Water Leak from Air Conditioner

[DavidMc1]

I currently have a problem with the drain water from the air conditioning unit draining into the cabin and out of the drain spout at the same time.

Has anyone had any experience in resolving this problem?

I have checked the drain itself and have probed with wire to ensure that it is not blocked, I have blown compressed air up the drain hole, again no blockage!
I have now removed glove box, front seats, console and carpet and can see that the foam grommet that seals the air conditioner drain at the firewall is soaking wet and once this saturates with water, the water then runs into the cabin wetting the carpet.

My next step is to potentially remove the A/C unit from the vehicle but this is a massive job I am looking for alternatives that may avoid this amount of work and re gassing the A/C unit. Any suggestions?

Cheers;
David

 

[bm0]

Hi David,

Firstly welcome to the forum (from a relative newbie)

It will help to put some details of the car you have, year etc.

If it is still under warranty take it to the dealer, this is a common problem (at least in the D40's) where the drain tube is not long enough. I had mine fixed up under warranty (they installed a longer drain tube I believe)

If you are not under warranty, someone else might be able to give you a better description of what you need to do.

Brad

 

[Eug]

could be a leaking heater core.

 

[d22dave]

could be a leaking heater core.

Should be able to see green as in coolant colour if that was the case.


My 04 nav did the same thing earlier in the year when we had the heavy rains in vic, Did the same as you had glove box out and the foam seal was dripping tried air compressor and wire, Couldn,t find any drain holes blocked, So i gave up dried the floor and it hasn,t happened since, And it has been in heavy rain since.

 

[Dave]

If its a D40.

Common problem.

Tell Nissan to fix it.

 

[DavidMc1]

Sorry guys.

I should have told you that the vehicle is a 2008 Navara D40 diesel manual.

I am the second owner and I dont know if this would be covered under warranty with 92,000km on the clock!

My assessment is that if extend the drain pipe further through the firewall the may fix the problem. I think it is caused by the water draining into to cabin and drain tube at the same time. By extending the drain pipe further with a piece of PVC or rubber hose further into the main drain pipe may overcome the problem.

Thanks David

 

[Dave]

^ Pretty much.

They may even just pull the pipe out more.

 

[bm0]

David,

I had mine fixed at around 90000kms (also as a second owner of a 2008) It just depends if your car is 3 years old yet I suppose.

Brad

 

[KraftyPg]

I believe you will find the repair method on this forum some where, search for things like "water in floor well" or "leaking air conditioner" or something similar, I'm sure one of the D40 threads has the full solution for those who don't have warranty as an option.

 

[4.0lt]

I had the same issue, turned out air con drain cracked , replaced under warranty.

 

[Old.Tony]

A 3-year old vehicle with <120,000km on the clock might still have a factory warranty but if it doesn't, extend that tube.

If the cabin stinks and it's not because you eat lots of cabbage it could be a heater core, but the D40s have had an issue with that hose not being long enough so that's the most likely culprit.

I'm actually surprised they didn't recall the cars for the tube extension.

 

[FatBoy89]

Sorry guys.

I should have told you that the vehicle is a 2008 Navara D40 diesel manual.

I am the second owner and I dont know if this would be covered under warranty with 92,000km on the clock!

My assessment is that if extend the drain pipe further through the firewall the may fix the problem. I think it is caused by the water draining into to cabin and drain tube at the same time. By extending the drain pipe further with a piece of PVC or rubber hose further into the main drain pipe may overcome the problem.

Thanks David

Ask for a good will
Claim through nissan. Its hard but worth a shot. They may cover parts atleast

 

[Eug]

Should be able to see green as in coolant colour if that was the case.

good point. although the last time i helped fix a heater core, they had continually topped up with water to the point where it was just water entering the cabin.

 

[Dave]

Ask for a good will
Claim through nissan. Its hard but worth a shot. They may cover parts atleast

What he said.

Worth a try.

 

[FatBoy89]

I'm happy to help if you're in Sydney

 

[DavidMc1]

Leak fixed!!!

All,
Just to let you know that I fixed the internal leak by extending the original air conditioning drain tube by ~30mm using a piece of heater hose secured by a cable tie onto the original plastic drain tube. I cut a vee notch in the end of this extended hose face downwards. I then fitted the original rubber drain tube over this hose extension and secured to the firewall.

This repair has now been in place for about 4 weeks with two return trips to and from Sydney to Melbourne with the air-conditioner on and not a single drop of water back inside the cabin. So far- so good!

Cheers, David

 

[Old.Tony]

That's excellent news, David! Good to hear the problem has been resolved.