Smell from the cab vents

[bufbooth]

Hello All,

I got my Toyota out of storage and as I started her up a mouse ran out from under the hood and

tried to run up the windshield. I popped the hood to see if I could see any nest and could not, so

I drove her home, about a one hour drive. I noticed a bad smell from the air vents. After I got

her home and got a flash light, I found a nest on the front part of the engine, under the intake

manifold. I could not get the vacuum in to get it, too tight, but ended up using a screw driver and

some needle nose pilers to get the nest out. I noticed quite of bit of mouse dropping around the

engine. The smell that I was smelling in the cab, was really strong standing over the engine.

I then got out the garden hose and hosed down the intake manifold part, the exhaust port area

and anywhere I saw dropping. I can still smell the order both standing over the engine and in

the cab with the fan on, but not as bad. I decided to leave the hood open tonight to see if that

will help.

If I still smell it tomorrow afternoon, I plan on taking dish cleaning fuild and scrubbing down

every part of the engine that I can get at, then give it another good hosing down.

Questions: Under the intake manifold, is it totally hollow under there, I could not tell, if it is I

may have more stuff to get out. Also, where does the air flow into the vent system, it

seems strange that I get the smell in the vents.

Thanks,

Dennis...

[Tom W]

I would think it would be easy to trace the vents back it might be some from just below the windshield which gets a lot of trash there. If you have a V6 there is a large area under the intake or plenum I seem to remember when I had mine apart thinking that washing the eng would leave a lot of water in there for a while.

[Gulfstream Greg]

Those little critters probably got under the cowling also, where the windshield wipers come out. They built nests in the area of the hood hinges on ours and I think thats also where the fresh air comes in. I still have to take mine apart and clean it out.

[Maineah]

Check your air filter box too they love to get in there and plug up under the air filter (rough on your fuel economy). They can get into places that are so small you would not think any thing could I have even had to evict them from the heater blower fan. Mouse pee is a hard smell to get rid of.