7.7
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$1,000.00
Average Mileage:
77,667 miles
Total Complaints:
6 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (3 reports)
- dealer wanted to pull the motor or pull the dash! (1 reports)
- glue fine screen over fresh air vent (1 reports)
- silicone "implant" (1 reports)
AC / heater problem
Helpful Websites About 2002 Dodge Dakota A/C condenser drain clogged, water leak
2009Aug 01
Dakota 3.9L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 53,000 miles
This is a challenging problem to the home repairer, actually in the V6.
I couldn't find any conceivable way to clear the hose in or out of the firewall, if it is clogged, other than drilling the plastic housing described below and I haven't tried that.
It sounds like it is almost not repairable in the V8- fortunately I have the 6. First, I took up the floor trim, carpet, and cut away at the noise insulation on the floorboards to reveal the black plastic housing under dash that contains the hose somewhere inside of it...this otherwise inaccessible plastic housing is the part of it that carries the condensate outside of the firewall. Then I pumped ( this was a huge chore ) on 2 separate occasions a full 12 oz. of silicone in and around the leaking gasket. Very hard to access and apply evenly and I am not sure I have completely blocked the leak.
Worse yet, I can imagine condensate building up in the black plastic reservoir until..?
In retrospect, I would let the dealer fool with it; they obviously have a fix or routine of some sort which probably clears the line.
If doing myself, I think I would recommend that you bypass the current drain by drilling into the plastic housing and then through the firewall, then silicone a plastic tube out thru the firewall.
O.K. Dodge and Chrysler mechanics, what would you do?? Challenge Question.
Hope this helps,
Michael, in north Georgia...write me at mikesads(at) mailas.com
2007Aug 20
(reported on)Dakota Sport 3.9L
- Automatic transmission
- 25,000 miles
Apparently hose not accessible if equipped with V8, but accessible with V6. Real problem is the windshield fresh air vent allows debris to get past. Remove and epoxy glue fine mesh fiberglass screen on inside, like GM cars have.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2007Aug 05
(reported on)Dakota SXT 3.9L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 64,001 miles
I think this should be an easy fix, but where to start.
2007Jul 09
(reported on)Dakota SLT V6
- Automatic transmission
- 94,000 miles
I have had this fixed twice already and now dealership is telling me how to fix it because they are sick of seeing my truck in their shop every other month
2006Dec 29
(reported on)Dakota Quad Cab 4.7L V8
- Automatic transmission
- 52,000 miles
Ac condenser drain clogged up so the floor got all soaking wet, so I am a mechanic for the most part and I looked and looked and I couldn't find the drain hose cause I have had them clog up over time on other cars and its easy to clean out. I gave up and took it to the dealer since they had a recall on the clunking front end (ball joints). Anyways they said the drain hose is not accessible because the motor is too close to the firewall. So either I had to have the motor pulled! or the dash pulled! They also told me that all V8 Dakotas and all V8 Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees have the exact same problem. The only cheap fix other than $1,000 dollars to pull the dash or the motor was to drill a hole on the inside and clean out the drain from the inside, and then plugging the hole with epoxy, which is what I ended up doing.
We have partnered with JustAnswer to offer online auto repair help and advice from expert professional automotive technicians. You describe your AC / heater problem or ask your question and they try to help you figure it out. The fee is typically $9 to $15, but you can offer to pay more for really tough questions. You will usually receive an answer in 10 minutes or less, and you do not have to pay anything unless you accept the answer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Aug 09
Dakota 3.9L
2002 Dodge Dakota
I started noticing the passenger side floor board being soaked for no good reason at the time and figured out it was coming from the A/C somewhere. I looked in my Haynes Repair Manual and it really didn't go into detail so I got on the internet and started looking things up and today I ran across this site and its nice to know other people are having the same problem too but this one is a pain in the ass for anybody.
Today I finally located the evaporator drain tube where it comes out of the firewall. Its hard to see and only sticks out about an inch and is behind a heat shield but at the edge of the heat shield so I bent back the heat shield alittle to where I could get something down into the drain tube. After trying several things, I finally took a coat hanger and managed to get it to go in the tube pretty far and moved it back and forth and around. When I pulled it out, I could see with a flashlight that the edge of the tube was wet so I thought maybe I did some good. Went and ran some errands and ran the A/C but I could still fill it wet at the bottom of the plastic housing like before so not sure now. I read some other postings here on the same problem and one of them said something about a gasket.
Anybody else got any ideas to try on this one? I'm sure now that I'm not the only one with this problem. Would like to here from ya.
Thanks,
Dan in Texas
dannytexas
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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