OK OK , a new question.. not AC... the smell
Discussion
I have had this smell the second I crack either window or the roof when I am moving. I always assumed it came through the seatbelt holes from above the gas tanks.
Yest I carefully stuffed a towel and a chamois into and around the seatbelt holes. And the smell was no different. This is not a raw gas smell like greasy exhaust smell.
well I got to sniffing around and it seems to be coming from the console. if I pullup a window switch it it smelly there and it is hot around the shifter boot.
I want to pull the centre console apart.. wonder what I will find? how does the knob, then the boot and trim come off? it does not seem obvious.
Yest I carefully stuffed a towel and a chamois into and around the seatbelt holes. And the smell was no different. This is not a raw gas smell like greasy exhaust smell.
well I got to sniffing around and it seems to be coming from the console. if I pullup a window switch it it smelly there and it is hot around the shifter boot.
I want to pull the centre console apart.. wonder what I will find? how does the knob, then the boot and trim come off? it does not seem obvious.
Hi,
On my car, you remove the three screws which retain the window switch housing, remove it, then there is a 10mm hex nut and washer underneath it which secures the console. The opposite (front) end of the console slips into a slot cut into a steel sub-console secured to the dash with rivets and the chassis by a pair of screws. After unscrewing the gearshift knob and the 10mm nut, you pretty much simply lift it off. Yours may be similar.
So far as the smell is concerned, when I did my rebuild a couple years ago, I needed to remove the console so I could route new choke, accelerator and crossgate cables. When I removed the console, I found that the inner shift boot (rubber) had been chewed to pieces by some kind of rodent who had wandered into the chassis tunnel, thankfully, once satiated by a meal consisting of my inner shift boot, the rodent left.
I suspect that in your case, perhaps the critter decided to stay, went the way of all flesh and is now tickling your olfactory sense in the process.. :0 !
You'll need to remove the console and then unscrew the 4 screws securing the retaining ring which hold the inner boot down. Then get a flashlight and maybe a small mirror and see if I'm correct. If so, I leave the choice of extraction method(s) to you! Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 23 July 14:27
On my car, you remove the three screws which retain the window switch housing, remove it, then there is a 10mm hex nut and washer underneath it which secures the console. The opposite (front) end of the console slips into a slot cut into a steel sub-console secured to the dash with rivets and the chassis by a pair of screws. After unscrewing the gearshift knob and the 10mm nut, you pretty much simply lift it off. Yours may be similar.
So far as the smell is concerned, when I did my rebuild a couple years ago, I needed to remove the console so I could route new choke, accelerator and crossgate cables. When I removed the console, I found that the inner shift boot (rubber) had been chewed to pieces by some kind of rodent who had wandered into the chassis tunnel, thankfully, once satiated by a meal consisting of my inner shift boot, the rodent left.
I suspect that in your case, perhaps the critter decided to stay, went the way of all flesh and is now tickling your olfactory sense in the process.. :0 !
You'll need to remove the console and then unscrew the 4 screws securing the retaining ring which hold the inner boot down. Then get a flashlight and maybe a small mirror and see if I'm correct. If so, I leave the choice of extraction method(s) to you! Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 23 July 14:27
Bruce... I agree with Jim. I've got a dead mouse in my heating system that I've been unable to extract. When I turn the fan on, I get mouse nest parts all over the interior. The smell was unberable. Over time, the smell will go away. A "friend" with the same problem in his pickup dumped maggots in there to speed up the process. I decided not to try that option.
Anyone have a sure fire method to keep the buggers out during winter storage?????
Dave
Maggotless 90SE
Anyone have a sure fire method to keep the buggers out during winter storage?????
Dave
Maggotless 90SE
I am fairly certain it is not rotting animals that I smell.. I have enough experience with that at cottages with mice in the electric heaters..
Also next to the shifter, where the flat console meets the side wall ( the walls that come from the radio area backwards ), It gets quite hot,,,. I was playing around with it and with the windows up and the fan on high, I can feel the air leaving through the gaps in the leather. It feels like a vacuum as the air leaves and goes out somewhere under the console...
If I open the window and speed, and shut the fan off this suction area reverses, there is now a hige draw of air into the cabin and then you feel a hot wind coming up from between the leather panels. With a good clear road and some flexibility I can get my nose next to the shifter and I then smell the exhaust smell.
when parked i popped out a window switch and the smell is def, there. I dont see any screws on the console cover..i will remove that pocket and start from there... I am quite excited to get rid of the smell.. with my ac being finniky it would be nice to have the option to drive with the windows open
BRuce
Also next to the shifter, where the flat console meets the side wall ( the walls that come from the radio area backwards ), It gets quite hot,,,. I was playing around with it and with the windows up and the fan on high, I can feel the air leaving through the gaps in the leather. It feels like a vacuum as the air leaves and goes out somewhere under the console...
If I open the window and speed, and shut the fan off this suction area reverses, there is now a hige draw of air into the cabin and then you feel a hot wind coming up from between the leather panels. With a good clear road and some flexibility I can get my nose next to the shifter and I then smell the exhaust smell.
when parked i popped out a window switch and the smell is def, there. I dont see any screws on the console cover..i will remove that pocket and start from there... I am quite excited to get rid of the smell.. with my ac being finniky it would be nice to have the option to drive with the windows open
BRuce
Hey Bruce.. any chance your engine crankcase breather has come adrift and somehow the vapors are finding their way into the tunnel area by the pressure differences you describe. Do you have the chassis undertray installed? Mya be an influence?? I have more knowldge of the g-cars so dont know if yours is a different config.. just a thought..Jan
It does sound like the gearshift rubber has split. If you open the window when driving, then yes, a vacuum will be formed in the cabin (by air passing over the opening) and air will be drawn out of the window and "suck" any nasty fumes that happen to be lurking around your chassis tunnel, into the cabin.
(Just in case you've forgotten, carbon monoxide is bad for you!)
(Just in case you've forgotten, carbon monoxide is bad for you!)
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