[Bluemill]

So I spent all day taking apart doors and washing the outer weatherstripping moldings, making sure door drains were clear, checking the a/c drain pipe hose, etc. to get rid of a god awful sharp, pungent mildew smell in the truck.

It started after a tough winter here in SE Massachusetts.

The rugs I checked for wetness, and all felt dry, and the smell doesn't seem to be coming from there anyway.

The truck had an $8,000 accident on the RR wheel and quarter in March '14. Also the windshield was replaced in March of this year due to a crack from following a sander.

Maybe the guys at Safelight plugged up the main cowl drains? Or, the main cowl drains have a huge amount of Maple, Oak, and other plant debris that has clogged the main cowl drains. There is a huge oak right over the truck that puts out a blanket of flower that you could knit blankets out of!
Does any body know the route the water takes under there?

The truck smells really gross- and the thing is that it looks and drives like new, but the smell is a real turn off!! I also took out the cabin filter and cleaned it- and it didn't seem to be an issue with odor.

I had no issues the first spring with the truck, and it was parked in the same place, getting the same droppings.

Help!!

Best always,

Bluemill

 

[Slider]

Mud flaps clogged? Check for wetness on front right of passenger footwell up at the top of the carpet.

 

[OldNorske]

Mud flaps clogged? Check for wetness on front right of passenger footwell up at the top of the carpet.

Yep. There is a hole on the bottom of each front mudflap. This is the drain you were speaking of.

Take a thin stick (or whatever you have available) and shove it up in there.

Then, take a hose and spray it up into the mudflap and let it drain.

I hope this solves your problem.

 

[donuteater306]

Check the cabin filter. That's where my mildew smell was coming from. Also, you said that you checked the carpet...did you check under the carpet? Maybe the underlayment got wet.

 

[biker1mike]

"Huge oak tree" That means acorns, squirrels, and mice. You may have a dead critter .

 

[Uncle Festus]

Do you have a sunroof? If so, it has drain channels too and they might be clogged or packed full of rotting oak pollen or such...

 

[Ridgekid]

Yep. There is a hole on the bottom of each front mudflap. This is the drain you were speaking of.

Take a thin stick (or whatever you have available) and shove it up in there.

Then, take a hose and spray it up into the mudflap and let it drain.

I hope this solves your problem.

I would check the cabin filter first but regarding the mud flaps, mine were so plugged after the winter that I had to remove them and clean out the gunk. No amount of sticking a wire or flushing with the hose in the drain hole would loosen up the muck. I am in the habit of running water down the windshield and seeing how long it takes for the water to start draining from the mud flap and how long it continues to drain after I turn off the hose. If it takes a while to start draining, drains as a trickle or drains for more that a few seconds after the water is shut off, the flap probably is clogged.

 

[rollinhonda]

As far as the cabin filter goes, it is designed to be replaced not cleaned. They are cheap and you can even get them with deodorizer type coatings.

Still not sure where the issue is in your particular truck but I would think if you have not found it yet it may well be in the floor/firewall padding or insulation.

A less likely place would be in the headliner especially around the sunroof as there could have been a leak or seepage in that area as well as behind the rear seats under the window assembly.

 

[Bluemill]

I took the mudflaps off the truck, and they did have a significant amount of plant matter in them, including long pine needles. Then I lifted the the plastic wheel well liner and dug out and took out residue that was inside the bottom of the fender.

I'm thinking this must be the issue, but I continue and really hose it down with high water pressure from both sides, to make sure it's really cleaned out.

I hop into the truck this a.m. to take it to work- and the damn smell is still there.

Tomorrow I'll fire up my 20 gallon compressor and shoot the inside of the sunroof with a small hose on the end of the air gun, to try to blow out the drains, front and back.

The floors are dry. Now I know where the frame sill grommets should be, so I'll check that out too.

I did the cabin filter two weeks ago- it smells like nothing is wrong at all- nothing wrong there. I can not find a wet rug anywhere.

I think i found the a/c evaporator hose, - under the driver side just behind the LF axle, and it's about 3/8" inner diameter- bigger than I thought. It seemed clear also.

What a crummy smell! When it started, it almost was like a rotting pine smell, now it's stronger and more pungent. Definitely not an animal rotting.

I'm thinking I'll go to disassembling the inner cowl HVAC cowl housing if the sun roof try doesn't work.

Best always,

Bluemill