Took out my 99 CTD this past weekend and went camping at Deception State Park, Whidbey Island, Washington.. Weather was ok ( some sun, mostly rain). Pulled a 28 foot trailer. Great time was had by all. Noticed when I got back to work on Tuesday water was dripping from the engine compartment under my truck. I have traced the drip from the fire wall on the passenger side. The insulation material was wet around a small black tube coming out of the firewall. Its located behind a small canister mounted to the wall. can anyone tell me what this is and should I worry about it? The water seems to be dripping for a long time if not all day. The "Water" is clear and seems to have no smell.
Thanks in advance ???

 

Mine does the same thing all the time. I haven't asked about it yet. Not sure if it is normal or if I have a problem. All I know is that it leaks alot of water in the driveway.

T

 

That little black tube sticking out of the firewall is your AC drain tube.

 

So if water is "draining" out of it, it's working properly?

 

Should it be leaking even if you haven't run AC for a while?

 

If you run the defroster, it runs your A/C compressor as well.

Mike

 

Thanks Mike that answers alot. My old Ford used to do the same..... Just checking

 

You need to add a drain tube to that "nipple" on the firewall. Also not a bad idea to put a little sealant around that plastic nipple.

The problems that occur are: While driving the wind will force the water back between the plastic nipple (drain) and the hole in the firewall that the nipple sticks through. This will soak the insulation and cause a musty smell. Mine was so bad that the insulation under the carpet was soaked (yours may be also). I really did not know how bad it was till I lifted the carpet. It took 3 days to dry out. Could not tell because the carpet is rubber backed and will not feel wet, but the insulation/padding under it is saturated.

Adding a hose to that nipple will help prevent the musty smell in the ac system as well. Once again the wind will prevent it from draining properly. The hose just hangs down about 8-10 inches.

I think this has been discussed before. Do a search under "a/c smell", "musty odor", "a/c drain", etc. You will find others have had similiar problems and the drain hose seemed to be the fix.

I used the drain hose and of all things a 90 degree spark plug boot at the nipple to make the down turn. A little sealant around the nipple (putty) sealed up the gap between the nipple and the firewall. Carpet has been high and dry since, and musty smell is gone. The factory used little or no putty there. Hope this helps, good luck, Kevin

 

Thanks again everyone. This site is great!

 

Great info. Thanks Kd.

 

Used to live in Louisiana and ran that ac about 9 months of the year. Make your hose about 2-3 ft and run it down along the frame with some zip ties. Never got clogged after that.
JM.02