So after cleaning my engine bay (seen below...its a 5.2L in a 1998 van) with degreaser and what not, my AC smells kinda nasty. Cant even breathe in heavily and enjoy the cold air anymore. It will make me cough if i am up close breathing it. I decided to clean my engine bay with degreaser as you see below, just spraying it all over then letting it soak. Then misting it off good with water. Let it dry a bit and took it for a drive to burn off residue and what not. I also let it run a bit here and there too in idle. It still has the smell in the AC. What would've i sprayed in here that it got sucked into the HVAC system? Maybe its just me but i think its only on AC too, not heat (could be wrong...probably am, because i smell it on just fan mode too).

P.S. The engine degreaser was the GUNK brand. Warning: it gave me a pretty bad rash. Felt like extremely bad poison ivy, except there were no blisters and it made you want to claw your skin off from non stop itching (esp face and neck). Lasted for a week or so and still have signs its still in my body. I thought i was in a well ventilated area but apparently i was not for this stuff. This is another reason i need to understand where/how the degreaser got into the AC system just from spraying all around the engine, bc i'll continue to keep breathing it in if thats the case. Thanks in advance!

 

You did put the engine cover back on before driving didn't you? The HVAC system draws air from the grill at the base of the windshield. GUNK is some pretty strong stuff. I haven't used it in years as it's also rough on belts and what not. There's also a lot of plastic and rubber parts under the hood of more modern vehicles that weren't there in the 1960's and 70's.

As long as you didn't spray it into the intake grill under the windshield, it should clear up soon. I'd leave the windows open for a while when it isn't raining.

 

Yeah i put the cover back on and drove it. Turned on the AC naturally because it was hot and wow it was bad. Its possibly between that, as well as the cleaning process, got into my lungs too much and caused the reaction. I used it before and never had that issue. I wont be using it anytime soon lol. But yeah anyway as far as cleaning, it just took the cover off, sprayed the visible stuff in the picture, as well as a bit further up towards the front where belts are (im just saying thats probably the farthest it sprayed maybe) and then misted it off heavily with water to get rid of it. Im pretty sure the unbreathable smell when using AC isnt a coincidence either, as it happened the night of cleaning the engine bay. I even have an oil leak that gets onto the exhaust, and that burning smell doesnt even get into the hvac system

 

I figured you replaced the cover but one never knows. Keep in mind everything is really cramped on a van. You also have a lot of insulation under there beside the engine. I wonder if some got nto the insulation and is taking it's sweet time to cook off. As it cooks off, it may be getting past the hood and going up where it is then drawn into the air intake. Is the smell less the faster you go? This van may just be a pariah for a few days until the GUNK out gasses.

It could be worse. You could have hit a skunk.

 

Ive actually had the cover off since that driving situation (because replaced spark plugs and stuff). I start it up and let it idle to burn off anything. Even before the engine heats up, the smell comes out of the vents when im using AC. I have doors open and and had it on high a few times, but no change so far. Pretty toxic to breathe in. Honestly a skunk wouldve been better

 

It's possible some got into the intake grill. Try using a garden hose and flush it out. It should run out the drain like rain water does. If a little bit got in there, maybe this will rinse it out.

 

The intake grill under the windshield like you said above? So youre saying if i take that plastic cover off (same with my trucks), that is where air goes into? I have the manual for the van but i dont think there is a schematic like that for the hvac (i'll check). Maybe youtube can help me understand that better

 

yes it sucks in air from there. Putting it on recirculation it pulls air from the cab.