Here's what I did:
(note that all references to "left" and "right" are from the perspective of sitting in the driver's seat, facing toward the front of the vehicle)
- I pulled back the carpet on the front, left side of the console (driver's side in NA)
- That allowed me to see the drain tube from the HVAC box, going to the firewall
- it comes out of the left side of the air box. and makes a right angle turn toward the firewall (this makes it very difficult to get anything into it to clean it out)
- Using that as a reference, I was able to locate the drain on the firewall, in the engine compartment
- The drain exits the firewall beside the steering shaft, directly behind the lower engine mount, on the left side of the center tunnel (there was no tube attached on my car)
- There is a section of insulation that hides the location of the drain - lift it up to see where the drain exits the firewall - the drain pipe is flush with the firewall, and surrounded by a soft, spongy padding/insulation/sealer.. It is tricky to locate, but it's there!!
- Next, I cut a 4 foot length of 1/2 inch garden hose, and attached one end to a ShopVac (duct tape works great
)
- I turned on the vaccuum and worked the other end of the garden hose down to the drain, and sucked all the crud out of the box!!! (cut the hose at an angle to help make a good "seal" around the drain pipe)
- To be sure I had gotten all the crud, I removed the plenum cover under the glove box (between the HVAC box and the blower motor - 4 Phillips screws, 1 bolt, and 1 nut - 8 mm socket)
- I had a friend pour about 2 gallons of water into the heater box from a watering jug, while I used the ShopVac to suck it out the other end
- Then I poured another gallon or so through it, without the vaccuum
- Now the system drains as good as new!!
- The shopVac had a TON of crud in it!! Nasty!!
I hope this will help others who have the same problem. I photo documented the process, so if anyone is interested, drop me an e-mail and I'll send them to you -
jimmy_dean0@yahoo.com
My next project will be installing the cabin filter this weekend to prevent this issue occurring again.
Hope this helps,
Jimmy