Hello guys (and girls?)... this is my first post, so first of all - Hi!

Anyway, I have a 2002 3.2TL Type-S, purchased in November 2012. I've put about 10k on it and have roughly 95k miles.

When the car was new, my now-ex-gf said there was a weird smell, but I thought she was just sensitive to whatever freshener/scent the detailers used on the carpets. Over time, it has become apparent that there is some horrible stank smell in the car. It is worst after the car has been sitting 6 or more hours, but generally clears up once I drive around a bit. It's also particularly bad when the AC is OFF but the air is on, pulling from the outside, with windows cracked (this pulls air through the vents). The smell is kind of mildewy/moldy, and to some people resembles crabs or shrimp.

I have checked and replaced the cabin air filters... the original ones were black and green from dust and what looked like mildew but the smell has persisted even after the new filters have been installed.

I have heard people telling me it could be the heater core, but I also suspect there's a leak or something somewhere allowing water to pool and possibly soak into carpets or other upholstery and cause odors. I have noticed that in the trunk, there is evidence of wetness (a cardboard box had some slight water damage one one corner that wasn't on it when I put it in there), but despite it raining for a few days straight last weekend I could not find any place that felt wet or damp.

I'm about ready to tear this whole damn car apart to rid this funky smell, but I was trying to see if anyone else had a similar issue, or had any advice as to where I should start?

Thanks!

 

 

Try the trunk. I've heard of people saying it comes from the trunk area.

 

Maybe a decaying rodent !

 

Thanks for the helpful replies guys... I think I will try the clean & coat stuff, as that makes the most sense. I have heard actually getting to and replacing the heater core is at best an ALL-DAY job... I haven't looked at a service manual for the TL yet. If it's only a couple hours of work I may just go ahead and replace that...

But trying the spray may be worth it. I cleaned my car out yesterday and did not find anything dead/rotten/moldy/mildewy in the cabin, so that leaves the outside.

A few weeks ago, I was changing out my brake rotors and pads, and could smell this funk from the outside of the car, when I was in the passenger wheel well. I can only imagine how disgusting that condenser unit would look, compared to the one in the video!

 

As long as no smell is coming from the engine bay, there is no dead rodent hiding in there.
Try removing the cabin air filters and the cowl at the base of the windshield and clean out all the gunk and leaves accumulated in there. There may be gunk in there that has turned moldy. You can spray a bleach solution in there and hose it out as the water will drain outside the car.

But you can also isolate the smell. If it occurs when you turn on the fan or the a/c, then you know where it's coming from. But it sounds like you also have a leak in your trunk that you need to address as well.

 

Common cause for leak in the trunk is the tail light gasket. Hard to tell its leaking unless you remove the entire assembly; the gasket is made of foam. Once it fails it acts like a sponge and draws water in. Any water pooling under the spare tire? Hope it's as easy as replacing gaskets compared to heater core.

 

Hey Smores, while ya checked the cabin.....have ya pulled the trunk's interior panels off yet ? As previously mentioned, any leaky gasket allowing water to get inside of the trunk will settle into either the spare tire well or along the rear wheelwell pockets. Is the smell more pungent in the front or the rear of the car ? Is it more noticeable when moving with the HVAC on ?

If the trunk is all dry, then consider flushing your coolant system before actually replacing the heater core. Is the coolant level low ? How does the coolant look and smell ?

 

OK. So I'm resurrecting this zombie thread. I hadn't really been posting online much at all the last several months and wanted to let people know what happened.

The smells/odors were increasingly "organic" and I thought something died or otherwise some carrion got up in a wheel well or such ridiculousness.

Some friends came over and we started poking around the engine bay. We took off the air vent cowlings, nothing in there. Took off the intake manifold cover and one of us noticed brown pellets underneath, between the valve covers and under the intake plenum. To the best of my knowledge, it was cat food. Smallish oval-shaped pellets. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

We took a shop vac and sucked out what we thought was most of it but the odor persisted. After a while I had enough and actually removed the intake manifold and everything around it in hopes that I could scrub it down. No such luck, as I didn't feel like disassembling the top end and replacing all the gaskets, etc... so I fabricated a hose out of 3/8" tubing and got all the pellets out.

Now all that remains is the brown/black residue that's burned onto the engine itself. That was several months ago and now that the weather is warming up, it's getting worse than ever. People won't ride in my car and I can smell it on my clothes after I drive places! I have more or less gotten used to the stench with recirculating air and febreeze, Black Ice little trees etc...

So far I have dumped Coca-Cola, powdered brewery wash (dissolved in water, supposed to break down proteins and such), ass tons of water, Engine "GUNK" gel cleaner, several more ass tons of water down in the area where the crud is built up. It seems like I have it conquered for a day or so after trying each of those methods, but it always comes crawling back with a vengeance.

So short of disassembling the ENTIRE top end of my freaking engine, does anyone have some idea of a foaming or otherwise super penetrating cleaner that will actually get the job done? We're talking the TV pitchman's super-forumla, that not only will break up the tough baked-on crud but deodorize as well?

I really can't think of anything guys.... At some point soon I'll load up pics of all the crap we vacuumed out of there. It's insane. As to how the cat food got there? Many have suggested it was ultimate revenge by the mechanic from hell... but I disagree. I didn't see ANY indications that any of the components I had to remove had been touched since assembly at the factory. I think it would be nearly impossible for a person to have put all that crap in there, so my guess is some hoarding rodent. Either way, this sucks. I don't want to have to sell my car, and honestly the karma of selling something with such a horrendous stench to some unsuspecting person is just something I don't want to have following me around!

 

Pour bleach on it, let it sit for about an hour, repeat three or four times, rinsing with water between soaks. Use the concentrated bleach, non-scented. That pretty much will kill/remove anything. It's how I clean the tile and grout in my shower, it works every time...

 

That is some crazy stuff! That would certainly drive me nutso. I would suggest trying white vinegar mixed with water 50/50. Put it in a spray bottle and try spraying around the areas that you think are suspect. Let it sit a while and rinse off with water.
A while back I ran over a skunk and the under carriage stunk. I sprayed the vinegar water mix and it really knocked out 80-90% of the odor

 

Have you tried to clean the evap/heater core with a disinfection spray?

 

You could turn on the recirculation to stop the smell from making its way into the cabin, its to the right of the OFF button. Even when the blower motor is off make sure its on, also consider changing the cabin filter since it may have absorbed the odor.

Maybe some wheel cleaner and a brush might work on the crud on the engine or carburetor cleaner.

 

Are ya absolutely sure that it's the "cat food" that you're smelling ?
Must have been a bad batch of baked tuna .......or maybe even the hoarding critter !

Try oven cleaner, baking soda, mothballs, or an OXY based product on the affected area.
The HVAC filter will require replacement also. How old is your car's coolant......smell it !

 

The best way to get that stain off is to scrub it down with a soft to medium wire brush. If you have a place by you that sells Krud Kutter buy it.


Neutral cleaners, bathroom cleaners and bleach might not work on animal doodoo.