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Thanks for your input, but I've ruled out a clogged egress line. I've fished a wire through the firewall tube as well as blown a good amount of compressed air through it. There is no restriction when blowing air backwards through the exit tube.
It is my estimation that the box is cracked - like many others have experienced. I believe the box is unable to hold any water at all and likely just leaking out all condensate onto the floor.
I'll know for absolute certain when I gain access to the box, run the AC and see the source of the leak.
Please do, I'm interested to know the root cause. I've never experienced this problem on mine or at work. The GS platform in general doesn't seem to be that popular in my area so I don't see that many of them.
The evaporator box is a clam shell with the seam at a low point. Both my '98 GS' leak at the seam.
My fix , catch tray with drain, years ago is working fine. Even though it was planned as a temporary fix.
Well, I'm very happy to report a successful DIY secondary AC drain pan job!
After removing the console and lower dash, I could clearly see water dripping right from the glued seam of the evaporator box. The water was hitting on the hump, then running down on the drivers side, collecting on the floor (see photo #1). After pulling the driver side carpet back, all the padding was soaked. I mopped up what I could with towels and placed a fan directly on the padding and left it overnight to dry. In my particular case, water was exiting out of the original drain tube. However, there was also a slow, steady drip from the glued seam at its lowest point.
The breakdown to access the area was not nearly as bad as I had thought. I had everything out and the carpet pulled back in about an hour. The key is to take your time, not rush and pay attention to what you're doing so you can reassemble.
I spent the most time crafting, cutting and fitting the new drain pan. I followed the basic instructions by Patches but used the lid from a Plano 3860 Satchel box (my local store did not have a 3870). Was able to wedge it up underneath the leak with some wiggle-work and force. I drove a scrap piece of the lid up under the driver side of the pan to tilt the water towards the passenger side. They key is to use a Plano box that says, 'Satchel box' with carry handle. These style boxes have a deeper lid. The regular Plano boxes with no handles do not have lids that are deep enough to collect any amount of water.
At my local hardware store, I picked 1/4" plastic tubing and a plastic male threaded w/ barb fitting, I used a C-clip to keep the fitting in place on the inside of the pan, then had to cut off the access male threading - otherwise, water would not have been able to fall down through the fitting. Had to cut it down to be almost flush with the inside of the pan. I also used clear silicone around the fitting (see photo #5 for the fitting parts).
The tube was then routed down and out the existing hole on the passenger side that is used for an O2 sensor (see photo #2). I had to cut a slit in the rubber grommet to push the tube through and out the bottom (see photo #4)
In an effort to help others who may want to attempt this same fix, I've outlined the exact pieces that need to be removed and the sequence order to gain access to a leaking evaporator box on a Gen2 GS300 and slide a pan underneath. If you want photos of the parts removal, look at the ones posted here by "dcz". He did a good job photographing an entire dash teardown. If you're looking to do this secondary pan fix, you do not have to go that far, only the steps below are required. To reinstall, reverse the steps.
Remove top dual AC register piece w/Clock - I simply laid this piece on top of the dash, did not unplug the clock connector (pulls right out with a hook tool)
Remove ashtray unit - unplug 12v power outlet connector (pulls right out with hook tool)
Remove the AC and Radio unit - unplug all connectors (x4 10mm bolts)
Remove console trim piece - unplug VSC and ECT connectors (lifts right out - not bolted in)
Remove interior storage box of console - unplug 12v power outlet connector (x2 10mm bolts under small piece of felt)
Remove passenger side kick panel (phillips screws and snap tabs)
Remove glove box - unplug light connector and pop out square plate that has airbag connectors attached (x3 phillips screws, x2 10mm bolts)
Pull back passenger side carpet
Remove drivers side kick panel - unplug light and pop out ODB II connection block (phillips screws and snap tabs)
Pull back drivers side carpet - if carpet/padding is wet, you'll need to pop out the side trim piece at the door sill in order to pull back the carpet completely to dry
Note: To remove the glove box, I did not disconnect the passenger side airbag plug/connector from the top of the glove box. I simply popped the small square piece the connectors are snapped to out of the top of the glove box (see photo #3)
Huge thanks to Patches for sharing with such a workable, relatively easy fix vs. replacing the entire evaporator + box. Lots of money saved here folks.
-Brian
Photo #1 - the leaking evaporator box:
Photo #2 - pan and tubing installed:
Photo #3 - passenger side airbag connector on top of glove box - did not unplug, only removed the square insert that has the connectors attached:
Photo #4 - new drain tube exiting passenger side O2 sensor hole:
Photo #5 - Misc parts used to connect to the Plano lid/pan:
Here are some pictures of my fix for the leaky evaporator box. Disassembing this thing is just auful-it looks like they started with the box and built the car around it! Just capture the water & drain it outside.
I started with half a Plano tackle box lid, whittled on it to fit and put a drain in the corner(threaded bushing from a light fixture). A short tube to the Oxygen sensor wire exit in the passenger side floor gets rid of the water.
With a less than $20. and only a few hours, I think the problem is solved. Band-aid?? - not for me. It works, is out of sight and carpet is dry. Only problem is that I have a tackle box w/half a lid.
Used a paint roller tray. Worked great as the plastic tray is super flexible but returns to its original shape after pushing it into position.<br/>
Only had to pull back carpet on driver's side. Took about an hour. Works great.
Been lurking in the shadows for years and cannot begin to thank this forum enough from all the info I've been able to gather from here that has simply saved my ***.
Such a simple idea behind this leak... I would've never thought of it either. 👌👌
11-04-15, 07:37 AM
