TheSamba.com :: View topic - AC condensate drain tube tip and interior flooding

Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:43 am

Can anyone advise on how to get access to the drain tubes on a 91 Weekender? Does the whole AC cabinet need to be dropped?

Bought the car and just had the AC recharged - On the first trip, water leaked from the cabinet when using the AC.

Thanks!

Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:22 am

TIP 1 Remove the rubber valves. They were only there to satisfy legislative requirement.
TIP 2 Remove the black foam or what is left of it. Its purpose is to prevent condensate from blowing out the vents. Many manufactures used fine stainless screen instead of the foam, Mercedes was one of them. It will never need replacing again.
TIP 3 You can and must remove the drain tubes before removing the A/C housing. Save yourself a lot of frustration when reinstalling the drains by using a silicone coupling sleeve. Reattaching the drain lines as originally installed is an exercise in frustration.

Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:43 pm

Like Dan said above, the valves are suspect. These are on the bottom of each rubber drain tube and can be easily accessed from the outside of the van, by removing the rear engine vent covers. You'll find a squishy rubber tube on each side on the end of which is a slit. The slit is supposed to open when a predetermined amount of water is in the tube but they get "welded" shut from organic matter and other debris. They also get stiff over time and fail to do their job. Take the covers off and you'll see what I mean.

Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:57 pm

It turns out once I dropped the AC cabinet, I found that the drain tubes on my van were not even connected to the tray at all! The condensation from the tray would just drip into the cabinet and then drip into the luggage area.

The drain tubes are so stiff it was very difficult to reattach them so I replaced the drain tubes with more flexible material and it all went together much easier.

AC works great now and no leaks.

Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:02 pm

I had the same issue with the Air Conditioning draining into my back right engine compartment and then dripping out of my van creating rust and other problems. I opened the vent and accessed the original black ac drain tube with the "duck bill" drain tip and slipped a 7/8" clear tube from Home Depot over the vw tube, then ran it down the d-pillar inside the opening next to the vw air intake snorkel and down to the engine compartment. I zip tied the clear extension tube so it can drain out of my van and onto the ground, where it should go! hope this helps I could not find anything online on this, so I decided to post.

Tue Jun 17, 2025 9:33 am

Old post, new comment.

After discovering wet bedding the other day, I realized I had a condensation leak of some kind.

Sure enough, checked the duckbills and they were packed with black foam dust.
Tons of water poured out.

Easy fix!