Noticed a couple of days ago I had some fluid on the passenger side floormat that hasn't been there before. On closer inspection it seems to be antifreeze. There's some on the components just below the glove box.

The obvious candidate is the heating system, but after wiping up the little bit that was there so I could see more closely where it came from I found I didn't get any more leaking. Hmm.

So since it's a major PITA to start going up into that space where the heating stuff is, any suggestions for likely suspected points where it would be leaking?

Rob

Turn the heat on after reaching operating temps for 10-15 minutes and then check for any antifreeze.

If its leaking inside the cabin, over on the pass side, that would make me think its an issue with the heater core leaking when its under pressure. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news - the only way to get anti-freeze in the passenger compartment (other than putting it yourself) is a leaking heater core - on these vehicles, the coolant circulates through the core whenever the engine runs - there is no flow control tap, temperatures are set by air blend doors.

Now the "good" news - the heater core is centered behind the dash, what's off to the passenger side is the a/c evaporator, and it's not very likely for the coolant to migrate sideways in case of a leak - are you sure it was anti-freeze?

Open the glove box, empty it and flip it outwards, squeeze the sides in to get past the limit stops - you can now see what's behind it - a/c evaporator, recirculate air door, cabin air filter, etc. - is there anti-freeze there?

One last thing - you don't want to leave this longer than you have to - the ECU is one of the "components just below the glove box" - not the best place for it, but that is where Suzuki put it.

Check the drain in the fire wall and make sure the wind shield on the drain is pointed down. My wife would get her feet driped on

   

Drain in the firewall?  Wind shield on the drain?  What exactly are we discussing?

As far as I know there is one drain in the firewall - the a/c evaporator housing drain passes through the firewall near the bottom, it's a rubber tube, with no sort of shield - if that drain clogs, condensation accumulates in the housing and eventually overflows, and yes, it will drip on the feet of the passenger - but - if would be highly unusual for anti-freeze to find t's way into the evaporator housing.

It's also possible for water entering via the cowl vent below the windscreen to make it's way into the cabin if the cowl vent drains (which drain behind the front wheels) become clogged with leaves and what have you, entering through the cowl vent.

V6 2.5
It's called a pipe drain part# 95481-65D11.  It needs to be tipped down to drain. Sorry it didn't sound like for sure that it was
antifreeze.  ( Quote ) Seems to be antifreeze it didn't sound for sure. Just trying to help. It keeps the wind from blowing water back in.

Thanks - I'll take a look at that part number on Monday - see what shows up.

That part numbers comes back as a "pipe, drain" - it is in fact the same evaporator drain I was referring to, seems that the V6 uses a different drain to the inline fours.

The elbow drain on both of my trucks came off... the condensation leaked inside on the floor boards.  I simply picked up a 6" piece of fuel line and attached it to the nipple with a small hose clamp angling downward.  Problem solved.  Yeah... antifreeze in the fluid.... that's definitely not from simple condensation and not a good indicator.

Pretty certain it was antifreeze...sweet tasting.

No moisture at all on any of the components behind the glove box. Only possible area behind a black box at the lowest level, which seems to have a connection to firewall. Assuming that's the bottom of the heater core, although it's hard to tell.

Looks like a beast to remove; from what I understand it means removing the instrument panel, which means the entire steering system as well.

Any way to simply bypass the heater core? I'm in California, who needs heat? (Air con yes though).

Rob

Unless I'm very much mistaken the heater core is NOT behind the glove box - it's more toward the center of the car - I'll take a look in the morning.

My suspicion about that "black box at the lowest level" is that you're looking at the a/c evaporator drain - where (horizontally) is it located?  Toward the right (passenger) side?

heater core can be change without removing the dash, but it is tight, have to remove the center console and radio to get sum room (4cyl model)

Unless I'm very much mistaken the heater core is NOT behind the glove box - it's more toward the center of the car - I'll take a look in the morning.

My suspicion about that "black box at the lowest level" is that you're looking at the a/c evaporator drain - where (horizontally) is it located?  Toward the right (passenger) side?

The wet spot was definitely on the passenger side below the glove box. The fluid might have migrated there, of course, but I couldn't find it anywhere else (accessible).