Expert: Ted Ritter - 10/15/2009

Question
Hi Ted, Trying to diagnose a problem on my 98 Toyota Camry LE.  this last summer I noticed the carpets are all wet, front, back, passenger and driver.  When driving it and running the A/C I noticed a sound like water burning off of something hot when taking a left turn, then I would see a dripping from underneath the glove compartment area.  It's getting a bit cooler here now and now when I turn on the heat, it takes a long time for it to warm up and the windows fog, I assume that's due to the moisture content of the carpet.  My plan is to replace the carpet, but of course want to solve this issue before doing so.  Does this sound like a heater core issue?  any other things that this may be?  your help is greatly appreciated.  thanks, -Paul

Answer
It could be a heater core leaking, if antifreeze is in the cooling system then the drip inside should be the same color as the antifreeze and should be hot when the engine warmed up, if the water is clear and cool then the leak is not reaaly a leak it's coming out of the evaporator core because the evaporator drain hose is either clogged up or disconnected, this is the most common cause for this so check it first, pull back the carpet on the right side and see if the drain hose is connected at the bottom and exits through the firewall, if not, reconnect the hose, if the hose is connected remove it from the housing and see if water runs out, if no water comes out use a wire and poke into the opening to dislodge anything that may be clogging the drain tube.