Ducts in front of Radiator

[Rxster08]

Hola!

I am seeking advice regarding an incident that occurred this afternoon with my 2017 Axis 25.5. We are on day 1 of a 2-month cross country road trip to California.

While traveling down I-95, all was fine until we heard what sounded like a hose releasing a lot of pressure underneath the passenger seat dash desk.

We took the next exit and immediately pulled into a gas station parking lot. I saw a hose / air duct in front of the right front tire with water draining from the end. The water was not hot and the other end is connected to a box on the fire wall. There was a hole where i think the tire rubbed on the hose when it fell. The hole was closed with duct tape.

I believe this hose is supposed to be fixed in front of the radiator. We pulled the hose back up around the fender and secured it to the plastic deck using duct tape. There are two air duct hoses, but honestly I don’t know what either one does.

We started back up and all seemed well. We made it another 2-hours to our campground for the night and seem no worse for the incident. I will be at a family member’s tomorrow and plan to put a proper clamp on this hose.

I think the loud sound was simply road noise coming up through the duct and making my rear end pucker.

Can the forum help me understand what is the function of these two hoses and how urgent is replacement of the damaged hose?

Thanks in advance,

Rxster

[Muggs]

I have a vegas. They are fresh air inlets to chassis a/c - heat- ventilation. Normally they connect to adapters on flat portion under grille with hose clamps. Mine are covered with insulating tape as they are fabric/rubber over metal spring and very close to battery terminals. Be careful doing anything under there, is easy to knock a wire loose.

[Rxster08]

Thank you Muggs for the quick reply. I’ll follow up after repairs are final.

[Jimbo56]

The hose that had water might be drain from your AC condenser. It may have been zip tied together with the air intake ductwork. My AC drinks just behind and inside right front wheel assembly.

[taylorbob1]

I agree with both experts above.

There are two vent 3.5” vent hoses directing outside fresh air into the front cab. They are attached to a plastic cowling in the front engine compartment.
They are fastened with plastic inserts that get brittle and break.
So you may need to use clamps or duck tape to keep in place if it is flopping around.

The AirConditioner condensation drain comes down inside the front passenger tire area. So you will see puddles of water there while parked after running your AC.

[Rxster08]

Thanks Bob, one week later everything seems well.
A/C continues to work well and it appears the clamp is holding the fresh air ducts without issue.

Again my thanks for all the timely responses.

[Jimbo56]

Mine have metal worm clamps holding them . Checked and they seem tight.

[sportcoupe]

The two fresh air intakes above the radiator technically should not hold water but due to the way Thor mounted the evaporator housing, the condensation that normally drains to the ground, and still does, also can and does drain into these air intake hoses. Sometime to the point of blocking incoming air and icing up the evaporator.

I called ProAir on what to do about it. They are the ones that make the system now and they confirmed that Thor's mounting of the housing is causing water to collect in the air intakes. They told me most people put holes in the ducts to allow water to drain from them and not collect to the point of restricting airflow.

I choose to just relocate the ducts so they could drain naturally.

These ducts are not the sound you heard because there is no pressure in an air intake hose.

[Rxster08]

👍
Thanks for the information

[ducksface]

Somewhere in my signature thread are pictures of the hepa filter I added to those air intake lines.
It's a nice low talent project anyone can do.