A/C stinks BAD

[1990QOwner]

Over the past few months my A/C has had a bad musty, mildew smell to it . What on earth could this be? Is there a cure? Thanks

[96Qowner]

Here are a few threads on the subject:

Sourness in the A/C

Just got 02Q - Stink

Stinky air?

Best thing to do is clean the evaporator:

Evaporator Cleaning - Q45

[Haitian_King]

Yeah. You've got some mold and stuff growing in there. I know Joe from IOS has this BG product designed for vent cleaning and disinfecting. Lysol is a cheap method as well, though not as effective as a good thorough cleaning.

[goody90q45]

The face of the evaporator downstream of the blower can get real nasty. I cleaned mine when I first got it and it wasn't too, too dirty. But....one of the Q's I parted had odors similar to yours and the evaporator was caked in what looked like dog hair. I'm just getting you prepared for what you may have inherited from the previous owners because you can bet it's never been cleaned.

Clean the solids off the evaporator and do one of the treatments that Reji suggested and you'll be smelling like roses again. Enjoy.

[Q451990]

BG Frigi Fresh is about $6.50 a can from Joe. I have four cans on the way for the G, as well as a new in cabin filter. It has an almost meaty smell sometimes...

Heath

[Haitian_King]

Ew. A meaty smell?

[qship96]

Has anyone tried the BG product that injects expandable foam cleaner into evaporator,then oozes the crap out the condensate drain hose?

[Haitian_King]

Isn't that the Frigi-Fresh?

[Q451990]

That's it.

[maxnix]

BG Frigi Fresh is about $6.50 a can from Joe.

Heath

That is a screaming deal.

http://www.bgprod.com

[qship96]

no,different product,around 30 bucks/can-maybe called frigi-clean

[AlabamaDan]

Stop Farting in the car with recirculate on. :lol

[Q45tech]

Products that contain ispropyl alcohol and disinfectants work a short while.

Removing the fan allows you to get in there with a water pick and forcepts and brushes to actually remove the hair and dead animals.

On new cars the addition of a filter allows you to show owners the crud.

There is always the debate of wheter a failed evaporator fail from acids inside or externally eating inward.

Careful with non specific AC chemicals that might attack aluminum..........always PRETEST with aluminum foil over night.

[elwesso]

You definitely want to clean the evap manually really good. What I did was take the glovebox out, and remove the blower resistor and you can get at the evap pretty good. I shoved in a vacuum hose and got all the big chunks out, then i used a stiff toothbrush to loosen everything off, then I dumped water in there to rinse the stuff off.... This also makes sure the drain is clean.

ONCE you have it really clean, use the frigi fresh and call it a day...

[infinitinut2]

Not more than a month ago, I had to r/r the fan motor on my 92 Q in that it had, essentially, stopped being able to blow air through the ducts, due to being "stopped up", mice having evaded/avoided fine mesh, metal "hardware cloth" I had ealier installed over the inlets that I could easily access from ABOVE the engine. This invasion had occurred with the first cold nights of the season, here, in SW NM! I extracted a ball of various materials the size of a soccer ball, that the mice had put in the fan motor and the air box next to it! I cleaned and vacuumed everything well, while in there. After putting everything back together(and, contrary to one of the posters here, MY fan motor did not come out that easily, one of the retaining screws being nearly inacessible, and the brace below the glove box DID have to be removed! It was a multi-hour job, and, not one that I wanted to soon again have to repeat!) Alas, in the last few weeks, the little bastards have managed to again get into the hvac system, ignoring the numerous boxes of D-con that I had placed under the hood!

I bought another, large piece of "hardware cloth" and will try and wrap the engine bay with the cloth below, in an attempt to preclude future access and nest building. The car is covered and left outside here in the SW NM mountains, during the winter months, when we are back east. And, it has been reported that the rodent problem is really bad this year, in this area!

I was thinking about trying to place a piece of this wire mesh material over the opening from the air box which leads into the fan when I work up the strength to again do this onerous task.

Of note is that the same thing happened with a Lexus LX that we also keep here, and, after paying a garage $150 to clean out mice carcases and nest material, I bought a Toyota L/C FSM off ebay and learned to do the job myself, needing to do it again the next spring. It would seem, though, on this vehicle, that I managed to screen over all the access routes into this vehicle's hvac system, not having had any further problems with this vehicle.

I will say, though, currently owning 4 Japanese vehicles, the assemblers must have the smallest Oriental hands, anywhere! My goodness things are always tight when working on these vehicles!

ANY THOUGHTS on the Q issues and access routes other than putting a few cats inside the engine bay?

Thanks!

[maxnix]

And, it has been reported that the rodent problem is really bad this year, in this area!

A little Hanta virus in your HVAC wouild certainly ruin your day!

[Haitian_King]

Ewwww.

Wes, when you say your poured water in there to flush the debris out, where did it come out? I might give this a shot. Would a car wash vac be too much? Or too big to fit and get the stuff off the evaporator?

[elwesso]

I had to use a skinny attachment to my shop vac, anything else you wont be able to get into the hole...

The water comes out of the evap drain.

[brymax]

You definitely want to clean the evap manually really good. What I did was take the glovebox out, and remove the blower resistor and you can get at the evap pretty good. I shoved in a vacuum hose and got all the big chunks out, then i used a stiff toothbrush to loosen everything off, then I dumped water in there to rinse the stuff off.... This also makes sure the drain is clean.

ONCE you have it really clean, use the frigi fresh and call it a day...

Did he just say "Get the big chunks out"?

Dude, what kinda a pig are you, you got "Big chunks" in the filter there?

Yikes!

I had the same comment for my buddy when he bought that gay-*** Honda Element.

He's like "No Dude, it's cool. I can open the doors on this thing and just hose it all out if I want."

I'm like, "Dude, what kind of a pig are you, you gotta take a hose to the inside of your car?!"

[elwesso]

You have to remember, the early Qs do not have a cabin filter, so all the gunk accumulates over 10-15 years on the evaporator core. I wish they would have put the cabin filters on earlier models, thatd make things so much nicer.

[1990QOwner]

K guys, I think you've answered my question.

[MrPresidentQ45]

For what it's worth, Frigi-Fresh works well, but also, cycle the HVAC between recirculate and fresh air. Don't just leave it on recirculate (especially if it has an Auto mode, they like stay in recirc). Whatever you smell like today, your car might smell like tomorrow, after all.

[Jesda]

I never did find out what this goo was made of.

[MrPresidentQ45]

Huh. Considering that most household dust is human skin cells, dirt and hair, it's probably that plus what looks like wet dryer lint. Yech.