1998 Eldorado Evaporator Drain Location

[BodybyFisher]

I need the location of the evaporator drain. I got under the passenger side with a bright light and dont see anything. I expected to see a hose hanging down.

The car has cold water coming out of the hvac box under the dash on to the floor. My 96 service manual doesn't help.

Anyone know how to clear this drain and where it's located? Thanks

[Logan]

See attached snip..

[BodybyFisher]

Logan, thanks, you know I looked up there and I didnt see it. I am going to put it up on a lift, I really cant get it up high enough, plus the undercarriage is so oily that I was covered with grease and oil after only 5 min of searching.

This car has been a one year problem solving adventure.

[rockfangd]

lol. I completely relate.

[winterset]

"Partially to fully obstructed by insulation" might mean some digging is in order with the given coordinates.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks winterset, I just now expanded that section on Logans pic, that is helpful.

[KHE]

Once you find the drain, use a piece of weed whacker line to clear the obstruction. Make sure you're clear of the flow of the stagnant water that will flow from the drain. It is possible that it's not clogged but the rubber elbow is missing. If that is the case, the air flow from driving the car will force the condensate to back up in the evaporator case and leak to the interior.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Kevin, is the rubber elbow attached to the HVAC cover that cracks over time?

I am putting it up on a lift with week. Thanks for the weed wacker line tip.

[KHE]

Thanks Kevin, is the rubber elbow attached to the HVAC cover that cracks over time?

I am putting it up on a lift with week. Thanks for the weed wacker line tip.

I don't think it is attached to the HVAC cover but if the elbow isn't present, the carpet will get wet.

[BodybyFisher]

Ok I have a mystery. Put it up on a lift and the drain is nowhere to be found. Three people looked including me. Stopped at dealer and spoke to their most seasoned old timer, he said it should be visible. I can only guess that its missing. He did say that similar to your BBQ, a spider can clog the drain.

I need to replace the heater pipes, when I pull the engine forward to create some room, maybe Ill get lucky and see it.

[airmike]

A different type car, (still gm) I looked for several minutes yesterday for the drain. It had no rubber boot pointing downward, just the pipe barely sticking out of the firewall. I would guess this one was 18-20 inches above the floorboard and definitely stopped up.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Mike, I gotta get in there and find it.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Kevin, is the rubber elbow attached to the HVAC cover that cracks over time?

I am putting it up on a lift with week. Thanks for the weed wacker line tip.

I don't think it is attached to the HVAC cover but if the elbow isn't present, the carpet will get wet.

I just saw your statement, if the elbow isn't present the carpet will get wet. Kevin explain why you say that, how would that happen? Wouldnt it still drip out even though the elbow is missing? What would cause the water to get inside if the rubber spout is missing

I think this car has had this problem for awhile a relative thought that it had a bad heater core because the carpet was wet a year ago, and he loaded the cooling system with tablets directly into the tank (putting them in the tank is wrong, as you know they must go into upper hose)

I am slowly rebuilding this car, its beginning to run good engine temps are now stable . Doing the knuckle bushings and rear air shocks next.

[KHE]

Thanks Kevin, is the rubber elbow attached to the HVAC cover that cracks over time?

I am putting it up on a lift with week. Thanks for the weed wacker line tip.

I don't think it is attached to the HVAC cover but if the elbow isn't present, the carpet will get wet.

I just saw your statement, if the elbow isn't present the carpet will get wet. Kevin explain why you say that, how would that happen? Wouldnt it still drip out even though the elbow is missing? What would cause the water to get inside if the rubber spout is missing

I think this car has had this problem for awhile a relative thought that it had a bad heater core because the carpet was wet a year ago, and he loaded the cooling system with tablets directly into the tank (putting them in the tank is wrong, as you know they must go into upper hose)

I am slowly rebuilding this car, its beginning to run good engine temps are now stable . Doing the knuckle bushings and rear air shocks next.

If the elbow is missing, the airflow while the car is moving will oppose the flow of the condensate out of the tube and it will back up into the HVAC case and spill out onto the carpet.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Kevin, now I understand

[BodybyFisher]

Finally I got in there and found the drain, it is in a very difficult location and the drain is nearly impossible to get at. It is at the low point of the evaporator box almost directly below the evaporator pipes.  It is to the rear of the steering rack bellow.  It is not obvious,  it's not a rubber spout, its a formed plastic hood with an opening that faces the rear of the car close to the firewall and the round drain faces down above the hood, I stuck my finger in the rear of the hood and felt the hole above it.  I drilled a 3/8 hole in the hood (see white dot) and stuck a wire up and it cut loose with water for 5 minutes.  I will epoxy a piece of plastic in place at some point to stop the air stream from potentially blowing water back up the drain at highway speeds.   I am not one to shortcut or take the easy way out but couldn't see a way to snake a wire up the drain as the angle was difficult so I used a 24 inch long drill bit and made a surgical hole in the hood right below the drain allowing the wire to go in easily.  But, the water has drained out and all is good now, I expect the AC will perform better with all of the water out of the evap box.

 

[rockfangd]

Thank you very much for the update. Glad you got yours done

[BodybyFisher]

No problem rockfangd, this had me stumped, I searched for about 45 min from the top and bottom, even removed the two bolts holding the heat shield above the CAT to look behind it and almost gave up and caught a glimpse of the rounded part from underneath.  Its easier to get at by removing the wheel.  The power steering pressure hose gets in the way.  

I took 6 photos before this one came out, I had my Galaxy S5 jammed up in there with its flash on 

[rockfangd]

the greatest feature of these phones is to take great pictures. I find myself using the camera for everything. reference, part numbers, part description, out of reach looks. lol.

But it sucks at making phone calls

[BodybyFisher]

Haha, true

[rockfangd]

On 6/18/2016 at 5:05 PM, BodybyFisher said:

Finally I got in there and found the drain, it is in a very difficult location and the drain is nearly impossible to get at. It is at the low point of the evaporator box almost directly below the evaporator pipes.  It is to the rear of the steering rack bellow.  It is not obvious,  it's not a rubber spout, its a formed plastic hood with an opening that faces the rear of the car close to the firewall and the round drain faces down above the hood, I stuck my finger in the rear of the hood and felt the hole above it.  I drilled a 3/8 hole in the hood (see white dot) and stuck a wire up and it cut loose with water for 5 minutes.  I will epoxy a piece of plastic in place at some point to stop the air stream from potentially blowing water back up the drain at highway speeds.   I am not one to shortcut or take the easy way out but couldn't see a way to snake a wire up the drain as the angle was difficult so I used a 24 inch long drill bit and made a surgical hole in the hood right below the drain allowing the wire to go in easily.  But, the water has drained out and all is good now, I expect the AC will perform better with all of the water out of the evap box.

 

Any chance you still have this picture?

I get a smell from my vents sometimes and wonder if this is why my carpet was wet. Just thought to look for this.

I also broke the plastic cover around the blower. Grr. I repaired it with silicone but I suppose someday I will have to replace it. It crumbles if you look at it wrong. Looks to be the same material they made the door panels out of. 

[BodybyFisher]

I downloaded all my photos from photobucket, its hard to navigate them on a smartphone, need to check the laptop. 

Ill see what I can find.  When I stuck a wire up there, water flowed steadily for a few minutes

[rockfangd]

I am thinking the same will happen here

[BodybyFisher]

I found the photos in my photobucket download, here they are.  @rockfangd

Read the text above to understand the DOT.

[rockfangd]

Really, that looks nothing like the picture, probably a half design change. 

I will try by this weekend to have a look at mine.

Thank you for your time