While driving back home on the highway from a late night out, I heard what sounded like gravel or beads or something moving around in the dash. Maybe the sound similar to one of those "rain sticks". I wasn't quite sure what to think, because everything seemed to be running fine.

A few days later (yesterday), I happened to notice a couple of small piles of rice at the bottom of my front windshield, just above the vent intakes. That's when I realized that somebody had apparently dumped rice down the intakes (which do not have a micro-filter). I opened up the vent cover and vacuumed out what little bit of rice was there, but clearly a bunch has already made its way into the vent system.

My thought is that either the person was hoping little pieces of rice would pelt me as I drove (which it didn't), or there was a more devious plan of having the rice clog up the system when it got moist.

As I understand it, the AC evaporator pulls air directly from the intake vents. The evaporator is obviously moist. Should I be concerned that over time my AC drain and/or the evaporator will get clogged or stop working?

I honestly don't know how much rice made it in, but based on what I was hearing, maybe a cup or two.

Anyone ever heard of this sort of "prank"?

 

Wow! That's more like sabotage than a prank. Whoever done it may not have thought about the consequences, but yes, the rice will absorb moisture. It would take a lot of rice to plug things up, but regardless, now you may have wet organic matter in the system. Can't say I've ever dismantled the ductwork on an xj8 (99 is an x308 btw), but I have restored quite a few vintage cars and found the cowl and a/c plenums are always full of leaves and debris from having been parked under trees for 40+ years. The leaves rot and give off unpleasant odor but that's the least of it. In the case of vintage Mustangs, its extremely common for the cowl area to rust through from the constantly wet material that collects in the recesses which is an extensive and expensive repair. I was patching a rust hole in a vintage Corvette a/c plenum just last weekend. I expect the x308's is all plastic tho. Hopefully someone can post a trick how to remove the most of it without having to dismantle the dash and/or evaporator unit.

Back in college, I had a little Honda Civic back when they were essentially micro-cars and a couple of times found my buddies had picked it up and turned it sideways in a parking spot where I couldn't get it out. I later retaliated by filling one of their cars halfway up the window with styrofoam packing peanuts through the left open sunroof and jacking another's drive wheels imperceptibly just an 1/8 inch off the ground. Now those were "practical" jokes!

 

Hi Bill,

I have moved your post from the forum for the X350 to the forum for the X308, which is the Jaguar factory project code for your 1999 XJ.

The first thing I wondered when reading your account was if you might have been parked near the venue where a wedding was taking place? If so, could it be possible the rice was tossed onto your car unintentionally?

There may not be a great concern about the rice clogging your heater core or A/C evaporator. The fresh air from the windshield cowl vents is drawn first into the blower motor housings at the left and right ends of the dash, where at least some of the grains may get trapped, and the rest may find their way into the outlet duct a few grains at a time.

The evaporator is in the climate control unit in the center of the dash, and if many grains eventually make their way to that area, some may lodge between fins in the evaporator and heater core, but most will probably settle to the bottom of that area, leaving most of the surface area of the evaporator and heater core free to pass air.

I think pdupler's observation about wet organic material in your system is the most concerning point, since if I'm not mistaken rice can develop mold. If you suspect that is happening, you may be able to access the heater core/evaporator area with a thin vacuum hose without having to pull the entire dash. Hopefully other members will be able to offer advice.

Cheers,

Don

 

To follow up with Don B's idea of a vacuum attachment. I have used different types of semi rigid vacuum or fuel line affixed to the vacuum hose in different ways (depending on your vacuum). Then snake it down where I needed it to get what I wanted out.
You must use a semi rigid material or it will collapse when you turn the vacuum on or touch the bottom and it tries to suck to it.
I find a straw on the end of the semi rigid to help also, since it slides smoothly along plastic and you can cut a functional angle on it or if you have a bendy straw to get around a corner. The large milkshake straws I find work best, they are quite rigid and larger round than the standard fast food joint ones. Its all in your imagination.

 

If I were you, I'd address this matter sooner rather than later. I foresee a clogged drain and a lot of headaches if not contended with ASAP. I would remove both blower motors and the cowl paneling to either vacuum out or blow out with compressed air. Good luck

 

Damn that's a cruel prank if it was intentional. Makes me want to retro a cabin air filter, assuming the ones on rockauto are the correct part, and I can find a bracket, and there isn't more that that needs..