psyt

i need to place a filter over it. '99 astro cargo van.

old_master

All HVAC air flow comes in through the cowl with the exception of MAX A/C which recirculates cabin air. The intake for recirculated air is located above the passengers feet.

psyt

well i have looked for the intake and have not found any intake , under passenger feet or other places.

psyt

i cannot find the intake. i looked under the passenger feet area.

psyt

So where is the point on the cowl where intake is.

psyt

where is te cowl intake point?

old_master

Start the engine, turn the HVAC mode switch to A/C and the blower on high speed. Open the passenger front door and listen under the dash when you change the mode switch to MAX A/C. You'll hear a change in air flow, follow the sound. Intake is under the dash, above the passengers foot area. To access the cowl intake, remove the wiper arms and the black grille covering the wiper linkage. The intake is located on the passenger side.

psyt

Thank you old_master, i found the Max A/C intake and stuffed some charcoal filter material in and around the area. Now, does the cowl only intake air on the weak A/C setting , or does it add air along with the foot area when on MAX A/C? If it is shut while on Max A/C, i can ignore that cowl intake and use only the Max A/C that has the filters on it. L.A. is sometimes sifted with lung damaging micro dust.

old_master

The HVAC system is designed to achieve maximum dehumidification of cabin air in the MAX A/C position. It accomplishes this by applying vacuum to the recirculation door servo motor. When the recirculation door is closed, no outside air is introduced in to the cabin. All other mode switch positions utilize outside air for ventilation, minimizing carbon monoxide accumulation in the cabin.

ericn1300

OM is right, as usual. if your going to run the a/c in recirculation mode all the time you need to inspect your exhaust system and make sure everything is right and that there are no leaks or youre going to get headaches, sleepiness or even be dead soon from the exahust fumes entering the vehicle from underneath during an LA road jam (ive been in one for about 3 hours). Ive never heard of a fresh air intake filter mod on the Astros but you would be a lot safer trying that. also carbon filters will do little to filter air as they are water activated and designed to be used to filter water and unless you rinsed it well first you probably just added carbon dust to the problem without removing any other pollutants. to be effective your filtering material should meet or excede the EPA HEPA filtering requirments. more info here: http://www.naturalsolutions1.com/whathepa.htm