Fresh Air Inlet Cleanout

[1990new]

Anyone removed the little black plate on the right side of the firewall to clean out the leaves? I just did it on both of my Festivas today. They were stuffed full of leaves.
Have owned Festiva since 1990 and just realized today what the opening was for.
Also removed the air inlet box behind the glove box cleaned it out and replaced the deteriorated foam with some strips that I cut for packing wrap.
Pictures:

[georgeb]

My evap case was clogged with a nest. If your fresh air system doesn't flow, that's the smallest passageway and most likely to be clogged. I took mine out but it can probably be cleaned by blowing compressed air through the white door in your pic while the fan is running and using the floor vents.

[Basement_Modder]

THAT'S what that's for?! SWEET!

Edit-666th post OH NO!

[htchbck]

Thanks for reminding me I need to do that on Green Car! I've done that on most of the festivas I've bought over the years, but since Green Car sat for a couple months before I drove her I never got around to it lol.

[blkfordsedan]

I need to do that to mine............but I'm a little scared of what I will find in there.
No doubt, some form of rodent burial ground.

[Movin]

Green midges, spiders from the atomic energy plant, mutant worms from a coal mine
and some foul smelling gooo

[Christ]

Hahahahha. I started pulling the Golf apart and noticed under the rain tray that there was like a pound of cotton-like fiber from mice living in it while it resided in the barn waiting for me to fix it.

I'm kinda scurred to think what's in my 100k mile 92 Festiva, knowing that it's likely sat idle for quite an unreasonable stretch of time.. but I'll check it out anyway.

[runner406]

Whats behind the glovebox ? Im lost lol

[Christ]

The fresh air inlet... that white thing up there. IT's a good idea to take it out, because the foam on it is usually deteriorated and needs replaced (that's how it seals), and can seriously affect your heat input when you use it.

[navdoc101]

Removed the black plate on my festy this morning. All I found was 3 oak leave, almost covered the whole mesh section. Paitin' the cover now. Thanks for this info ya'll!

[1990new]

Happy that my post clued some of you in on this.
Though about taking my evap cases apart but realized I'd have to open the sealed ac cooling circuit to do it, so I declined against this option.
Instead used a shop vac with a reduction hose attachment and snaked
it in through the opening where I removed the inlet box. I know it probably
didn't do the best job, but I did get some more junk out. Also sprayed some diluted bleach water in there while I had it open. This got rid of the funky smell that was coming out of the air vents. (If you decide to do this, make sure the evap case drain hose is not clogged. If it is, you can use compressed air to blow it out.) The volume of air coming through the vents improved amazingly after this fix. Note: I also cut some strips of the same thin foam packing material that I used for replacing the foam on both sides of the flap, to seal around the white box when I re-installed it. I also made a gasket from some thicker foam to replace the seal for the one at the screened opening for the outside air.

[sc72]

Pluged AC

This is what i found when the AC wasn't doing a good job.

[bravekozak]

I posted this once before for a similar thread. I just bought some thin ribbed tubing at Home Depot and attached it to my Shop Vac reducing cone. It feeds in behind both covers (including the wiper motor plate) and vacuums out all debris.

[bravekozak]

I just want to direct anyone searching this thread to see the solution in thread 43366.