I own a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer with a V-8 and everytime i engage the A/C their is a foul odor coming from the vents, i am trying to figure out where that would be coming from and was wondering if anyone had this problem before, it stays for a minute or 2 and then disappears and the A/C is fine i dont know what the heck it could be....

 

does it smell musty, like old wet socks?
Try spraying a whole can of Lysol disenfectant down the vent in front of the windshield, with the AC on and fan on medium.
They make a more powerful spray, available at A/C repair parts houses.
Is the evaporator drain line dripping, like it should?

 

yeah the evaporator is dripping and i tried to spray some a/c sprays in the vents and nothing it still comes back, it smells like old socks and stinks!

 

Well, the A/C repair shops will spray their favorite specialized spray.....it must work.
You've got a mildew. Bleach will kill it. I wouldn't spray full strength bleach in there, may have residual bleach smell.
Start with a 25% bleach/75% water mix , strengthen if necessary, then rinse with alot of water spray....fan on medium to pull the mist onto the core. When they power wash houses around here, and need to remove mildew, they first spray it with bleach, to loosen it.
By the way, I'm in South Texas.....I know A/C!
Good luck. Let us know.

 

Someone told me about this stufdf called FRIGIFRESH made by BG PRODUCTS anyone hear of if? This is suppose to do the trick so they say....

 

Im looking for the AIR INTAKE on a 1998 mountaineer anyone know where that is located so i can spray some A/C odor remover spray into it....

Thanks!

 

Well I've never really looked, but 9 times out of 10 it's thru the cowl.
Turn on the blower fan and listen for the noise outside.

 

I sprayed a whole can of this stuff called [B]FRIGIFRESH it is made for A/C odors it removes kills bacteria and odors from systems and it works really good too. Well worth the $7.00 a can the product is made by [B]BG PRODUCTS and the part # is: 708 if anyone has a A/C odor or is interested in this product.

 

good to know the prepared stuff works. just an FYI bleach only needs to be 10% of a solution (1:10) to kill any organisms (mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses etc) You can use more, wont hurt anything, accept your sense of smell

 

You can pump all the spray you want in there but the smell is still going to come back...

[From Ford]:
"The way to prevent the odor is to turn the vent on high when you get about a mile from your destination. This dries out the core to prevent the bacteria build up while the truck is parked.This problem occurs in R-134a systems due to the reduction in size of the A/C core."

I had this issue with my brand spanking new Supercrew and now in my 00' Mountaineer. Drying out the core helps a great deal, I also use Lysol occasionally to kill any residual smell.

 

Turn the vent on high with the AC on or off? and whats the best place to spray the odor remover spray into?

Thanks!

 

After you clean out the A/C, it is hard to keep the mildew smell from coming back. After cleaning the drip tube and cleaning the vents with lysol, I maintained the fresh smell by running the heat for about 15 seconds (just enough to get everything warm inside) after each time I used the A/C. The warm air evaporates the residual moisture in the ducts so it doesn't sit there and allow more mildew to grow. This takes a little time every time you shut the car down, so one must be a little patient. If you can remember, just run the heat for the last 1/4 mile of your dirve. I've never had to clean the A/C ducts since! Believe it or not, I even have to do this in an arid enviroment (Las Vegas).

 

I will remember that (LVDAN) hopefully it will work because the smell does come back... UGHHH!!!!