Welp there was a 3-4" rectangular chunk of foam rubber on the front passenger side floor. It was completely deteriorated and fell to pieces when I picked it up. I figgered it was foam insulation from within the AC\heater duct.
Doing my best limbo I looked up underneath the dash with the feeble thought of finding the area inwhich it dropped out. No such luck as it is all buttoned up and will require disassembly to access.
Now with the cooler temps there is outside air blowing in on the passengers feet when driving, just like the good ole vent of the olden days (no fan needed, I actually miss that feature).
Heat and AC still work and redirect as selected, but the outside air continues to blow out of the same area.
Any words of wisdom from someone who has tackled the duct works dissasembly, 2008 model.
Finally tracked down the source of the draft...it is the foam gasket that seals between the inside cowl wall and hvac air intake duct.
The foam has deteriorated to the point it crumbles to the touch and of course the section that fell out is to the back.
The whole gasket needs to be replaced and to do it right it looks like I have to drop the hvac housing!
my google foo is weak as I have not located another discussion on this issue for the JK (many on the tj/yj/wj) has anyone else had this issue?
bumpity bump
nobody?
come on... I know the sidewall white lettering iny outy thread is happnin but someone must have come across this gasket issue in the past 9 years
yeah it was easy to spot by looking at the condition of the foam, the pic I posted was a grab from another thread.
The foam on mine is wasted and the funny thing is I have never had a leak so the only probable cause being the 9 hr work days sitting in the south louisiana sun...hot hot humidity
any ways since I have no example to follow and I am not in the mood to let the dealer have cash I'll attempt an indepth cavity exploration (you 'll get my point if you tackle the gf's prob)
If there is access all around, pull the old and stuff with similar foam. On another forum someone mentioned foam backer rod, comes in many sizes at any hardware store.
I ran into the same thing with my Jeep, haven't gotten into it yet but I appreciate the guidance!
My wife was complaining that her legs were cold (it was 5 degrees out and we were on the highway) and there was a considerable amount of cold air blowing in. I discovered that turning the blower to recirculate stops the problem. I still need to fix the seal in there but at least I can keep her happy until I get a chance to get in there.
oh man 5 degs...and to think I was whining at 40 deg lol!
I tried the recerc setting with no change...well according to my son's toe-mometer the chill wind was still ablowing.
should get to it this weekend and will follow up with results
You both sound way more savy then myself so will be fascinated to hear your solutions. I'm in az donut doesn't get that cold. The gf is native so it's all relative.
Found the problem... There's a flap that retracts up to access the intake filters. I never closed mine after installing the filters, which the sport model cheep doesn't come with to begin with... doh!
Make sure the white part on the top is pulled down after installing new filters.
Moto winning! good deal man:winner:
I have no cabin filter either and never bothered with it, with the top being off as much as it is.
If you look at my first post it shows the empty area where the filter would go and the white flap above that you say needs closing.
I might be mistaken but I believe that is one of the air blend doors controlled by the switch position, i swear I watched it move as I was switching the air path or temp control?
I definitely got a bad gasket but will take a close look at that flap!
thx for following up!
Well I thought I was winning... you are correct that the flap is the air blend door controlled by the recirculator button. I usually have fresh air coming in so I assumed it shouldn't be in the up position after I turned the truck off.
Once I turned it on, I could see the door moving so its back to square 1. There is no cold air with the recirculator on because it is blocked by that flap, so it is safe to assume the seal above the flap is okay. I'll do more investigating tonight. :doh2:
Did you poke the gasket at the top that I circled in the pic, is it still supple? follow / feel around back while tracing along it see if you find a gap.
and why are you and MNJ sharing the same clod footed woman? just kidding:lmao:
Pulled out 3 sides of the old gasket and replaced with 1 1/4" AC / window foam, the last side, facing the passenger side is unpossible to get to ...at least it seems
test drive feels good no noticeable air but have no toe-momemter for the most reliable measurement just now.
There should be a way to get some of that spray-in expanding foam they use for houses into that crevice, and save a disassembly job on the entire hvac system. Be careful if you try it. That stuff really expands, and you don't want it gumming up the entire works.
Found the same problem with my Jeep awhile back. Worse part is I get water leaking in from there by the bucket full when I wash the Jeep and concentrate the hose on the windshield. It goes down the vent by the wipers and pours out right where that foam goes. I witnessed the water cascading down from there myself. Only with the hose though, no leaks with rain that I can tell. Terrible design. Half to pull dash to fix it.
It seems to be a common problem and there are many utubes dealing with it on the yj/tj/wj and going the route from the outside (removing the wiper arms and then the cowl cover) to add some sealant in that area. I have not attempted it yet.
There are channels that divert and drain the water that enters the cowl, maybe yours are blocked?
Back to the inside though and replacing the foam, the passenger side speaker box is in the way blocking access to that side. It is easy to remove (i did it for there kicker spkr upgrade) so I guess I will be doing that next...but alas today is sacred and I mus kneel at the alter of the flat panel to make atones for my many transgressions against the lowly bronco:drinks:
I already removed the cowl cover but there is nothing under there but more metal. No place to add sealant of any kind. I suppose its possible my drains are clogged, but when flooding the cowl with water I get a lot of water that does drain under the vehicle as well as into the passenger floorboard via that disintegrated foam gasket. Not sure how I would clear any clogged drain anyway.
Gotcha man...like you said a crappy design
and thanks for the feedback on the exterior cowl, you saved me the headache there.
I have never had any water in the passenger area though but the moisture must always be there in the wetter climates..fooie!
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