* Edit: I do not like iPhones...cursor reset in title to add to "Bonehead", which I am.
Symptoms: whenever it rains, my 1998 4Runner smells terrible...embarrassingly so.
Research: after searching Mud and other 4Runner specific sites, I did all of the following:
1) filled a container with white vinegar, placed it in the P/S floorboard, ran AC on high (recirculation) for 30 minutes, left in Runner overnight.
2) sprayed Lysol into each vent, on each interior surface and then into intake vents (exterior/between windshield and hood) while AC on High/Fresh and then with heater on High/Fresh. Sprayed Lysol in recirculation intake with AC on High/Recirculation and again with heat on High/Recirculation
1 and 2 were done on the assumption that the AC system had mold/mildew in it. (A 1998 4Runner has no cabin filter...my truck has 268K miles)
3) sprayed all cloth/carpet/headliner with Febreeze
Truck smelled great! Until it rained, then it stank again.
Tested sunroof drains. Not clogged, not the source of water intrusion. They are located in the front corners of the sunroof and look like two holes...easy to find. Pour water down them and it flows through tubes in the A-Pillar (between the windshield and front doors) and exits out of holes in pinch-weld underneath A-Pillar. If they are clogged, water will back-up and leak through sunroof and into headliner. To unclog, run a semi-stiff wire down through them.
So then I just sat in the 4Runner and observed. I finally noticed staining on my headliner. It looked like the kind of stains you'd expect from water getting in-between the roof and the headliner. That's when I remembered that I had seen (during a car wash) some water come in through the rear PS seat-belt slot. That was several years ago and I attributed it to a PS quarter-window leak as this area had a past repair done when my dad backed out of the garage with the PS rear door open. (I realize that makes no sense, as the damage was to the door and b-pillar, but I am a bonehead). I could not replicate it, and it only happened in car washes (we lived near Dallas and had very infrequent rain).
The truck went back to my dad's possession for several years and was garage kept in Kansas. I bought it back when we moved to Georgia, but rarely drive it as I have a work car. It was no longer garaged and it rains here...a lot.
The smell started-up and, finally, I took the 5 seconds to take a look at the roof. There it was...a missing bolt on the port-installed roof rack. I placed a flashlight on it and watched the light flood into the Runner where I had dropped the headliner. What an idiot...that bolt has been missing for 5 years or so.
My plan is to replace the bolt and add some silicone. Then I need to drop the headliner (all but the 4 color-coded "buttons" holding the rear in place have been removed (grab handles, dome lights, rear-view mirror, sun visors etc.) and I need a special tool for those or I will likely break them. I will clean the area of the headliner that contacts the roof with (?? any ideas?) to kill the mold/mildew, then clean the other side and reinstall. I will finish with Febreeze and assume the lack of future water intrusion will eliminate the problem for good.
I am an imbecile for not checking the roof-rack first. Maybe my mistake will help someone out with early detection down the road.
I appreciate any feedback on the following:
1) best way to remove the "buttons" holding the headliner up in the cargo area and
2) best cleaner to use to kill mildew/mold knowing that I will only be able to insert my arm into the area needing cleaned as I see no need to completely drop/remove the headliner.
Thanks!
Symptoms: whenever it rains, my 1998 4Runner smells terrible...embarrassingly so.
Research: after searching Mud and other 4Runner specific sites, I did all of the following:
1) filled a container with white vinegar, placed it in the P/S floorboard, ran AC on high (recirculation) for 30 minutes, left in Runner overnight.
2) sprayed Lysol into each vent, on each interior surface and then into intake vents (exterior/between windshield and hood) while AC on High/Fresh and then with heater on High/Fresh. Sprayed Lysol in recirculation intake with AC on High/Recirculation and again with heat on High/Recirculation
1 and 2 were done on the assumption that the AC system had mold/mildew in it. (A 1998 4Runner has no cabin filter...my truck has 268K miles)
3) sprayed all cloth/carpet/headliner with Febreeze
Truck smelled great! Until it rained, then it stank again.
Tested sunroof drains. Not clogged, not the source of water intrusion. They are located in the front corners of the sunroof and look like two holes...easy to find. Pour water down them and it flows through tubes in the A-Pillar (between the windshield and front doors) and exits out of holes in pinch-weld underneath A-Pillar. If they are clogged, water will back-up and leak through sunroof and into headliner. To unclog, run a semi-stiff wire down through them.
So then I just sat in the 4Runner and observed. I finally noticed staining on my headliner. It looked like the kind of stains you'd expect from water getting in-between the roof and the headliner. That's when I remembered that I had seen (during a car wash) some water come in through the rear PS seat-belt slot. That was several years ago and I attributed it to a PS quarter-window leak as this area had a past repair done when my dad backed out of the garage with the PS rear door open. (I realize that makes no sense, as the damage was to the door and b-pillar, but I am a bonehead). I could not replicate it, and it only happened in car washes (we lived near Dallas and had very infrequent rain).
The truck went back to my dad's possession for several years and was garage kept in Kansas. I bought it back when we moved to Georgia, but rarely drive it as I have a work car. It was no longer garaged and it rains here...a lot.
The smell started-up and, finally, I took the 5 seconds to take a look at the roof. There it was...a missing bolt on the port-installed roof rack. I placed a flashlight on it and watched the light flood into the Runner where I had dropped the headliner. What an idiot...that bolt has been missing for 5 years or so.
My plan is to replace the bolt and add some silicone. Then I need to drop the headliner (all but the 4 color-coded "buttons" holding the rear in place have been removed (grab handles, dome lights, rear-view mirror, sun visors etc.) and I need a special tool for those or I will likely break them. I will clean the area of the headliner that contacts the roof with (?? any ideas?) to kill the mold/mildew, then clean the other side and reinstall. I will finish with Febreeze and assume the lack of future water intrusion will eliminate the problem for good.
I am an imbecile for not checking the roof-rack first. Maybe my mistake will help someone out with early detection down the road.
I appreciate any feedback on the following:
1) best way to remove the "buttons" holding the headliner up in the cargo area and
2) best cleaner to use to kill mildew/mold knowing that I will only be able to insert my arm into the area needing cleaned as I see no need to completely drop/remove the headliner.
Thanks!
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