Water Leak. (Air conditioning?)

[echelon360]

Hello Everyone, i was hoping to get some advice on an issue i'm facing

I recently bought a 2nd hand car.(Mitsubishi Verada 1999 Ei:Kf)

It has been running fine for the last few weeks. This morning, i noticed that there was water flowing on the floor towards the passenger side of the car. I looked below and noticed that water was dripping from below the engine bay.

I wonder whether this was an air conditioning problem. Hence i turned up the Air conditioner on full and noticed that there were more drips. This has not happened before. Should i be concerned and have this checked out? According to the dealer, it's normal to have some water discharge from time to time.

Pls advice

[RahX]

I'm assuming this is underneath the vehicle outside of the car? If so, it is totally normal. The evaporator inside the car collects moisture on it while the a/c or defroster is on. That water drips off and drains out of the vehicle.

[echelon360]

Thanks for responding to my query!

May i just ask another qtn regarding engine oil leaks?
When i bought the car, the mechanic did a full tune up and mentioned changing the engine oil as well. I have not seen any leaks underneath the vehicle but monitoring closely.

After an engine oil change, is it normal to see some leaks (i.e small patches underneath the vehicle)? When should it be a cause of concern and requires a visit back to the mechanic?

thanks again!

Originally Posted by RahX

I'm assuming this is underneath the vehicle outside of the car? If so, it is totally normal. The evaporator inside the car collects moisture on it while the a/c or defroster is on. That water drips off and drains out of the vehicle.

[ricebike]

it may be some residual oil from the previous filter removal... he may have not wiped the area down after the job

just keep an eye on it for a couple days & update

[RahX]

I'm not familiar with the Verada but Mitsubishi GENERALLY likes using a non reuseable drain plug gasket. 9/10 when we get a lancer/mirage/eclipse/endeavor etc with an oil leak after an oil change it is due to that gasket. It usually isn't a bad leak, just annoying. KIA uses an aluminum one that is reusable up to like 4-5 times, might see if a local autoparts store has something similar. If not try going to a KIA dealer and getting a pack of em, they shouldn't cost too much.

[echelon360]

Originally Posted by RahX

I'm not familiar with the Verada but Mitsubishi GENERALLY likes using a non reuseable drain plug gasket. 9/10 when we get a lancer/mirage/eclipse/endeavor etc with an oil leak after an oil change it is due to that gasket. It usually isn't a bad leak, just annoying. KIA uses an aluminum one that is reusable up to like 4-5 times, might see if a local autoparts store has something similar. If not try going to a KIA dealer and getting a pack of em, they shouldn't cost too much.

Thanks for providing advice. I must apologize as i'm not entirely versed with cars.I'm finding my way around and trying to learn more in the process.

Here's what i discovered. There are occasional oil leaks, not alot but enough to start wondering (it's light brown in color). I would drive the car for 2-3 days and not have any leaks. Today, while washing the car, i left the engine running for a good 5-10 mins while having the gear placed on drive. when i came back to have a look, i saw two patches below.

Would this warrant a trip to a mechanic to get it looked into?

Please advice

[echelon360]

Just an update to all of this.

I brought it down to a mechanic (recommended through a friend) to have a look through.

He jacked the car up and explained why the leak was occurring. From what i gathered, the leak was coming from the engine. I left the car for a day with him to have a thorough look through.

He changed the following
-gaskets
-timing belt
-seals
-did an engine wash

Total came up to AUD$550

[Asilus]

Timing belt isn't necessary but would definitely be good to replace if your motor had over 100k miles on it, keeps you from jumping time and bending valves later. The 1 thing you need to make sure of next time you see that water leaking is if its a color, green for example, which would indicate anti freeze. if thats the case it could be a hose, crack in the radiator, intake manifold, stuck thermostat causing pressure to blow the water out of the reservoir.

[bplady53]

I own a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It is in the shop today, for the second time in a month, to have an air conditioning leak repaired. This first showed up as damp floor mats on the drivers side late last summer and appeared to disappear - until the first heat spell (in Texas) in the spring, when I came home to find both legs of my trousers and the backs of my shoes soaking. I put two and two together and determined it was related to the air conditioner. It was repaired (sealed) for $275. That didn't work. I am picking it up this evening and can't wait to see what they did this time. I've searched the web and can't find anyone else who seems to have experienced this problem -which is good because my son also owns a 2003 Eclipse!

[Asilus]

Dont hear to much about AC leaks from inside the car... mainly because all the piping is in the engine compartment... if there was a leak it would more likly be in the engine area running back into the car through the ac ducts... another thing is that there is high pressure and low pressure lines, eather of wich have alot of pressure running through the lines... and not easilly sealed due to the pressure and the fact that the lines temp fluctuates so bad (freezing then warming to ambient temps so quickly) causing the lines to expand and retract, breaking any seals. just my openion though...

[bplady53]

Agreed, but it's not leaking inside the car - it's the AC condensation leaking INTO the car. You know the water from condensation you see under the car after the air conditioner has been running? One of the first signs of this problem was that there was no water under my car - because it was all inside my car on the driver's side! I agree - it's odd. And it's only a problem when running the air conditioner. If only I didn't live in Texas....

[Asilus]

Heh yea I live in texas as well, austin area, right now its about 100 degrees outside, horrible... anyway.. the water you see leaking under your car is when the air around those pipes freez onto it, due to the small ammount of water in the air... after it gets to a thickness it will melt due to not being able to sustain the freezing temp, thus it drips onto the ground... there is nothing in the AC system that should be leaking because it has r134a, wich is extremly toxic, again the water you see on your floorboard is probably from that melting water dripping directly into an open AC duct or piping leading into your car from the AC condensor. point is, ac doesnt "leak" water because there is no water in it to leak.

[stealthling]

Important Background information:
I just finished fixing the water leak on my girlfriends 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse (with an automatic transmission). The dealership will tell you that they have to rip out the dashboard and it takes 10 hours labor which will cost you around $1000. I ended up taking apart the whole dashboard and let me tell you IT IS A JOB! However, in hind sight and actually getting my hands dirty I can tell you that this is not the case and there is a MUCH faster way of doing it yourself.
The problem was the typical Mitsubishi owners complaint which is “water is leaking onto the floorboard due to a/c condensation from a clogged drain hose”. This problem occurs most frequently because Mitsubishi considers a blower motor housing filter (which they refer to as a cabin air filter) as an “accessory”. What occurs as time passes results in leaves, twigs, and other miscellaneous debris gets sucked into the assembly and clogs the evaporator drain hose causing the water to backflow into the passenger cabin. They have been having this problem on just about every model for quite some time and still haven’t really taken any steps to mitigate this problem. I am a Ford owner so I may be a little biased but Mitsubishi really had their heads up their ass on this one… When I walked in I noticed an accessories booklet for the newer 09 lancers and guess what? They still consider the cabin air filter an “accessory”. I would highly recommend any Mitsubishi purchase the “cabin air filter” as it will save owners A LOT of hassle and time. BE SURE TO GET THE MOUNTING BRACKET!!! As far as I’m aware of the filter + bracket combination is a dealer only item (when we went to auto zone to save money on the parts all they sold was the filter). The part number is MR500360 or something like that and it costs around $50 (IT IS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD AND WILL PREVENT ANY FUTURE PROBLEMS!!!!!!!).

Fixing the problem:
I would recommend a 3 stage approach to be sure you completely fix the problem and it won’t come back.

1. Installing a “cabin air filter”:
You will have to remove the glove box(you can bend the glove box just enough to enable removal by applying pressure on the left side of the glove box until the post is clear from the glove box backing(then do the same to the right side)). This will cause the glove box to drop down so you can just pull it out.
Then you remove the glove box backing (should be 4 screws or something like that).
Once those are out of your way you should be able to see the blower motor housing (big black thing that’s round at the bottom). Locate a rectangular plastic plate (should be about half way up the blower motor housing). If there are screws connecting a piece (that looks like it can slide out) to the blower motor housing then you have a filter bracket in place (You should remove the 2 screws and pull the bracket out (towards you) to ensure it has a filter in place (or that it isn’t too dirty/destroyed that its failing its function). If you don’t have a filter you will have a rectangular plate that you will have to cut out (I used a razor knife and a bit of force. I banged up my knuckles pretty good so be careful). Then slide the filter tray/bracket into place and use screws (the dealership said they are 4x16 screws. I ended up using 8 x ¾ from my local hardware store so feel free to play around with it) to secure the bracket into the blower motor housing.
Installing the filter will prevent further problems. If you do NOT do this step your problem will more than likely continue!

2. Cleaning out the debris from the evaporator case:
A little background:

You will be cleaning the debris out the lower evaporator case. This is to purge the debris that could potentially clog your system again. If you should decide to take it to a mechanic DO NOT let them deceive/misguide you! In some cases they may insist they need to drain the coolant from you’re a/c system (THIS IS NOT THE CASE!!!!!). The evaporator does NOT need to be removed or even touched! You only need to remove the debris from the lower evaporator case (a plastic downward slanting pan beneath the evaporator).

There are a couple ways to get to the evaporator case.
- You can probably just get away with removing the channeling (may not allow for very much working room but it could potentially save you HOURS and frustration).
- You can disassemble the center console to allow yourself more room to work (what I ended up doing)

Option 1: (probable short cut)

With the glove box removed you should look for a piece that connects the blower motor housing to the evaporator case (should slant downwards as it approaches the evaporator case). This will have likely 2 bolts and a nut (the nut is down at the base of the plastic channel (to the left on the side closest to the evaporator case). The first bolt should be located on the left side behind the dashboard hang down piece for the glove box (support structure/outline …thing. I’m sorry I could not explain this better)(this bolt is kind of a pain to take out as there is not a lot of space between the bolt and the dashboard). The last bolt will connect the plastic channel and the blower motor housing. Finally, disconnect the connector from the top of the channel. The channel should then just slide out which will grant you access to the lower evaporator case!
Once you have the channel removed you can try to use a vacuum or something to clean the debris out (it will have to be a small hose and a decently powerful vacuum). If you cannot clean it out you may have to remove the screws and clips (clips were on the driver’s side in my case) at the base of the evaporator case (the screws go all along the base of the case).
****Here’s the tricky part!!!!!****
To gain access to the 2 screws underneath the center console u may need to remove/bend back the plastic piece of the center console/trim or remove it all together depending on how much working room you require. To bend it back you must remove the screw and the clip. The round piece of the clip pulls out allowing you to compress the back of it together which should allow the clip to pull right out. After you remove those you should be able to pull the plastic out far enough to gain access to the screws in the center.
If you CANNOT access the screws in the center you will need to remove this piece all together. To do that you must remove the clip and screw from the other side as well as the clip holding this piece to the cup holder/gear selector section. That should be located underneath a plastic piece to the left of the gear selector. Then you must release the side clips as well by squeezing/maneuvering the now loose plastic console (you may have to remove the cup holder/gear selector piece as well in order to pull the other plastic piece out).

Removing the screws and clips will allow you enough wiggle room to bend the tray downward enabling you to fit a larger vacuum/cleaning tool. I was not able to completely remove the tray because I was not able to undo the things that were holding it from the rear due to a lack of working room and motivation.
In my case there was also deposits of a gray material which may have either been dust of mold on the evaporator (the metal radiator looking thing). I cleaned the substance off of the evaporator using a wire brush/tooth brush (for those hard to reach areas). BE CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE EVAPORATOR! The result I believed I achieved by this action was a slightly higher airflow through the vents since it wasn’t being choked off along the way. I also did it because I was unsure if it was mold or not (health concerns etc…).

Option 2 (disassembling the dash):
I will not detail the location of the bolts for this option since it would be too time consuming and most likely is not necessary. If you require this option I would recommend you buy a Chiltons manual for your vehicle (or an equivalent of Chiltons).
This option follows the same process as option 1 except you disassemble the dashboard first and pull it forward/out to get it out of the way (A fair warning. If you take this option you will have to disconnect the battery and allow it to sit for about 2 minutes because you will be removing the airbag assemblies and you don’t want them accidentally discharging. This option also requires the removal of the steering wheel so you will need to mark the position of the wheel before removal (this ensures the correct position/relation of your steering wheel to your wheels). This option has the added benefit of more room to work and access to more of the evaporator case.
3. Unclogging the drain:
There are 2 ways to go about cleaning the drain hose clog. You can do it from the inside or the outside. Since unclogging it from the inside requires you rip apart the entire dashboard and possibly removing the evaporator (requires draining the coolant (by a certified mechanic/shop)) I would highly suggest doing it from the outside!
To unclog the drain hose you can use compressed air, coat hanger, or anything else you can conceive. Since you will be doing it from the outside be sure to remember whatever method you use will push the debris inside (so it may get messy if you use compressed air but it is not a bad option!!! Just be prepared).
You will be able to locate the drain hose/pipe behind the engine on the firewall (will be really close to where the steering column will enter the engine bay). IT IS VERY HARD TO SPOT as it is not very big (In addition the hose will likely be black and the firewall is black)!!!! So be sure to use a good flash light. The firewall padding may also obscure the drain pipe/hose so you may have to mess with that as well.
Once you find it use your preferred method to unclog it (***fair warning***! If u decide to use a coat hanger be VERY careful not to apply too much pressure as you may do damage/puncture your evaporator!).
Once you are done with that you may try vacuuming out the lower evaporator case again just to be sure it’s cleaned out well. Then you put everything back together and enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to read my detailed explanation and I hope my explanations helped. PLEASE, if you see anyone who needs help ANYWHERE, do them a favor and copy paste/refer them to this information.
-David