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View Full Version : Dead mouse in the heater! Tips?


JBearSVT
10-23-2008, 07:28 AM
Since July when I bought my Ninja I've barely driven a car, my '90 wagon still has the same gas in the tank it had at the beginning of summer. Now it's getting too cold to ride, so I've discovered that at some point some little critter crawled in somewhere and died. It figures, this car sat in the dirt out in the woods at my boss's house for five years and it smelled fine inside, but three months at my house and there's a corpse in it already. The car reeks. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the heat system, it's 10X worse when the heat is on. Not bad through the defrost, but bad through the floor and dash vents. Spraying Febreeze into the vents helps, for a minute. I have no idea where to start looking, anybody know where they typically get into these cars? If I can't get this smell out, this will be the longest winter of my life.
Huffer
10-23-2008, 07:29 AM
Start taking stuff apart...
JBearSVT
10-23-2008, 07:33 AM
Yeah, but what stuff? I'm a 20 year Ford guy, I really don't know much about these Subaru's at all.
Trying to do things on this car that would be simple on my Mustangs has only ever frustrated me.
Huffer
10-23-2008, 07:39 AM
Sorry...

Here's an idea, could you hook up an air compressor to spray air through the heater air intake and cover the vents with vacuum bags? Jet the air and see if anything flies out...

Other than that, my guess is that you'll have to remove the seats, dash interior and pull each part of the vent system.
decke48
10-23-2008, 09:37 AM
most times mice like the blower motor
2.5GT
10-23-2008, 11:18 AM
most times mice like the blower motor

yep, I'd check around there for teh goodies :lol:
dodik
10-23-2008, 01:44 PM
we had this problem in the army a mouse crawled in into one of the old Chevy truck all we did is leave the car running with heat on max for about 8 hours i guess it go so dry out that it stopped smelling. or like the guys said start taking things out.
JBearSVT
10-23-2008, 05:13 PM
I suppose I can try to track down the blower motor. This is going to suck a bit, methinks. Thanks guys.
impreza_GC8
10-23-2008, 05:17 PM
If all else fails, burn the car to the ground. That will solve the issue.
JBearSVT
10-23-2008, 05:28 PM
I'd rather blow it up...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2008/10/evilCalvin-2.jpg
chuckthefuk
10-23-2008, 06:45 PM
deck48 is correct.

take your dash apart
take out your blower motor / or install a new motor


most likely the mouse is chomped to pieces and rotting in the blower motor.

good luck.

If you have the tools you can do the job in 2-3 hours.
JBearSVT
10-23-2008, 07:40 PM
most likely the mouse is chomped to pieces and rotting in the blower motor. :shock:
decke48
10-23-2008, 10:33 PM
a common name for the blower motor is the squirrel cage :lol: