Passenger Toes Not Getting Heat

[Prathbun]

I have a '00 Silverado 2wd, 80K, 3 door cab and when I rode in the passenger side front seat during a recent cold spell, My right foot was almost frozen. I reached up under the dash near the kick panel and it felt like there was a hole in the firewall letting in cold air. I'll be changing the cabin filter today but other than that I have not done any further investigations. Any ideas??

Thanks!!!

[Chris27]

I'll be following this one, my truck does the same thing. 2000 Silverado, 4 door cab. Wife is always complaining her feet are cold.

[Prathbun]

I just changed the cabin filter Wix no. 24805. Man, there was a lot of dust and crap that came out. I didn't see anything that was disconnected however. Stay tuned, I'll post my future findings (if any).

[afoshie]

cabin filter ???????

[Slammed67]

I'm having the same problem. 2000 GMC regular cab. Had to stuff some towels up there on a recent road trip so the wife wouldn't freeze. Haven't had time to look into yet.

[DavesRide]

There is a hole in the firewall. I have fixed more than 25 of those for the same reason. I might be able to help you. The cold air comes in where the fresh air intake of HVAC case meets the upper firewall. To access it you have to remove the wipers and outer cowl cover. There is a special little wiper arm removal tool that you will need. A little puller is what it looks like. Once the cowl is off look on the passenger side at the painted metal surface and look for the cover that has been glued down. It is just above the fresh air intake (what you are trying to get to.) Take a sharp blade and follow the outside edge. Everyside has one or two metal tabs that have been bent to hold it in place while it dried on the assembly line. The less you bend the cover the less work you will have have siliconing it back into place later on. It has to be sealed down as you don't want water to be able to enter there just above the fresh air intake as it will cause a leak. It doesn't have to be pretty because it won't be seen once cowl panel replaced.
Ok, once the cover is cut away you are where you need to be to repair air leak. Do not turn system on to recirculate. The door must be open. You might not be able to see it but there is a soft foam seal between the plastic of the HVAC case and the metal of the firewall down inside the hole. What happens is that the foam gets pushed out or into cab causing the air leak to leak in also especially noticeable on very cold days. What I have done in the past is force a larger, harder type foam into gap and the with a rubber glove on cover over with silicone to be sure it stays in place. Don't let anything fall into fan blades as the fan will vibrate your dash horribly with just a small piece. Straighten the cover that you cut out earlier and silicone back into place being sure to seal it off completely. reinstall cowl and wipers and let slicone cure.
Sure it may sound easy and it is especially if you have done it 25 times in a warm shop. Seriously, my boss of 20 techs always came to me for this fix to be sure it was "fixed right the first time" as known by Chevy techs.

[DavesRide]

Here is a my evenings givings with and illustration.



Once you get to the area it is pretty easy to see what I am talking about. Reach through hole where you cut out access panel and down into fresh air intake hole. This is the inner firewall just above you wife's toes and where the plastic HVAC case connects to it. Fill in the voids and get rid of the cold air leaking in. Be careful not to bother the fan or door with any foreign material. The fans are very sensative to balance and will vibrate badly with any thing added to them. Cold be a good Valentines project or just another honey-do thing. Either way the passengers will be warmer.

[Old Dave]

Thanks Dave. You're a much better illustrator than I am. I assume a 2001 Yukon XL would be the same?

[Huck]

I did this fix on my 2000 Silverado and have the same problem now on my 2002. THIS IS A MAJOR DESIGN DEFECT FROM GM JUST LIKE THE STEERING COLUMN INTERMEDIATE SHAFT. I will try and get a picture of the inside when I get to doing mine. ARGGGGGG!!!!

[Old Dave]

Thanks Huck. I am going to wait for warmer weather to do mine. It was 55 deg. here at noon and it was 33 when I came home at 4:30. Damn cold front blew in, temp. dropped like a rock and is still dropping. Dave's drawing made it a little easier for my old brain to envision what I'm looking for to fix the problem.

[Chris27]

Just did this fix on my '00. Thanks for the diagrams. Took me about 45 mins.