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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / October 2005'95 Pathfinder - Water in Ventilation
This is a new problem. Since driving in heavy rain several days ago, there is water dripping from vent system parts on passenger side. Hard left turn and can hear water in fan. Best way to drain system? What to disassemble and clean to avoid mold or future electrical or other problems? Why now and what to R&R for a proper fix? BTW, because of minor road flooding, I briefly drove through no more than a foot of water. Had A/C on whole time set to recirculate and it's still set that way w/vent closed. On 10/11/2005 8:39 AM US(ET), SGS took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following: >This is a new problem. Since driving in heavy rain several days ago, there >is water dripping from vent system parts on passenger side. Hard left turn [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >recirculate and it's still set that way w/vent closed. > This is a message I posted back in Oct of 2002. -------------------- I had the same problem with a 97 Nissan Pickup. I noticed a strange rubbing noise in the right front only when making a left turn. It sounded like it was the right front tire rubbing against a loose inner splash shield in the fender when the wheel turned to the left. Upon inspection, I could not find anything wrong up there. I had planned to take the truck to my mechanic to find the source of the noise later in the week. A day or so later, I picked up a box containing something I had bought and had left on the passenger side floor overnight. I noticed that the box was soaking wet on the bottom half. I then felt the floor mats and they were drenched. Having had this problem in other cars that I have owned, I assumed that it was a clogged drain hose. I looked under the dash and saw water slow dripping from the air plenum. I pulled the drain hose that runs from the plenum through the firewall and water poured out of it. I cleaned the coagulated debris out of the drain hose and replaced it. I also pulled the other rubber hose that ran between the air plenum and the blower motor under the dash and about a pint of water ran out of that hose. That rubbing noise disappeared after that. I assume it was shloshing water in the blower motor that was making the noise when I turned left. I had to leave the passenger side rug propped up for about a week so it could dry out in the summer heat. I expect that I might have some problems in the future with that blower motor after its having been wet. ------------------------ Since the above was posted, I have had no problems with the blower motor.  SignatureBill Thanks for the prompt reply. After draining water, I decided to take apart the blower assembly and I'm glad I did. Gunk, mostly from the brushes and wool felt used to cushion the sleeve bearings and I assume retain lubricant, accumulated over the years and mixed with water to coat everything with a paste-like slurry. I took the opportunity to completely disassemble the motor. I used CRC electronic cleaner to clean the armature and WD40 to dissolve residue in the housing. Not knowing what if any lubricant impregnated the felt packing, I took a chance and used a light synthetic oil. Inside the bottom cover there is a circuit board that includes the DC power connector, brushes and a capacitor. That all needed to be cleaned and appears to be a replaceable assembly -- which is good, since the brushes are quite worn. On the outside, above the motor, the vanes really looked nasty enough to be affecting air quality. Bottom line, I'll be ordering a brush assembly soon and I plan to clean out the fan assembly at least a couple of times a year. Thinking about a way to retrofit some type of air filter into the cavity above the vanes. Also thinking about taking apart the plenum, I'm sure it could use a good cleaning. > Thanks for the prompt reply. After draining water, I decided to take apart > the blower assembly and I'm glad I did. Gunk, mostly from the brushes and [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > thinking about taking apart the plenum, I'm sure it could use a good > cleaning. Curious, how did the water get in there? I have a QX4 and wonder if it could get the same problem. WW > Curious, how did the water get in there? I have a QX4 and wonder if it > could > get the same problem. WW I'm still puzzled. I've driven through really heavy weather before and through higher water. Since I've always keep an eye out for A/C drainage, I can only assume that the drain line clogged suddenly -- maybe something lodged in the tube as I was going through high water or maybe the sudden amount of water getting into the system dislodged debris that clogged the line. When I removed the tube to clean it, I never actually saw the clog. Could be I flushed the tube so hard, I just missed it coming out. What I don't know is the full airway path into the fan and under what circumstances that much water could get into the intake. I also don't know if it leaked in through the main airway, that runs vertically above the fan vanes, or if it entered via the vent inlet door. As I mentioned in the original post, I was using A/C at the time w/vent closed. Maybe there is a seal on the door that needs to be replaced. . .Thanks for getting me thinking again. On third thought, I'm wondering if there could still be a clog I haven't found yet? Maybe it's normal for heavy weather to make it into the vent door's airway path, but maybe it's supposed to drain off instead of getting in through the fan? hmmmmmmm? To be continued. On 10/12/2005 6:54 PM US(ET), SGS took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following: > > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >in through the fan? hmmmmmmm? To be continued. > It gets in there through the vents on the outside cowl. It doesn't matter if you drive through water or not. Rain gets in there and so does leaf debris, bugs, wind blown dust and dirt, and other stuff. When enough junk gets in there to clog the small rubber drain, the water will build up in the air plenum under the dash. This is not new. This has been happening for as long as there have been vents on the cowl at the rear of the hood. If, every once in a while when you think of it, pinching the rubber drain might unclog it. SignatureBill |
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