Loving my "new" '73 Tii...but for that rodent smell

[DRedman]

I get the cheap Irish Spring soap bars at the Dollar Tree and put them under the hood near the heater air intake, glove compartment, console front, and if necessary under the back seat.  I guess you can cut them up to fit in the pedal box?  They seem to prevent rodents from entering and maybe help with the current odor.  You may also smell good when you depart the car?

[Mike Self]

I found an absolutely perfect tobacco rear seat back for my '69--only one problem--mice had nested inside the seat--hadn't chewed anything but were not fastidious about their bathroom habits.  Days in the sun, gummihaar side up did nothing for the smell, nor did all sorts of anti pet pee concoctions; In desperation I tried Fabreeze--and it worked.  That was nearly ten years ago, and no untoward smells have invaded Wolfgang since.  

 

Soon as you find the source of the smell, douse it with Fabreeze--bet it'll work.

 

mike

[M5280RCR]

1 hour ago, mike said:

I found an absolutely perfect tobacco rear seat back for my '69--only one problem--mice had nested inside the seat--hadn't chewed anything but were not fastidious about their bathroom habits.  Days in the sun, gummihaar side up did nothing for the smell, nor did all sorts of anti pet pee concoctions; In desperation I tried Fabreeze--and it worked.  That was nearly ten years ago, and no untoward smells have invaded Wolfgang since.  

 

Soon as you find the source of the smell, douse it with Fabreeze--bet it'll work.

 

mike

 

Thanks Mike,

 

This is the easiest potential fix, i'll be trying it this weekend.

 

Dave

[mmichalik]

When I was younger, my father owned a couple of body shops here in San Diego.  During the summer, I would work in the pre-delivery detail area and we used to get some cars that smelled FUNKY.  We would wash down the area(s) with Ammonia to eliminate the odors.  You can get some pretty good pure ammonia products on Amazon that will do the trick for you.

[jimk]

1 hour ago, mmichalik said:

You can get some pretty good pure ammonia products on Amazon that will do the trick for you.

Be careful.  Ammonia concentrations (diluted with water) greater than about 20% can kill you.  Industrial uses of it have to have a spill plan that includes a red button that brings on the vehicles with sirens and evacuation of surrounding areas.  There even is a zone classified as a "kill zone".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

['76mintgrün'02]

and, of course, never mix ammonia and bleach.

 

[mmichalik]

Good points on both, guys.  The safety aspects were so drilled into my head when I was 12 - 15, I hadn't thought about it.  Exercise caution using it but, it does work very effectively.

[Mike Self]

10 hours ago, '76mintgrun'02 said:

and, of course, never mix ammonia and bleach.

That was on tonight's episode of "Chicago Fire"--a woman mixed ammonia and bleach in her basement and was overcome by the fumes--makes chlorine gas--great for WW I battles, not so much for cleaning...

 

mike

[JerryC]

 

On 1/17/2018 at 12:10 PM, ray_ said:

And you oughta be able to pull up the carpet and see everything in the pedal box.

 

...You're not smelling horse hair, are you?

 

Cheers,

 

I pulled up the carpet, but was not able to see into the pedal box, just the sliver of space between where the pedals move.  Horse hair I believe would be in original seats, and this car had new Recaros installed about a year ago.  Also, there is no smell when I just sit in the car, only when it is moving.

 

M5280RCR,

The rubbery stuff between the pedal arms is a removable insert that keeps the carpet from falling into the pedal box. You should be able to gain full access to the box interior, at least well enough to remove rodent carcasses. See #19:

Just gently lift the rubber "sound absorber", remembering to be gentle with the 45 year old brittle polymers. It's a good time to replace that part, too. Realoem shows they're still available for $27.

 

[M5280RCR]

Thanks Jerry.   Very helpful,  much appreciated. 

[j2002tii]

There are so many places that rodents and other friends go in vintage cars.  Take your time and locate the smell as best you can and remove any causes that you find.  I have used Adam's Polishes products for man years now and have found them to be the most effective.  www.adamspolishes.com has a full compliment of car care products that are nothing short of fantastic.  The Carpet and Upholstery cleaner is extremely effective as is the Leather and Interior cleaner.  Clean your interior with those products and your car will smell a whole lot better.  He even offers a spray deodorizer that has a light scent to it which disappears after a bit.  Your car will then smell as it should.  You can even spray it in your air vents. I have used these products many times and they are very effective.  Have saved many original interiors like this when people said that everything would need to be replaced.

[M5280RCR]

Quick update,

• I took the rear seat out, only one year old, and no evidence of any rodents
• I opened up the pedal box and no carcass or nest there, but there was one little mouse poop (Thanks JerryC on the diagram above, made it very easy)
  • Sprayed the pedal box with Lysol, some pet deodorizer and Fabreeze
• Took all the loose carpeting up (also one year old) and found one mouse poop under the passenger side rug (so thought maybe pee accumulation in carpets)
  • Sprayed all loose carpets and permanent carpets with Lysol, pet deodorizer and Fabreeze
• and guess what?
• The smell went away for about 5 minutes, but the damn smell is still there
• Next project, heater box...ugh!

 

PS.  Is there an easier way to check behind the dash, or heater core without going through all of this?

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/articles.html/technical-articles/body-and-interior/heater-box-removal-and-replacement-r41/  

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by M5280RCR
added info

[2002Scoob]

sounds to me like you might have a nest in your heater box... which I don't think there's an easy way to get at without taking stuff apart, but I've never dug that deep into my dash before. 

 

Would make sense if the smell gets worse if you're driving, pointing to heat from the heater-core and airflow going through the system. Have you tried gettin' in close by the vents, and seeing if the smell gets worse with engine-heat, or with the blower motor on-off?

[jgerock]

Why does everyone think the heater box is such a difficult item to remove and replace? If the car doesn't have air conditioning it is relatively easy to remove. Just remember to turn the heater valve off and gently pry the box away from the cowl since BMW put foam insulation in this area.

 

Rotate the box to remove it from the dash cavity then move it to the right side to clear the (sharp) metal dash piece.  Remove the heater controls from the dash to keep them connected to the heater box.

[ray_]

9 minutes ago, jgerock said:

Why does everyone think the heater box is such a difficult item to remove and replace? If the car doesn't have air conditioning it is relatively easy to remove. Just remember to turn the heater valve off and gently pry the box away from the cowl since BMW put foam insulation in this area.

 

Rotate the box to remove it from the dash cavity then move it to the right side to clear the (sharp) metal dash piece.  Remove the heater controls from the dash to keep them connected to the heater box.

I said that a month ago also.

 

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