condensation/(coolant)? leak in footwell - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jas2wa · #1 07-09-2003, 03:41 PM

Hi All-

As usual, I turn to you first when weird things happen in my 280SEL 4.5- in my never-ending quest to get the car leak and moisture free, I have noticed that when the a/c is running in hot weather, there is a drip of some kind coming from underneath the dash to the right of the middle section (the left side of pass. footwell). It appears to be water, but maybe some coolant, too? (man, I hope not).

The PO rebuilt the entire a/c system, and also did the heater blower motor, so most or all of the major hvac components are new.

Any thoughts? Could this be just a plugged a/c drain line?

Many thanks,

JAS

cbdo · #2 07-09-2003, 05:24 PM

The usual cause is indeed a plugged evaporator drain line. On most, they come out into the transmission tunnel. If the fluid is cold on your sandal-shod right foot when turning right, it's sloshing out of the evaporator drain. Mine's fine now after the mechanic shot a bit of cimpressed air into it to see if it was plugged; didn't find any debris but my foot's been dry since!

psfred · #3 07-09-2003, 08:27 PM

The drain line runs from the evaporator (under the glove box) to the right side of the tranny tunnel right at the top of the carpet. Dollar to a doughnut it's loose. Easy fix, it it's missing, just push some hose the right size into the grommet and clamp to the drain on the tray.

Coolant is the heater valves leaking, they are right above, behind the ash tray -- pull the ashtry all the way out and you can see them. If they are seeping, you need to remove the glove box, ashtray, and maybe radio (for access) and pull them (mark for position, unscrew the screw holding the lever on, remove internal snap ring, put an old Bosch spark plug, screw part, into the screw hole, push in firmly and GENTLY pull/push/pull out. Clean, replace o-rings, grease o-rings, and re-install.)

Peter

jas2wa · #4 07-10-2003, 10:29 AM

Hey thanks for the tips- now I know what I am doing this weekend...

Cheers,

JAS

tosbt · #5 07-10-2003, 03:21 PM

psfred is on the money. I thik there are four screws under the glove box and two against the firewall. When you drop the cover you will see a hose leading to the drain pipe(?), secure it tape it or replace it. I just did it last week.

jas2wa · #6 07-11-2003, 01:05 PM

Still planning on getting in there this weekend- if the heater valves are leaking, will I need to get any replacement parts to put it back together? Just removing, cleaning, and refitting those o-rings will do the trick?

Thanks-

jas2wa · #7 07-11-2003, 02:53 PM

psfred- looked at some of your old posts about heater valves- answers all of my questions- here's a particularly useful bit of info for people just looking at this thread- part #'s for the 2 o-rings per valve, again, borrowed from an old post:

the part #s for the 2 seals are: 000-835-12-98 and 000-835-13-98. You need 2 of each per car.

As usual, this forum has saved me tons of time and hopefully tons of $...

Thanks,

JAS