Drainage Hose

P

Peter Panagakos

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Messages
217
Location
Rio Rancho, NM, United States
I have a 2006 TJ with the 4.0 and Auto Trans. Over the last two weeks I had something happen that I've never seen before. The Jeep is in my garage and it is getting cold here now at night. I let it sit in the garage for a week and then when I started it on the weekend what looks like coolant dripped on to the frame on the passenger side right in front of the fire wall. All I see there is a drainage hose that I assume comes from the heater/ A/C unit. There is nothing else near there, I drove it and nothing, no more drip, totally dry. Let it sit in the garage another week and it happened again. Drove it, no leak of any kind. I ran the heater and it works fine. I could use some advise here. Has anyone seen this before and if so what is it caused by. I checked the drainage hose as well and see no sign of any leaking.
 
MountaineerTom said:
That’s the drain for the HVAC box. Clear water will drain out from condensation on the evap core. Unfortunately, if coolant is leaking, you have a leaking heater core.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/another-heater-core-replacement-and-a-c-evap-core.15568/
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Yes, that's what I thought. What I don't get is it did this just when I first went to drive the Jeep after sitting for a week. After I drove it there was no leaking at all. Right now it is sitting in the garage again and this morning, totally dry. I started the engine and turned heater and nothing leaked. I bet if it sits for a week it will do it again.
 
Peter Panagakos said:
Yes, that's what I thought. What I don't get is it did this just when I first went to drive the Jeep after sitting for a week. After I drove it there was no leaking at all. Right now it is sitting in the garage again and this morning, totally dry. I started the engine and turned heater and nothing leaked. I bet if it sits for a week it will do it again.
Click to expand...

Put a small amount off the drip on your finger and taste it. You know what water tastes like, antifreeze has a sweet taste. I replaced the heater core in my 06 TJ some time ago. NOT FUN!
 
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I could smell mine in the cab when I first had a blast of air or heat when it started up.I figured it was coming, then one day I had a small puddle under that drain.

Yours may just be starting to crack and leak.
 
MountaineerTom said:
I could smell mine in the cab when I first had a blast of air or heat when it started up.I figured it was coming, then one day I had a small puddle under that drain.

Yours may just be starting to crack and leak.
Click to expand...

I think so. Small puddle is what I had too. I'm assuming now it has to be the heater core and there is no way I could do that job. My Jeep has A/C too, I just never used it so it is not charged. I read I would have to remove the entire unit to get at the heater core. Now I guess I decide if I think this repair is worth it or if a should pass the Jeep on to someone else disclosing this of course. I recently replaced the entire cooling system, pump, fan clutch, radiator, thermostat and all hoses. I wonder if that helped cause this.
 
Peter Panagakos said:
I think so. Small puddle is what I had too. I'm assuming now it has to be the heater core and there is no way I could do that job. My Jeep has A/C too, I just never used it so it is not charged. I read I would have to remove the entire unit to get at the heater core. Now I guess I decide if I think this repair is worth it or if a should pass the Jeep on to someone else disclosing this of course. I recently replaced the entire cooling system, pump, fan clutch, radiator, thermostat and all hoses. I wonder if that helped cause this.
Click to expand...

For me it was an 8 hour job. The fun part was the cussing...
 
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Personally I didn't think the job was that bad. It's time consuming — I don't think 8 hours is unreasonable. There aren't any specialty tools or skills needed though. I replaced the AC evaporator at the same time.
 
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billyp said:
Personally I didn't think the job was that bad. It's time consuming — I don't think 8 hours is unreasonable. There aren't any specialty tools or skills needed though. I replaced the AC evaporator at the same time.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, I did the evap and core at the same time.
 
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Peter Panagakos said:
I think so. Small puddle is what I had too. I'm assuming now it has to be the heater core and there is no way I could do that job. My Jeep has A/C too, I just never used it so it is not charged. I read I would have to remove the entire unit to get at the heater core. Now I guess I decide if I think this repair is worth it or if a should pass the Jeep on to someone else disclosing this of course. I recently replaced the entire cooling system, pump, fan clutch, radiator, thermostat and all hoses. I wonder if that helped cause this.
Click to expand...

From my memory, when I took the Jeep to get the A/C evacuated in 2018, I asked the guy how much they would charge someone to change the heater core, just out of curiosity. He said $800-something. 😳 He knew I was doing it myself, but I did take it back to them to get the A/C recharged.

If you were close by, I’d help you do it.
 
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