Been tracking a flooded floorboard issue for a while now and finally came to the conclusion (after weeks of no rain and continually flooding floorboards) that it can't be a plugged sunroof drain or bad weatherstripping failing to seal the car from the outside. The car is a 1982 240d.

When the A/C runs I have some water drips under the car, but it must be flooding the inside as well. So I searched around a bunch here and found detailed instructions on how to remove the evaporator itself, but I'm not entirely sure that's what I need to do just to replace the drain hose. I've also read the hose is made of foam that disintegrates over time and it's a bear to replace. Anyway, what I don't know is how to get at the drain hose. I've read there are two, and they are located under the heaterbox, but I don't know where exactly the heaterbox is or how to get at it. I'm guessing remove the carpets up front and start tearing into the center console from the sides or something. Please help.

__________________
Own:
1970 Mercedes 250c, 1976 International Scout II, 1982 Mercedes 240d, 1997 Honda Accord Wagon, 1998 Acura Integra Type-R, 2009 Mazda5.
Owned:
1974 International 100 pickup, 1975 International Scout II, 1981 Mercedes 240d, 1985 Mercedes 300SD, 1988 Honda Accord, 1988 Ford Thunderbird, 1991 Honda Accord, 1996 Geo Metro, 1996 Ford F150, 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan, 1997 Honda Accord, 2003 Acura TL-S, 2003 Yamaha V-star.

Here is a thread where the guy had the same problem as yours.

I've sprung a leak, evaporator drain hose...

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Evaporator Drain

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I used a universal garbage disposal tube from Home Depot. I believe dmorrison gave me the idea in a thread I cannot seem to find.

Ive done this on both of my 123's.

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Yeah, I've read all about the different fixes, I just don't know how to go about getting to the area. Do I do a whole dash rip-apart like I was replacing the evaporator core, or is there something simpler?

look on the right side of the center column. far forward. Up from where your left foot would be if you were riding shotgun. i'd bet you'll see either the water dripping or the hose dangling dis connected there.

Yes much easier. You'll first want to check the A/C condesate drain, which is behind the center console directly above the transmission.

You need to remove the driver side lower dash panel and partially remove the driver side "side" center console trim. Actually, you just need to unscrew a tiny screw (or 2?) near the bottom of the carpeted console panel near the floor board. You should be able to move that carpeted panel enough to get a hand in there. That should give you enough room to get the old foam hose out and a new "recepticle" in. I managed and I have sort of big hands.

I used a plastic soda bottle top, cut to fit. I don't remember if I used a 20oz soda bottle or 2L bottle...I think it was a 20oz bottle top as it is more cup shaped; vs. a 2L bottle which is more funnel shaped. I suppose it depends on the type of soda.

It's hard to get a rubber hose in there because it's very tight. Not much room for fastening anything. The bottle trick is cool because the mouth of the bottle is a perfect fit for the drain hole, which drains right on top of the transmission.

Good luck. It's a neat fix and should last longer than the foam OEM hose, etc.

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

Thanks guys. I was able to replace the foam hose working from the passenger side. First I removed the floor carpet, then the kick panel under the passenger dash. I tried to remove the carpet on the passenger side of the transmission hump but after removing one screw from basically dead center of the middle of it, I was unable to find any other fasteners. However I was able to manipulate it in such a way as to accomplish my goals.

Here's my foam hose removed. It's pretty tore up now, but it felt in pretty good condition when I was groping for it under the dash.


Everything removed, ready for repair.


I tried two repairs, first was the soda pop bottle, but I found it difficult to work the bottle top into position and ultimately I was unhappy with the fitment. The top seemed a little loose, and I had trimmed it to much in attempt to get it to fit. So went to the store and picked up a universal garbage disposal tube and another bottle of water with a shape I thought might work better.

Once home I trimmed off a little more than an ich from the wide-end of the garbage tube, here's a pic.


There was a line on the tube where I cut, just followed it around an went for a test fitting on the car. I was able to easily fit the small end in the body of the car, and the next step up prevented it from falling through, however I wasn't able to then fit the big end around the evaporator drain tube so I pulled it back out. Then I tried fitting the big end first over the drain tube and was able to easily push the small end out the body of the car.

Here it is fitted. Looks OEM.


Then I ran the car for a while. No leaks so I put it all back together and drank the bottle of water. We'll have to see how well this works over the long term but I feel pretty good about it.

I dont see the logic in this design. My 91 560 SEL has similar hoses. They both run from under the dash and then to each side of the trans hump. Pretty much parallel to the HVAC controls/head unit. I had inquired here too about the. These had a metal wire "frame" in the shape of a stretched slinky. On top of that was some very weak foam. I need to replace mine, but patched them for now. I dont see why they did not use some other type of material. Maybe they though regular rubber would rot?

__________________
1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

Well I'm sure regular rubber would rot, but so does the foam. So I don't think that's the answer. One thing I noted is that I'm getting a bit more mechanical noise in the cabin with the rubber hose fitted. Perhaps foam was chosen because of it's sonic insulative properties?