2003 Dakota R/T CC - On long trips (an hour or more) with the A/C on (we're in SoFla), I've noticed that there's a drip into the interior on the passenger side. Drip appears to be coming from somewhere beneath the glove box.
Wondering if this is due to the drain tube being slightly plugged or if it's something else. No problems on short trips, only longer ones where the A/C's been on for a while.
My theory is that when the A/C has been running for a while, the condensation accumulates and the partially blocked tube gets backed up, so stuff starts dripping into the passenger compartment.
If this is the case, what's the best way to clear the drain tube? If it's not the case, any/all comments/suggestions are most welcome. Thanks.
The drain tube is probably completely blocked. Mine was blocked when it left the factory. The dashboard had to be removed and the drain tube reinstalled. I was fortunate that my 02 Dodge Dakota Lemon was still under warranty.
Look under your truck when the AC is running. Condinstate should be dripping on the ground. I'll bet no water is dripping.
j-rod wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nospam.net:
There's plenty of drip onto the ground outside, so I don't think the thing is totally plugged - maybe only partially.
That said, I know there's some kind of vent tube coming out of the firewall way down below the tranny filler tube - had a big issue with that a while ago.
Long story short, the tube points directly towards the front of the truck, and there used to be a small gap between the tube and the firewall. Passenger side _always_ flooded big time until I found that the gap had to be sealed up to prevent the blow-back from the tube from entering the passenger compartment while the truck was moving. Bad design to have the tube not point down towards the road. Dealer sealed it up under warranty years ago.
The seal still looks ok around the drain tube and the drip I mentioned up top just started about 6 months ago. So I figure that over time the tube got partially blocked.
Here's a link that leads me to believe it's a clogged drain tube:
The fix for the interior leak is to take silicone rtv around the drain tube to firewall. DO THIS FROM UNDER THE HOOD. The foam seal that was installed at the factory didnt quite do the job.
the drain tube is on the passenger side firewall. you can carefully pull it out, its just a rubber plug with a hole, clean it, gently blow the hole that it came out of clean and then replace with some rtv. it will either work or it won't and the attempt is cheap.
there are other issues that can be causing damp floorboards in 93 dak's. if the area between the windshield tray and the inner fender fills up with leaves and debris then the water will not drain properly and will back up from rain and condesate. michael
I've looked for this tube on both by '91 & '03 Dakotas and failed to find it. Can you tell me where it is in relation to some other items, or does anyone have a drawing or picture?
it should be pretty obvious. i own both a 91 and a 93 dakota. it is on the passenger side firewall. it is a black rubber plug with a 90 degree tube molded in. i do not think this is a binary group so i won't venture to post a picture. what i will recommend is that if you have trucks of this generation, you should buy a shop manual and that will have a nice pretty diagram. michael
"nunya" wrote in news:Oz_Fl.29902$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews1.bellsouth.net:
The tube is right behind the passenger side exhaust manifold and transmission fill tube towards the bottom. Mine is just a hole in the firewall with the end of the tube sticking out about 1/8". Hard to get to with the 360 sitting right there in the way.
I've looked and looked and can't find anything that looks like that, Joe.. Anyone have a 2001 Dak that they can look at? Ours has the 4.7L, if that makes a difference.. A picture would be great.. email is fine....
I see a couple of steel pipes/tubes going to into the firewall, but can't locate anything on the passenger side firewall that looks remotely like a molded plug with tube or elbow on it..
mac, I don't have a molded plug or elbow - mine is just a tube sticking right out of the firewall. It has a ton of gunk all around it to seal the gap between the tube and the firewall so blowback doesn't enter the passenger compartment. I just took a pic and put it up on photobucket. See if this works:
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I rode around yesterday with max A/C on (85 degrees outside all afternoon) and checked beneath the truck after I parked it - there's a slight drip but nowhere near what it should be. I think the damn tube is partially clogged. Hell if I can figure out how to clean it out...
mac davis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
mac davis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I hear ya. Let me know how much room you have in your 4.7 - like it you can fit something down there to clear it out. I'd be hard-pressed to fit any kind of shop vac or even a coat hanger down there. The pic makes it look like there's tons of room but it's pretty damn tight.
Well, company showed up so I'm not going to get to it this morning.. Got 4 ladies singing and line dancing in the great room right now and I'm the DJ/KJ..
I'm thinking that if I can find the tube and have any room at all, I might try my vacuum pump from the lathe to "suck it out".. Just wondering WHAT it might be clogged with, though?
Partially answering my own post... My neighbor and I looked again this morning.. Can't find it! Any chance that a 2001 Dakota has a different system to drain it, or something?
If I can get the camera back today, I'll try a couple of pictures... maybe it's something that we're looking right at but don't recognize it..
mac davis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Dunno, mac. I thought the '01 through '03 was the same, but I didn't design 'em. That said, I can't see mine even in bright sunlight unless I'm shining a flashlight down behind the tranny fill tube.
FWIW, that's what happened to me. Until a friend of mine showed it to me with a light, I didn't see it either. Of course, my Dak's black which didn't help matters.
As for what's clogging it, I'd guess the typical A/C phlegm. Same kind of slime that drips out of your home's central A/C drain, then when you don't use it for a while it turns sort of hard.
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