area to make sure the leak is gone. Then just seal up the panel you removed with some regular silicone and put the wiper cowl back on. You will see some of the body panel you resealed through the cowl vent so either use a silicone close to the color of your truck or spray some paint on the outside of the silicone so it will not be visable from the outside (if you are anal like I am). Also make sure you put some silicone in the screw hole for the cowl that is directly over the fresh air vent to keep it from dripping into the vent.
Sorry for the long winded post but hopefully I covered the job good enough for everyone. It took me longer to write this post than it did to do the job.
Sorry if the pics are too big. I am better at working on cars than I am with working on computers. :cool:
First remove your wiper arms and take out the screws holding down the wiper cowl and remove the cowl. I don't have pics for this but I am sure anyone can figure this out.
I didn't remove the hood but if you have an extra set of hands it will make it alot easier to seal up the leak if the hood is not in the way.
Here are the tools that I used. Use the screwdrivers to carefully pry out the panel.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior028.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior028.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After you remove the wiper cowl you will notice that there is a cover on the passenger side to keep water from falling straight down into the fresh air vent. This is what you want to remove. The tape is there to protect the paint and the windshield molding if I were to slip with the scraper. DO IT just to be safe.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior024.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior024.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now just use your heat gun and your scraper and get the seam sealer off so you can get this panel out. Be careful when doing this and try not to not bend it too much when you are trying to get it out because this piece does have to be used again. When you are cleaning off the residual seam sealer do not let it fall down the fresh air vent because it will get stuck in your blower motor.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After you get this piece out you will see the hole that is for the fresh air inlet for the AC. This is where the leak is coming from.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior027.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior027.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now you seal it up around the black piece that sticks out past the body metal. Take out the two bolts that hold your rdiator overflow to the firewall because they get in the way when you are sealing the hole. I used bathroom caulk that says it is water proof and stays flexible. In the pics it is still wet. It is supposed to dry clear but after you put the panel back over it you will not see it so it doesn't really matter what it looks like. I used way more than I probably needed to but I just wanted to make sure it was sealed all the way. It does get harder on the side by the fender because it does get a little tight but it can be done.(this is where it helps alot to have the hood off if possible) Just put a big glob of silicone on your finger and fish your hand in there and just seal around the edge of the vent.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior031.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior031.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Now I just put some duct tape over the hole and the one next to it so the caulk would have time to dry and I could still drive the truck and not have to worry about water getting into the vent while it was open in case it rained.
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/?action=view¤t=truckinterior032.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/dcab03/truckinterior032.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After the caulk dries just run some water though the wiper cowl area to make sure the leak is gone. Then just seal up the panel you removed with some regular silicone and put the wiper cowl back on. You will see some of the body panel you resealed through the cowl vent so either use a silicone close to the color of your truck or spray some paint on the outside of the silicone so it will not be visable from the outside (if you are anal like I am). Also make sure you put some silicone in the screw hole for the cowl that is directly over the fresh air vent to keep it from dripping into the vent.
Sorry for the long winded post but hopefully I covered the job good enough for everyone. It took me longer to write this post than it did to do the job.