Mouse v cruiser (1 Viewer)

[Shoredreamer]

Popping your hood when you roll into camp late with a warm engine bay helps
prevent them from finding a warm shelter. Also, I hate having to monitor doors being open and closed also when at camp, but leaving doors open definitely leaves the potential for rodents to get in.

I found the tab that possibly used to hold the engine harness away from the EGR pipe. After inspecting, rewrapping and securing to this tab, I have no worries of any melted wires.

 

[ifsmithy]

It is probably failing. That appears to be a Four Seasons control valve? Mine looked exactly the same after 4 years, replaced with OEM. They seem to fail at the bottom.

I replaced the entire cooling system and I could have sworn I used oem but thinking know I remember I ordered all the parts from cdan (way back in the day) but then when doing the job realized how bad the valve was when I touched it - if I remember correctly I ran to pep boys.....hmmm

anyhow - ordered up a new one from wits end.

maybe a silly question but can I swap this out without draining the entire system - that valve looks like the top most point of the cooling lines - the system was flushed 2 years ago when i had the engine rebuilt so don’t really want to get into it if it can be avoided.

thanks in advance

 

[ifsmithy]

I have dryer sheets, peppermint oil and irish spring in my truck. I have seen those assholes ruin a friends classic Ford truck and I don't want them near my cars. lol

I saw all the tricks out there in DV and a lot of suggestions - hood open, ultrasonic speakers hooked up to batteries, snakeskins, kill a rodent and place under your hood (suggestions seemed to get better and better (worse) as the campfire drinking progressed.... )

dryer sheets and Irish spring - you mean the bar of soap right? You place these randomly when you pull into a camp spot and remove before leaving?

 

[ifsmithy]

I saw all the tricks out there in DV and a lot of suggestions - hood open, ultrasonic speakers hooked up to batteries, snakeskins, kill a rodent and place under your hood (suggestions seemed to get better and better (worse) as the campfire drinking progressed.... )

dryer sheets and Irish spring - you mean the bar of soap right? You place these randomly when you pull into a camp spot and remove before leaving?

I have dryer sheets, peppermint oil and irish spring in my truck. I have seen those assholes ruin a friends classic Ford truck and I don't want them near my cars. lol

friend of mines new truck (2019 forerunner) was out in same spot last year and the critters chewed through an injector line - he lost a cylinder. Had to solder it back together in the field - that fix is still holding strong as the dealer wanted 3K to replace the entire harness.
Apparently - they’re now engineering cars with wiring that will avoid this...so I’m told...

 

[ifsmithy]

I like the Fire Sleeve from aircraft spruce. It isn’t cheap but you don’t need a lot. I think I bought 2ft just for good measure and ended using much less. Here’s a pic of what I bought.
View attachment 2643141

looks like good stuff - what ID did you order?

Eaton Aeroquip Fire Sleeves | Aircraft Spruce

Eaton Aeroquip Fire Sleeves Aeroquip Firesleeve was specially developed to meet the fire resistance requirements of FAATSO - C53a OR TSO - C75. May be used for all fuel, oil, hydraulic, fire extinguisher & propeller feathering lines.

www.aircraftspruce.com

 

[FMC80]

looks like good stuff - what ID did you order?

Eaton Aeroquip Fire Sleeves | Aircraft Spruce

Eaton Aeroquip Fire Sleeves Aeroquip Firesleeve was specially developed to meet the fire resistance requirements of FAATSO - C53a OR TSO - C75. May be used for all fuel, oil, hydraulic, fire extinguisher & propeller feathering lines.

www.aircraftspruce.com

The AE102-14, which is 7/8" ID

 

[FMC80]

FYI, they offer military discounts. Not sure if they do first responder or anything else but it was a quick verification process and they’re very friendly and helpful people. I appreciate good customer service and they nailed it.

 

[MrMikeyG]

I'm pretty sure you could swap the heater control valve without loosing too much coolant. Maybe get some type of clamp that can pinch the lines to the left and right that won't scar the tubing. Like you were thinking though with the system completely cool, there may not be much liquid right there anyway. I am by no means an expert.

 

[midfat]

I had a little rodent issue. Tried to work it out amicably, but apparently he had other plans. Needless to say, the issue has since been resolved.

(Moral of the story, be careful putting traps inside your cruiser.)

 

[FMC80]

I had a little rodent issue. Tried to work it out amicably, but apparently he had other plans. Needless to say, the issue has since been resolved.

(Moral of the story, be careful putting traps inside your cruiser.)
View attachment 2645980

Holy s***, that’s gnarly

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I’ve had enough mice in my cars that I keep a snap trap in my tool kit. In my long gone 02 Tacoma I shot a mouse from the HVAC fan deep into the dash hvac routing. That truck never smelled the same again.

 

[Heckraiser]

Dryer sheets sounds like a good idea. Mainly because my truck smells like "old man" according to multiple sources. I don't smell it... what does that mean?

That gory mousetrap reminds me of when we first moved into my current house. We had mice in the garage from the previous owners keeping their trash bins and dog food in the garage. Killed several with traps, but once I was bumbling around in the garage and saw one just sitting on a shelf looking at me. It made me cry inside a little to smash the bugger with a piece of lumber. I have a gentle soul.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

at the Subaru parts counter this morning...

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

You think we have it bad, Subarus get infested with raccoons!!!

 

[LINUS]

As for rodent deterrent, I keep hearing about dryer sheets and peppermint oil. Little buggers got my knock sensor harness in the Tundra last year.

I have a mothballed project car I have literally 2 standard size boxes of Bounce sheets in.

Also, I do 2 full bottles of peppermint essential oil under the Tundra hood annually as it has that soybean-based wire insulation.

Capsasin (sp?) - the ‘hot‘ in peppers also is major deterrent to mice - so much so Honda has a grey tape with a little ‘anti-rodent’ logo on it. Looks like grey electrical tape.

It’s listed in this CR article:

How to Protect Your Car From Rodents - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports tells you how to protect your car from rodents and deter squirrels, mice, and other rodents from chewing through the wires in your vehicle.

www.consumerreports.org

Additionally, I lay a thick bead of cayenne pepper powder all around my outdoor boat shed - rodents don’t like it, and neither do the neighborhood cats .

If you buy it in bulk foods, you can cut the bottom off a 2L soda bottle & drill a 1/2” hole in the cap.
Perfect way to lay a good pound of that pepper powder down w/ great control - takes about #’s / ~$15 to fill that 2L bottle & it lasts on wet ground easily a yr, in fact I slacked last year.

Cats generally hate lemon too, so making a slurry out of whole lemons in the blender/juicer & spreading that around will keep the felines from napping in your boat too

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I have a mothballed project car I have literally 2 standard size boxes of Bounce sheets in.

Also, I do 2 full bottles of peppermint essential oil under the Tundra hood annually as it has that soybean-based wire insulation.

Capsasin (sp?) - the ‘hot‘ in peppers also is major deterrent to mice - so much so Honda has a grey tape with a little ‘anti-rodent’ logo on it. Looks like grey electrical tape.

It’s listed in this CR article:

How to Protect Your Car From Rodents - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports tells you how to protect your car from rodents and deter squirrels, mice, and other rodents from chewing through the wires in your vehicle.

www.consumerreports.org

Additionally, I lay a thick bead of cayenne pepper powder all around my outdoor boat shed - rodents don’t like it, and neither do the neighborhood cats .

If you buy it in bulk foods, you can cut the bottom off a 2L soda bottle & drill a 1/2” hole in the cap.
Perfect way to lay a good pound of that pepper powder down w/ great control - takes about #’s / ~$15 to fill that 2L bottle & it lasts on wet ground easily a yr, in fact I slacked last year.

Cats generally hate lemon too, so making a slurry out of whole lemons in the blender/juicer & spreading that around will keep the felines from napping in your boat too

My gawd man, those mice are facing a serious operation to breach your critter security. Most troubling though is to learn they are in league with cats...

In all seriousness are you putting the peppermint essential oil on the dryer sheets or are you putting it directly on components in the tundra’s engine compartment?

 

[on the rocks]

Check where the steering comes through the firewall it’s a perfect entry for them. I had a visitor come through there camping once and likely 90% of those seals are blown out. Here is my last visitor a week ago. Glad he doesn’t like land cruisers he Might have broke in and stole it... instead somehow got in the heater exhaust. Glad the override on the burner was working.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Wait, what happened next!?!? That’s crazy. Self cooking raccoon.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Check where the steering comes through the firewall it’s a perfect entry for them. I had a visitor come through there camping once and likely 90% of those seals are blown out. Here is my last visitor a week ago. Glad he doesn’t like land cruisers he Might have broke in and stole it... instead somehow got in the heater exhaust. Glad the override on the burner was working.
View attachment 2651318

Some would call a raccoon stuck in a pipe a pest... I would call it arts and crafts.

 

[ajax1]

I was digging for some parts in my buddies yota yard the other day, in one of the eighties he starts yelling and jumps back, had a coon living under all the parts in a 80 series