passenger area carpet wet .. is my van a greenhouse?

crash · Post by **crash** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 2:18 am

well.. here's the thing. when i bought the 99 i noticed a bit of a damp smell inside.. i figured being that it'd be sitting for awhile with the doors and windows closed up tight that it was just some condensation. i hoped that was all.. and running around with the windows down would dry it out.

we've had the van now for like 2mths and under the factory rubber mats it's like soaked. the weather has been warm and sunny for the most part. there are no window or roof leaks.. the rear heat doesn't see to be leaking and the rear AC doesn't either. something of note: the moisture is all between the front and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd row seats. not the rear of the van and not the front...

any ideas or suggestions or if anyone else has experienced this .. some tips or info would be great on how to dry it up and keep it dry.

could it even be something as simple as the van is so airtight that with it being cool over night then hot during the day that the moisture is just collecting under the rubber mats ? heck they are only 18" x 30 something... and my 94 has the same mats with no problems.

astrozam · Post by **astrozam** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:52 am

try removing the rubber mats for a few days and see what happens Rob,thats the easiest /cheapest way

Drooler · Post by **Drooler** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 9:46 am

find and check the AC drain hose for blockage

crash · Post by **crash** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:27 pm

well.. i had the van out in the sun all day today and it was a hot one. all doors and hatch and windows open.. carpet seemed dry to the touch so I thought.. yay sucess. then i steped on the carpet and water seeped up though.

drooler.. where do i even start to look for this drain hose? inside outside leftside rightside..... front or rear? sorry for my ignorance

97TurboAstro · Post by **97TurboAstro** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:24 pm

My wife's 99 AWD and her friend's 96 had a soggy-carpet problems in the past.

The problem with the '96 was the rear AC drain hose. It was stopped-up. When I opened it up, it drained and hasn't had any troubles since then. The strange thing is that the wet spot appeared to be in front of the 2nd row. The AC is behind the 3rd row. That rubber coating under the carpet was masking the problem for quite a while.

Crawl under the driver's side of the van at the very back. Right beside the funky connection where the AC lines go up into the van, there should be a black, rubber hose that is pinched shut. Squeeze the sides of that hose. If you get covered in black, yucky water, your drain hose was clogged. If there is no water, you probably have a leak somewhere

My wife's 99 had a leak. We fought that problem for a few years. The passenger side of the dutch doors was leaking. The seals weren't destroyed, so we didn't know what to do. I finally think we have it solved. Someone on the other site said to coat the door seals w/ petroleum jelly. That is supposed to make them swell. The first time it seemed to help a bit, but the van still let water in when it rained. After the 4th time of working it into the seals, they finally swelled-up enough to seal the back of the van. Now fuel is $3 per gallon, and we can't afford to go anywhere.

With both vans, the only way we were able to dry 'em out was to remove the seats and rear carpet. Once you remove the trim at the back and the doors, as well as the trim on those seat pockets, the carpet will come right out. We laid the carpet out upside down in the sun for a couple days. The sun will dry-out the carpet, and the UV rays will kill a lot of the mold you've been growing.

Have fun... I know I did... NOT!

crash · Post by **crash** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:57 am

thanks Ron.... now i have my day planned for tomorrow.. LOL (sorry i lost track of this thread)

crash · Post by **crash** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:30 am

well.. it's 11:30am and the entire carpet is out of the van.. my wife freaked when she got up and seen a bare nekkid interior .. LOL

she'll be driving it with no carpet today and tmw.. lol

i have the van running with the ac now to see if any condensation is produced from the rear unit. the carpet seemed to be wettest towards the rear drivers side.. then between each row ... friggin carpet must have weighed 200lbs soaked.

i have it laying over my bbq drying out... $\:D/$

if no condensation is produced by the rear condensor i'll have to start dumping buckets of water over the side and rear window to see if anything is getting in and where...

edit update: the floor is totally dry now. carpet still draining. the rear AC ran for about 15 - 20 min and there is nothing plugging the rubber drain, nor is it puddling inside. it's dripping really good. that's the good news.

the bad news is that it's coming in from somewhere. all metal is dry, the walls are dry so until i spray the outside of the van with everything closed up tight there's no way to tell. can't do that until later tonight though as my stupid city has water restrictions during the day until 6pm.

one thing that i did notice is that the rear window on the drivers side (not the dutch door and not the popout one. seems to have about an 1/8th of an inch gap down the sides, the top and bottom are sealed fine. being that the window is stuck to the metal lip I can't see it coming in there but stranger things have happened.

crash · Post by **crash** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:45 am

well.. day 2 of the carpet drying/leak seeking.

i hosed the van down pretty good this morning and nothing came in the suspect window. i did see that the drivers side lower dutch door had quite a buildup of water pooling right in the corner where the rubber door seal is. i squeezed the rubber and it was full of water.. i tried to get as much out as i could... but i don't think that's the root of the leak. check out the pic below. there is a black sticky strip along the rear of the van.. it looks to me like this was added later (not factory installed). can anyone that has lifted the carpet at the back confirm this??

i'm going to build up a good bead of silicone and see how that works.

one other question i do have is where does should the front AC condensor be dripping? i don't see a puddle under the van behind the front pass wheel .. that's where i've always seen it before. is there a chance there is a drain hose from inside the passenger compartment that should run out into the engine bay ??

crash · Post by **crash** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:37 am

update: got this all done by the end of the day on monday. carpet totally dry. silicone in place, carpet and seating reinstalled.

tuesday we had a really heavy rain storm. i checked all areas and so far have found no dampness and no visible leaks.

thanks for all your help 97turbo, drooler and zam. i don't want to speak too soon

so far so good

crash · Post by **crash** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:49 am

update:

9 days and two very heavy rain storms later... still no leaks (that I can find). carpet 100% dry. febreezed it for the 2nd time and the musty damp smell has left the building... err.. van. $\:D/$

trybe13 · Post by **trybe13** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 4:49 am

Glad that it seems to be working out for you Rob! Nothing like getting a problem resolved that has given you a hard time to fix. Way to hang in there!

Jboy2 · Post by **Jboy2** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:40 pm

Congrats on the fix

crash · Post by **crash** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:57 pm

thanks guys.. and for the input of possible causes.

i actually ended up using at least one tube of silicone creating a dam of sorts about 1/4" tall all the way across the back where the black gummy tape stuff was. then on the sides did 3 more curved rows as backup .. sounds funny but has done the trick. silicone sandbags ... LOL $\:D/$

Chevy & GMC Vans

Chevy & GMC Vans

passenger area carpet wet .. is my van a greenhouse?

passenger area carpet wet .. is my van a greenhouse?

dry it out