IDM

I called the dealer about my 98 having a slight moldy smell coming from the AC. They said there wasn't a cabin air filter available until 2003 in the 4runners but they offer an evaporator cleaning service for $65 that would get rid of that smell and kill any bacteria in the AC vent system.


Has anyone done this? Thanks

IDM

anyone?

rworegon

It may help, especially, if they clean the ducts also. Are you sure the drain is clear? There is another thread that was just revived on the same issue.

IDM

No I haven't seen that thread. Not sure the drain is clear, Ive had this car for about 6 weeks and don't know it to well

oldblue

you can buy stuff from any parts store that will be cheaper than the dealer. a good product will be a foam that you spray into the evaporator drain from under the truck and let it kill the bacteria on the evaporator. there are also sprays you can buy that you spray into the cowl vents with the blower working on the fresh air setting, they work ok for a while.

IDM

okay thanks just seeing if anyone had tried it.


For $65 Id be willing to pay the dealer to get rid of this mild smell for sure

offset442

i had this problem its because of dirt that builds up on the ac condenser then it grows fungus and bacteria very un healthy to breathe, take out the fan and you can see the condenser, spray the hell out of it, if your are careful the runoff will just go out of the condensation pipe if its bad disconnect the positive battery terminal use a garden hose adapted down to an air blow tool with a small orifice so you can control the water jet , a catch pan will get most of the water but a lot of it will get away plain on the truck to be down long enough for dry time dont reconnect the battery until your sure atleast any wet wires have dried out, I live in a desert so this methiod works well for me i would think twice if i lived in a wet climate though, unless i was prepaired to run a hair dryer or space heater vented through the truck for a day or 2.

IDM

Wonder if the 65 service from the dealer would do that.
All they said was that they would put a solvent into the evaporator area


for $65 I cant expect much from them Im sure. Its probably a 5 minute service and wouldn't be adequate to resolve the issue

offset442

thats all they doo is spray solvent into the vents, i thinks you can buy a solvent atthe autoparts store, but you still need to take the fan off to spray it on the ac evaporator, i prefere to just use water via the methods i described nothing beats a good soap and water wash, you can use a good spray bottle as well but you need something to dissolve the crud in there regardless of what you use it also needs to be disenfecting, but not bleach or alkali because that will damage the evap core fins, i worked in a dirt climate on a major border wall construction project once for 6 months i had to 4x4 to work over the worst firtle dusty train you can think of, and my ac core grew green slimy mold it was disgusting and made me sick i took the fan out on the jobsite and sprayed the evap coil to stop some of the toxins worked ok. later when the job was over and i had gone home i i rigged up a pressure nozzle to a garden hose, and used compressed air to blow lysol cleaner threw the vents, gave it some time to sit and work then blew water threw the vents, and directly sprayed the evap coil thoroughly with a few soaking treatments , i did it in mid summer so it only too 2 days to dry out completely, i also soak washed the carpet and seats with the garden hose/tide laundry soap and a scrub brush while i was at it. i used a shop-vac in wet mode to suck up the extra rinse water, and poped the the rubber drain plugs from under the body