280 SEL Evaporator Drain Hose
 

the AC Evaporator Drain Hose on my 280 SEL split is there a place that I can bye one?

do I have to just find the right size tube and stick that in there?

Yes, but make sure it is a downward flowing hose, otherwise your evaporator will flood and freeze up.

Is a downward flowing hose a type of hose or are you saying that it should have a positive downward angle so it does not back up?

Any hose will work as a drain. Install without kinks or restrictions, angle it down so no puddles or pools form along its length (you want to minimize sitting water if at all possible), and check the lower/outside tip, there is usually a device that stops outside air from flowing in, but lets the drips out. You can usually separate that part and switch it over to the new hose.

I recently replaced this same hose on my w109. Yours is exactly the same. The hose is about 8 inches long. As Palolo mentioned, there is a grommet that seal the hose to the transmission tunnel. I removed my grommet because I used a coolant hose, which has much thicker walls so it was pretty snug against the hole. I'll post a pic shortly.

Thanks,

David

In this picture you can see the whole hose. Mine, if you look closely, was cracked too and water was leaking onto my passenger floor. Keep in mind the end that goes through the transmission tunnel is just loose outside since it's a drain.

Hope this helps.

-David

Thanks for the replies

I thought I needed just a positive downward flow to the hose. I did not see anything on the end of mine like a one way thing but will look on the floor of the garage as my old hose broke apart when I took it out and I had to just poke the end through the floorboard and I have not found it yet.

I ended up using a more ridged hose that I had that was for joining two water (rain) barrels it was more ridged so I heated one end and it ended up forming around the nipple and looks like it should hold nicely. I will have to heat it up or cut it off when the time comes to replace it. I just put it thought the grommet in the floorboard and it had about 3 inches that went past the floor of the car I hope that this work I can't see why it would not unless something melts the end.

Some Mercedes of that era came with a sort of flap that covered the end of the hose. It prevented dirt and water from entering the hose.

This flap might have only come on the 6.3 since I really can't recall seeing many of them on any other Mercedes I have ever owned.

I installed A/C units back in the 60's off and on, and we would just punch a hole in the floor and push the drain hose through it. We never had anyone tell us it did not work.

But do keep out the kinks. The water can really flow on a humid day.

I looked around the garage floor and found the end of the hose. it does have a bulb end with a slit that no doubt is to keep out dirt, bugs ect and it was dry rotted. I am not sure how I could fashion one for the end of a hose. howeve, in my searches for parts I did see a site that showed a part with the bulb but as I did not know that was on my old tube I though it was the wrong part. I will go back ann look at that part and maybe order one if it is cheap enough if not I will use what I have and see it it works.

here are some pics of the end of the hose. it broke off at the floorboard

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...5/IMG_3941.jpg http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...5/IMG_3940.jpg

You don't need that end piece unless you're really worried about originality. As long as water can flow out, you're good. I didn't install one either.

You don't technically need that part, but it does provide some resistance to airflow, and keeps (all) the cold air going to the vents. Path of least resistance and all that. It may be splitting hairs, but if you don't want the AC to be blowing a percentage in to the trans tunnel, you could adapt someone to it...

Good luck!

Pat