Dead rodent smell inside 4runner

[BlackWorksInc]

Tell me more about this "rodent screen". While I park in the garage, I know at some point, my truck will be too tall to fit in there.

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Usually get some chicken wire, the kind you'd use for like rabbit cages that has maybe 8mm square holes. Then pull the windshield wiper cowling out, pilot drill, and use self-tapping screw to secure the mesh over the HVAC opening. Some vehicles you have to pull the dash to do it from the inside (I usually do it this way when replacing the HVAC assembly as it's easy that way).

If I get around to installing a rodent screen on my 4th gen this weekend I'll post pictures in my build thread.

OP, change the cabin filter. Sometimes I run without one for a few hours just to make sure everything is clean and dry as wind velocities will be higher without the filter.
As far as rodent screens? Those are just petty challenges to mice and rats. They have a map of your vehicle and like any good first person shooter game will explore all options if they want in.

9/10 they get in via the giant gaping hole in the firewall for the HVAC assembly. Sometimes there's a pathetic plastic mesh there, but they chew through that crap or just slip through the giant gaps. I have yet to see rodents get in through the one-way flap at the back of the vehicle for positive pressure, but it is possible. The other times it seems they get in when windows or doors are open (a co-worker told me about a couple that went hiking and didn't realize they trapped raccoon in their car all day, he was not amused and the vehicle was torn to shreds). There aren't really any other ways for them to get in otherwise as the other openings such as body plugs are out of the way enough that they'd have to float to chew through them. I haven't really seen them go into door panels usually either, again probably because to do so they'd have to eat through the plastic door panel as there's no real way to get in there otherwise.

Also so far all my rodent screens have held up and I haven't had any comebacks. That being said, a determined enough rodent will chew right through that flimsy steel mesh, but it seems they follow a path of least resistance and don't really bother trying to eat through it so far.

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So found my pictures! This is the single biggest animal I have pulled out of a vehicle so far (unless you count the two 2~3ft snakes I pulled from a Prius), about 9-10inches long from head to toe. He was dead a while and good lord did he smell, after this job I just bought a respirator and use it on all rodent jobs. Couldn't be in the car for more than 3 seconds without my body reflexively gagging at the stench. Rigamortis had set in so I was lucky to pull the blower motor out and gently coax his corpse out without him popping (I swear with how rancid that guy smelled I would not have been surprised if he was filled with maggots). I had never actually seen a pack rat before this, so I almost assumed the family had lost their pet chinchilla in the car and it died. Poor guy got into the blower housing but he couldn't get back out and died there, it was probably the cleaner of the rodent deaths I have had to clean.

 

[1engineer]

The best one I saw was when a German Shepard got into a brand new Cadillac... the owner had a little dog that was in heat. She had left the door open while carrying in groceries... in just a few minutes that Shepard had completely ripped the interior to shreds looking for that dog in heat. He totalled the vehicle in 15 minutes. Actually tore through and tore a few airbags. Amazing.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The best one I saw was when a German Shepard got into a brand new Cadillac... the owner had a little dog that was in heat. She had left the door open while carrying in groceries... in just a few minutes that Shepard had completely ripped the interior to shreds looking for that dog in heat. He totalled the vehicle in 15 minutes. Actually tore through and tore a few airbags. Amazing.

Had a customer bring in their 3 door Yaris for an airbag recall. It was torn to shit, the head rests, headliner, seats, some of the dash, ect. was all missing chunks and torn up. Turns out she keeps her full grown husky in the car every now and then and he has serious anxiety issues. Literally chunks of headliner and side curtain airbag just eaten... poor dog.

 

[flyrv9]

I have an old 95 Nissan pick up I try to drive at least once a week. I keep it in my workshop. I live out in the country and I'm no stranger to all sorts of critters. I went out one night in Feb to fire up the Nissan and go into town and was greeted with battery and ALT lights. I took another vehicle and looked into the problem the next day.

I found a nice rodent nest covering the top of my battery. I cleaned it all up and checked the wiring nearby and the fuseable links by the battery. There was no damage and cleaning things up resolved the issue. I last had the hood up the week before and there was no nest then; so they can make them pretty quickly. I guess the battery was chosen because it's a little warm from powering some computer functions and the clock.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

So got a chance to do my rodent screen this weekend.

Link to my build thread:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/84725-zombie-truck-2-0-mpav-build-15.html#post2672579

If I remember correctly the 5th gens are similar in shape/style of cowling, but it's been a while since I installed one on a 5th gen.

 

[Cheers!]

I like. Where did you buy the screen material from? Home Depot?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I like. Where did you buy the screen material from? Home Depot?

Yeah, any hardware store should carry this stuff. just make sure the holes are smaller than 10mm square so they can't squeeze through it. It's the same stuff I use in customer's cars and it seems to work well, best way to do it is use a ruler to get a rough size and add .5~1" extra length & width wise. Then use a sharpie to roughly mark where you want your holes on the firewall (I then centerpunch them and pilot drill them) and if it's a bit of an awkward shape like the 4th gen, use the sharpie to outline where you need to cut away stuff.

 

[Lionheart]

Its actually fairly common to see rodent damage on toyota wiring harness's. the loom is made of soy based products to make it last longer. A lot of times you'll see rodent shit on cabin air filters. I've seen a rodent chew through an entire dashboard and back into the engine bay.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Its actually fairly common to see rodent damage on toyota wiring harness's. the loom is made of soy based products to make it last longer. A lot of times you'll see rodent shit on cabin air filters. I've seen a rodent chew through an entire dashboard and back into the engine bay.

It's common on every modern vehicle these days, most everyone switched to Soy based insulation. It's more environmentally friendly you know.

 

[Off-choader]

On my mothers highlander I Just got done cleaning out a slaughtered mouse inside the ac fan under the cabin air filter. The guy crawled in chewed cabin filter and then was detroyed by the fan. I dropped the fan out but then spent 3 hours wiping guts eyeballs and intestines from inside the housing.. still smells like dead rodents

 

[BlackWorksInc]

On my mothers highlander I Just got done cleaning out a slaughtered mouse inside the ac fan under the cabin air filter. The guy crawled in chewed cabin filter and then was detroyed by the fan. I dropped the fan out but then spent 3 hours wiping guts eyeballs and intestines from inside the housing.. still smells like dead rodents

Yeah, that's the tricky part... because the viscera becomes aerosolized and pushed through the HVAC system. I've tried a couple different products at work, Fridgi-Fresh works better than the majority I've tried. Though if you can tolerate the smell, you can try spraying a bit of Clorox into the blower motor when it's on High from the cabin air filter opening. It's not perfect and it won't get everything, but the idea is to aerosolize it like the viscera and have it neutralize the decaying matter/bacteria. Just don't spray too much as that stuff can get absorbed by the plastic (same as the rodent gunk) at which point you're just stuck having to do a new HAVC unit (which is what we normally do if they start nesting in the boxes because that smell will never get out of those things, or worse you use so much bleach it just replaces the smell).

 

[TRDfan2011]

Took cowl off and did not see anything unusual.
The recirculating air cover did not show signs of
tampering. It looks like there was no entry through
the cabin filter area. Ran the blower motor on high
with heat on while hood was opened and cowl off.
Ran it for about 15mins with recirculating vent off
then on. Odor seems to have diminished somewhat.
Looked around fenders and anywhere I could
check under the hood. Didn't see or smell anything.
Put everything back and kept windows lowered.
Next step will be to remove rear cargo mat and
look around that area. I'll update when I get it done.
FWIW, the raised opening to cabin filter is approx. 11.5" long
and approx. 4.25" at widest point.

 

[RayRunner]

My 2005 4Runner recently left me on the side of the highway: stone cold dead battery due to mouse damage to control wiring at the fuse box major harness!
I had no battery warning light as that circuit was part of the meal. Honda offers a rodent deterrent tape very similar to conventional electrical tape but quite expensive: Honda part number 4019-2317. I will report back in a year to let you know how it works. FYI the DIY repair went well: solder and heat shrink to 5 #22 control wires, after moving and splitting the the fuse box for better access. That is a project in itself for the DIY first timer. This forum helped with that.

 

[bfmghm]

Happened to me. I took 2 pair of old socks and filled them with activated charcoal. Put one under each seat and crammed one in with the cabin air filter. Sprayed the cabin liberally with Ozium. Smell was gone after about 24 hours. YMMV. I keep a spray bottle of peppermint oil/H2o mix in the garage now. Spray the engine compartment about every 2-3 weeks. Also glue a rat bait block under the hood with silicone seal. Its a constant game with these little b#stards.

 

[Yetimtnbiker]

My brother had a ground hog crawl up into his engine (a Tahoe) just before a summer trip from MD to NC. Stunk like hell and it took him a while to realize it was his truck carting that smell!

 

[Calimander]

Tree rat-


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[Luccig]

I bought preventative a couple of those cheap 20 bucks devices that Scott Kilmer was talking about from amazon.. will mount them up and see if they work.

I also had a couple of simpler ones in my garage for more than 7 years now.. and so far no mouses under the hood. Who knows if that worked or if these will, no guarantee I guess.

Pest Repeller, Low Voltage Detection Rat Repellent, Vehicle‑Mounted

 

[Off-choader]

had a bastard get into the ac blower by going thru the cabin filter in my mom highlander, she fired up the AC and I spent hours cleaning and bleaching the fins of mouse blood and intestines , never got it clean but she traded it in

 

[mfast10]

Every spring I change the oil and all the filters here whether they need it or not and last year was our first year in Pennsylvania and I am glad I did it. My Xterra had a nest in the air box and my wife's 4runner had a nest in the blower area at the cabin air filter and another in the airbox as well. Both are garage kept. I think it was chipmunks as I killed 2 with rat traps not long after that. When it warms up more I will do the usual spring maintenance and hopefully there will be no more nests.