rodent odor problem in my 69 cuda

hi has any one had a problem with a rodent nest being built in there car? i bought a 69 notchback last year and have took it completey apart, found that the cowl area on both side of car was packed full with a nest that i think field mice built, i took out the complete interior, removed the dash and heater box and air tubes into the under side of the cowl panel removed all for the nest i could see, used bleach and sprayed all areas of the car, but still had the rodent smell odor, i just tried using lysol almost full strength but it seems to still be there, i want to take care of this problem before i start to reinstall the interior, does anyone have any other this to try or have used???????????:cheers:

I have a car that was a home to many families of rodents and a few cats. I found nests every where. My floor pan was very bad and had to replace it and I found nests in the frame cross members, under the rocker panels, rear frame rails. You name a space and it had nests. You may want to use a shop vac on the areas that are tube like and use a wire or coat hanger to stir up the nests so they come out easier. I think the only way you can get rid of the smell is by sealing it in or cutting it out after removing all of the nests. I used por 15 in the frame areas and any place I could spread or spray it around. Using a something with an odor is just masking something that is still there and will be after the masking agent has dissipated.

something smells FISHY! hahahahaha sorry I had to

Febreeze in the cowl area? Spray it in the outside cowl while the heater fan is running to try to get it misted on all surfaces....

If you have a younger kid with a small arm, you may be able to get them to reach farther in the cowl area through the vent to get out more material.

Is the original headliner still in the car? The smell may be saturated into the material.

Another option.. try going to your local pet store and look for a urine neutralizer for dogs/cats or even rodents.

My wife has used a diffuser with something called Thieves Oil to kill mold we had under a kitchen cabinet. It is a blend of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary Oils that actually kills germs/bacteria. Supposedly it does not just mask the smell but kills the cause of it.

uhh i feel for you. my valiant was a barn yard out house for critters.
even after a couple rounds with the pressure washer and simple green i could still smell it when sand blasting the car.

Just start smoking cigars in there! ......Fabreze should work.

Never had a rodent smell,but my steering wheel smelled like cheese real bad.Had to scrub the hell out of it a couple of times and put a cover over it.

Clorine generates rust so its about the worst thing you could use.
Odor doesn't hang on metals like it hangs in fabrics and other soft parts, plastic, rubber, etc..
You do know that when you flush out the cowl , the next stop is in the dog leg section of the fenders, right ?
Good luck with it

Another option.. try going to your local pet store and look for a urine neutralizer for dogs/cats or even rodents.

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Pet Urine Clean products are the only option to correct this problem. The dried rat piss first needs to be chemically broken down; cleaners & water just reactivate and spread the stink to surrounding uncontaminated surfaces.

Urine smell was comming from the headliner a few years back, Had to replace it. Also the back seat bottom. That's were the sucker died..

First off, get rid of the rodents.

Secondly take every bit of your interior out and clean it thouroughly and dry it in the sun for 2 days. Or inside where it is dry and warm.

Remove your carpet, take off the sound absorbent jute and throw it away. Buy new jute or carpet pad at lowes. Soak carpet with a large amount of 409 or similar degreaser for 4 - 6 hours then take carpet to car wash and pressure wash it for 30 minutes. Then set it in the sun for 4 days upside down laying so that air can circulate under it easily. Or put in the garage suspended off the floor with fan on it for 4 days.

While all interior is out, vacuum everything out. Wipe down metal inside with all sorts of cleaners (no bleach on metal) and put a fan inside the car in the sun with the windows open for 2 days or in a shop for 2 days.
Assemble interior. Soak carpet and other interior judiciously with armor all then vacuum the carpet.

Put this miracle substance into old socks then place in different locations in car. 2 in cabin, 2 in trunk, 2 in engine bay area (not on headers).

http://www.critter-repellent.com/mice/mouse-repellent.php

You have to remove all mouse turds, urine, dead bodies and smell.

Then you have to keep rodents away. This stuff works.

I have a truck in the back field which was full of mice in 3 months. Now, 0 mice in subsequent 3 months.
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thanks for the thread it helped me too

Wished I could help but I have never had that problem. Good answers it sounds like.

Regarding your cowl. Since you have interior out and heater core assembly out?

You can access the cowl area marginally thru the air tunnel holes on each side under dash. I would flood the cowl with boiling hot soapy water in 5 gallon buckets thru the inlet front of windshield. This will dissolve turds and urine. Follow up with a very dilute 5 gallon bucket of bleach water. Like a cup of bleach in a 5 gallon bucket. This will sterilize any remaining debris. Then pour a 5 gallon bucket or 3 of pure water thru.

Then take air hose or a leaf blower and blow down thru and up thru cowl from under dash. The cowl on mopar drains to fender area near lower door hinge. Crap may be collected in this area too. It is usually chock full of misc crap and rat nests.

If your cowl is full of nests, they will clog the cowl drains which lead to inner fender just in front of door hinges. Problem is, impossible to access w/o removing the fenders I am pretty sure. This will just suck *** for ever, having clogged cowl drains, lead to rust and smell.


Take bolts out of bottom fender near door hinge, remove a few inner fender bolts and pull the bottom of the fender out and prop it open a few inches. Use leaf blower or air hose to expel all debris and any moisture. Leave lower fenders propped open and set up several fans to dry the bejesus out of all chambers.

Or just take off your fenders which is the best bet. Then blow out cowl and all you can get to.

You can get a shop vac and put the hose on the outlet to make a pretty good blower.

Vacuum all chambers you might possibly reach. I put a flexible 1" diameter clear vinyl hose on the end of my shop vac hose, with tape, then shoved it into all hard to reach chambers to remove any debris. Behind the door striker is a big chamber, around-above rear wheel well in trunk area, between trunk floor and rear quarter area is a gap where crap collects and in the front pillar where the bolts for door hinges bolt thru.

Leave vehicle open at night if possible, hood, doors, trunk. Let the air flow thru with fans. The more air blown thru all the areas, and the more clean all the little hidden chambers, the less chance of rotting debris and mouse urine smell.

I seriously hate having mice in a vehicle. The smell and idea of mice living, pooping and dying in my dash just sucks. !

Stop eating Taco Bell before you work on car haha. No I agree with Rice Nuker the inner fender behind splash shields and frame rails can have them thats the only place left. Did you look underneath to see if you hit road kill or maybe your wife is playing a joke on ya. If you dont get rid of it then start laying down fillers epoxy and paint cant smell anything after that. Good luck

I'm thinking its the headliner. If you can.... Check there. Good luck.:sad5:

yes headliner can be the culprit and no holes.. Really inspect the headliner looking for the slightest stain or alter in color. This would lead you to think of urine..

Unfortunately I had this issue onetime the mice nested in the liner above the visor.. what a stink... I shop vacc'd the nest out through a small hole I made above the visor then washed with with sponge and soap.... then once dried stuffed bounce sheets in the hole and put visor but up...

Oneday I will replace with new headliner but for now the cleaning and bounce surpassed all odors...