Hey guys, so I opened up my hood to change a headlight and noticed that a little bit of my firewall insulation was chewed up. I followed the bread crumb trail and sure enough a rat had made a nest over night. The nest is located in an odd spot in between the (intake manifold and engine block?) I removed the nest with those bendy grabber tools but I dropped my pocket flash light in there and I can't extract it with my tool. Does anyone know of a easy way in this odd space? Am I going to have to remove what I'm guessing the intake manifold is? Any tips are appreciated!! Thanks!
I'm in a pickle, need help!
- Thread starter Androo
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AuSeeker
Elite Member
Yes you will have to remove the intake plus a lot of other things just to get the intake off, unless you can retrieve it with the suggested magnet,
if not and it were me I would just leave the flashlight where it is, the work involved to remove the intake would way outweigh the cost of a replacement flashlight. IMHO
if not and it were me I would just leave the flashlight where it is, the work involved to remove the intake would way outweigh the cost of a replacement flashlight. IMHO
DEF4Runner
New member
Aye, i did try the magnet on a stick for a couple hours but it hasn't worked and since I can't see inside there very well I'm starting to think the flash light is not attracting the magnet & that I'm feeling "bites" from the surrounding area. If I leave it in there will that be alright? There's nothing sensitive in that space?
It is the v8
AuSeeker
Elite Member
What year model?
With the V8, there's a real risk of leaving the flash light in there because the starter is located under the intake manifold, at the rear and the flashlight which I'm assuming is all metal(?), if so it could short out on the positive starter wire, if the flashlight is rubber coated then I think it's safe to leave it.
If the year model is 2005 or newer the SAI (Secondary Air Injection) pump is also under there, I don't think the pump will be an issue with the flashlight rubber coated or not.
With the V8, there's a real risk of leaving the flash light in there because the starter is located under the intake manifold, at the rear and the flashlight which I'm assuming is all metal(?), if so it could short out on the positive starter wire, if the flashlight is rubber coated then I think it's safe to leave it.
If the year model is 2005 or newer the SAI (Secondary Air Injection) pump is also under there, I don't think the pump will be an issue with the flashlight rubber coated or not.
Thanks again for all your responses. My 4R is an 04 year model and the flash light is metal. If I have to drive it, what could shorting out the starter cause? Im not skilled enough, or comfortable enough to remove the manifold and everything with it to get it, and so I'd have to drive it to a mechanic shop. Otherwise if there really isn't a problem, I guess I'm fine with leaving it in there. Idk much about engines but this design seems really strange, why there's a cavernous hole in the middle ha.
dkyleb
New member
Well, for starters (lol pun), it could catch your truck on fire...
Also, you NEED to make sure rats don't get in there again. I've heard multiple reports of rats/mice getting there, and chewing up wiring. The wiring that's in there can only be repaired by the dealer, and is insanely expensive. [MENTION=66389]BlackWorksInc[/MENTION] may have heard of this before.
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
I'm sure he's dropped and lost many things in engine bays before; being a service tech and all. He'll be an expert at recovering them! :rofl:
BlackWorksInc
New member
You probably won't short anything out unless they really ate up the wiring. There's not a whole lot wiring wise there besides knock sensors and some stuff going to the starter if I remember right (been a while since I took the intake off a non-air pump V8).
Well... I mean you just shake the car until stuff falls out! It's not like I've spent half an hour searching for a damn intake bolt that fell on the backside of the engine before. lol
Seriously though, if the flashlight is not magnetic (usually the are aluminum or a cheaper non-metallic metal for most of the tinier ones) you'll need some long needle nose pliers and a lot of patience. Otherwise you'll have to pull the intake off.
As for dealing with the rodents? That's trickier... really the best thing you can do is clean out the nest in there and drive the vehicle more often, beyond that there isn't a whole lot you can to do seal that area up and I wouldn't recommend throwing a bar of irish springs soap there because that area gets very hot.
Alright guys I appreciate all the responses!. I will attempt the extraction with the long needle nose pliers. The rat(s) seem to have came out of nowhere. I had the hood open the other day and there was nothing indicating they were there. I think I'd rather have a snake problem instead of rats, but perhaps I will now that there are rats around.
green_manalishi
New member
I had the same stupid problem! Seems like a nice sheltered and warm place for a nest but I was always concerned with it catching fire due to the heat (though, it never did through a summer of wheeling).
I think I did a really good job getting most of it out without removing the intake manifold. My process was to remove the throttle body (great opportunity to clean it) and the fuel rail behind it which connects the two banks. Be VERY careful removing the fuel rail because there are two thin aluminum washers which are easy to lose.
Next I used a combination of a wire coat hanger and the narrow attachment of a vacuum hose. Use the hanger to sweep the debris from the far end to where you can reach it with the vacuum. It takes forever, but I was able to remove probably 90%.
I don't think a long needle nose will be able to reach the back, nor accommodate the tight angles like a coat hanger will.
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