2005 Sierra 2500HD Heater Core Passenger Side Floor Soaked Cheers Duramax Owners,
This is my first post, but been reading the forum for a while getting useful information to help with my 2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT even though I hadn't joined yet. So, first a thanks to those that have contributed to the helpful information.
I've also been following the DuramaxForums and posted this there, but no info. Hoping I can get some info from here.
About the truck. I bought it just a few months ago with only 63k on the dial and well taken care of.
Before we would actually sign papers, we had a couple of issues that the dealer would take care of. The drivers side seat heater would come on and turn-off on it's own. As I found that was an update to the ECM or something and they took care of that, but I'm still having problems where the driver's side seat heater will rapidly turn off and on and I can hear a click. Thinking it is a problem with the element, but having had time to take the covers off and test with an ohm meter, so I've just disconnected the seat.
The other problem I had was with the blend unit. After awhile on our test drive the air would blow hot on the passenger side, but was still cold on the drivers side. I found that this was a common problem and the blend unit would need to be replaced. Which they did.
Now comes the current problem. I've got a big water leak problem on the passenger side. Drove it cross-country to take my son to college and the floor was just soaked in the front and made its way all the way to the back. It seemed to only happen when it rained, so thought it might have been back window, 3rd brake light or something. So, when I got back home I completely tore out the interior looking for leaks, as the forums listed many possibilities, and the jute was totally soaked and ugly, so that needed dried and cleaned or replaced.
The first leak I found was the rear window had about a 3-4" section on the driver's side that was not properly sealed and you could actually see daylight around it. However, the amount of water coming from that was nowhere near enough to cause this much puddling. I could find the majority of the water on the passenger side and in the wire track right by the doors. Tearing into things under the dash more I could tell the water was coming from under the think, black, rubber mat against the firewall. Lifted that up and it drained a large amount of water out of the foam behind the mat. Still not sure where the leak was, I investigated under the mat and could see that it was coming from around the heater condensate drain on the inside of the truck and draining down the firewall to the floor.
Now, the questions.
1. This is obviously coming from the A/C condensate as I can see it collect around the drain on the inside when the A/C is on and run down. However, I have stuck something in the drain to see if it was clogged. Could it be that this piece of wire was not enough to clear the clog? If it was clogged would it still drain some though as I do get water outside the truck under the drain? Do I do the recommended procedure of putting my air compressor hose in there and really blowing the clog out? Blowing the gunk back in towards the core won't hurt anything will it? Also, I've seen others talk about a 90 degree elbow on the condensate drain. Mine does not have that and is only a 1" straight section that comes out of the firewall. Would that cause the condensate to come back into the cab?
2. The water that is on the floor is actually quite warm to even hot. I figure that is because the water is pooling in the bottom section of the black contraption for the heater core and A/C. Since the fluid is clear and not coolant, I figure the core is not leaking - correct?
3. Could the service techs that did the work on the blend unit have caused this problem as they needed to tear into the dash etc to replace the blend unit? I don't recall this problem when we bought it. But, then again, if it wasn't driven much before we bought it, I guess it wouldn't have accumulated enough to see.
4. I do most of the work on my cars myself. (I have lots of projects
) Where does one get a reasonably priced service manual for this truck? I can't see paying $200 - $300 for a manual on a 10 year old vehicle. Any thing online that I've missed? Someone have a pdf of the manual maybe? I guess I could get a Chilton or Haynes, but they are lacking sometimes.
Sorry for the long book of a post, but wanted to get the most info out to get any help I can.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I really appreciate it.
This is my first post, but been reading the forum for a while getting useful information to help with my 2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT even though I hadn't joined yet. So, first a thanks to those that have contributed to the helpful information.
I've also been following the DuramaxForums and posted this there, but no info. Hoping I can get some info from here.
About the truck. I bought it just a few months ago with only 63k on the dial and well taken care of.
Before we would actually sign papers, we had a couple of issues that the dealer would take care of. The drivers side seat heater would come on and turn-off on it's own. As I found that was an update to the ECM or something and they took care of that, but I'm still having problems where the driver's side seat heater will rapidly turn off and on and I can hear a click. Thinking it is a problem with the element, but having had time to take the covers off and test with an ohm meter, so I've just disconnected the seat.
The other problem I had was with the blend unit. After awhile on our test drive the air would blow hot on the passenger side, but was still cold on the drivers side. I found that this was a common problem and the blend unit would need to be replaced. Which they did.
Now comes the current problem. I've got a big water leak problem on the passenger side. Drove it cross-country to take my son to college and the floor was just soaked in the front and made its way all the way to the back. It seemed to only happen when it rained, so thought it might have been back window, 3rd brake light or something. So, when I got back home I completely tore out the interior looking for leaks, as the forums listed many possibilities, and the jute was totally soaked and ugly, so that needed dried and cleaned or replaced.
The first leak I found was the rear window had about a 3-4" section on the driver's side that was not properly sealed and you could actually see daylight around it. However, the amount of water coming from that was nowhere near enough to cause this much puddling. I could find the majority of the water on the passenger side and in the wire track right by the doors. Tearing into things under the dash more I could tell the water was coming from under the think, black, rubber mat against the firewall. Lifted that up and it drained a large amount of water out of the foam behind the mat. Still not sure where the leak was, I investigated under the mat and could see that it was coming from around the heater condensate drain on the inside of the truck and draining down the firewall to the floor.
Now, the questions.
1. This is obviously coming from the A/C condensate as I can see it collect around the drain on the inside when the A/C is on and run down. However, I have stuck something in the drain to see if it was clogged. Could it be that this piece of wire was not enough to clear the clog? If it was clogged would it still drain some though as I do get water outside the truck under the drain? Do I do the recommended procedure of putting my air compressor hose in there and really blowing the clog out? Blowing the gunk back in towards the core won't hurt anything will it? Also, I've seen others talk about a 90 degree elbow on the condensate drain. Mine does not have that and is only a 1" straight section that comes out of the firewall. Would that cause the condensate to come back into the cab?
2. The water that is on the floor is actually quite warm to even hot. I figure that is because the water is pooling in the bottom section of the black contraption for the heater core and A/C. Since the fluid is clear and not coolant, I figure the core is not leaking - correct?
3. Could the service techs that did the work on the blend unit have caused this problem as they needed to tear into the dash etc to replace the blend unit? I don't recall this problem when we bought it. But, then again, if it wasn't driven much before we bought it, I guess it wouldn't have accumulated enough to see.
4. I do most of the work on my cars myself. (I have lots of projects
Sorry for the long book of a post, but wanted to get the most info out to get any help I can.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I really appreciate it.
