A/C Clean?

[kennythewelder]

SO when you say filter you really mean a screen of some sort?

Yes, more or less. Its not a filter with pleats, its more of a flat thin panel kind of thing. It looks a little like dryer lint, or a sheet of cotton about 1/4 inch thick. Mine was messed up, and kind of fell apart as I pulled on it. Being a bigger older guy, it was hard to reach my hand inside there to pull it out. I spent about 1 hour cleaning out the box and removing the filter. Although the hole where the blower is gives you plenty of room to reach inside the box, the filter is to the left of that hole. I cleaned the hell out of everything in there before I replaced the motor. I was having issues with the old motor making noise, but once I replaced the motor with a new one, I couldnt believe how much harder the new motor blows compared to the old motor. The first issue besides the noise, was my fan just had 1 speed. Replacing the resistor fixed that issue, but I did that before I replaced the motor. It was about 1 week or so later, before I replaced the motor. Ive been happy with my system since. Its cold and blows hard out of the vents. It hasnt worked as good in a very long time.

 

[alpinecrick]

I have never seen a cabin filter in any of the GMT400's..........?

 

[Bear 77]

More like a thin piece of green scotchbrite


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[kennythewelder]

More like a thin piece of green scotchbrite


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Correct. And its NOT a replacable filter, like most newer vehicles have.

 

[Eveready]

@kennythewelder where does the air go in? I assumed it was somewhere under the cowl by the wipers but I haven't had it apart yet. (upcoming project) If so, why not add a filter there? Doesn't seem to me that it would be too difficult to put something that would dry quickly under there to prevent major crud from entering the system. I guess there must be a reason why not or someone would have mentioned it.

 

[Dropped88]

I know its a Crappy job but if you'll rip it apart and clean everything, replace the foam with stuff from hardware store. And its made a huge difference in both generations ive done.

They all have 20 plus yrs of crap blowing through them

 

[kennythewelder]

@kennythewelder where does the air go in? I assumed it was somewhere under the cowl by the wipers but I haven't had it apart yet. (upcoming project) If so, why not add a filter there? Doesn't seem to me that it would be too difficult to put something that would dry quickly under there to prevent major crud from entering the system. I guess there must be a reason why not or someone would have mentioned it.

It depends on if you have the AC on recycle or not. On recycle, the air is pulled around from under the blower, on non recycle, it is pulled in from the cowl. Really, there is no need to add a filter. For many years, there was no cabin air filter at all on all vehicles. These trucks were not designed to have a cabin air filter. IMO, the filter that is there is simply a screen type of element to keep debris out of the evap and heater cores. This video should help to show how clean and whats in the air box.

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[Schurkey]

The A/C evaporator gets most of the debris. Some will end up in the heater core. Don't forget to blow that out, too.

Wild Guess: The "scotchbrite" filter being discussed is NOT OEM. Anyone have a GM part number for this sort of filter? I'm guessing "no", but I'm prepared to learn something. I bet someone thought it was a good idea, and stuffed it in there on that one vehicle.

 

[Supercharged111]

Yes, more or less. Its not a filter with pleats, its more of a flat thin panel kind of thing. It looks a little like dryer lint, or a sheet of cotton about 1/4 inch thick. Mine was messed up, and kind of fell apart as I pulled on it. Being a bigger older guy, it was hard to reach my hand inside there to pull it out. I spent about 1 hour cleaning out the box and removing the filter. Although the hole where the blower is gives you plenty of room to reach inside the box, the filter is to the left of that hole. I cleaned the hell out of everything in there before I replaced the motor. I was having issues with the old motor making noise, but once I replaced the motor with a new one, I couldnt believe how much harder the new motor blows compared to the old motor. The first issue besides the noise, was my fan just had 1 speed. Replacing the resistor fixed that issue, but I did that before I replaced the motor. It was about 1 week or so later, before I replaced the motor. Ive been happy with my system since. Its cold and blows hard out of the vents. It hasnt worked as good in a very long time.

You have me curious now as the dually will freeze me out cranked in motion vs the 1500 which seems, having not driven it in a few weeks, is less significant. Except at idle which is where the 1500 never fades unlike the dually which, after 30 or so minutes, is creeping hard on ECTs.

 

[Eveready]

It depends on if you have the AC on recycle or not. On recycle, the air is pulled around from under the blower, on non recycle, it is pulled in from the cowl.

I guess if you wanted a filter it would be more important to put it in the cowl. Presumably air from the cab would be somewhat cleaner except in the case of my truck which I think contains about 5 dogs worth of dog hair.