Hi folks, Got this dead rat smell, coming from the air vents, ecspecialy from the center 2. This is in the wifes 1983 240d. Has anybody had this problem ? Just what has to be taken apart to get to where the death/grave site is ? thanks in advance.

Sell it on ebay....












Literaly...lot of places something dead can be hiding. Some very difficult to get to. Like the air box.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

carcass will need to decompose and mummify to stop smelling... most wives will not accept this as solution though.
look up threads with evaporator removal or heatercore removal... NOT FUN.
but it is doable.
John

You could always just turn the heat on and let the car idle for a few days . Just remember to roll down the windows................

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OBK #42

do this when leaking... just tell the wife that, and in a few weeks the smell will fade.....
John

You know, sometimes fungi, mold spores, or algae get in those vents and you have to get the stuff out. I think there is some kind of way to disinfect them but I can't remember it though...

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Wurth A/C & Heating System Treatment is amazing stuff, solved some musty smells for me in the past, but it may work for dead smells also

http://www.autogeek.net/wuachesytr.html

Spray lysol liberally into the air intake cowl vents?

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How does a dead rat smell differ from a dead mouse smell ?

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Ummm do I want to know how one can tell the difference?

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I've read good reports about these folks and ran across this evaporator treatment on their site recently:http://www.ackits.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=dwd2

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

If your lucky. Depending on the tempature and moisture and fat content of your rodent you could have an even nastier mess in your vents. If its a rather large rat or other rodent and it liquifies you could be smelling the death smell for some time to come.

In a house where the tempature and humidity is more controlled it might be ok to wait for an animal to mumifiy. In an enclosed space such as a car its not such a great idea. The smell will make it into foam and cloth in the car and linger for a long time. No amount of scented pine trees hanging from your rear view mirror will save you at that point.

I would take an afternoon and explore the vents. You could remove the vents and use a small bullet video camera with infared light to explore the vents.. A long screw grabber might allow you to grab the corpse and pull it out of the vent without dissasembling your dash....

Try some BG Frigi-Fresh. There is a chance you got a sudden case of nasty mold growth.
http://www.bgprod.com/products/climatecontrol.html

"BG Frigi-Fresh® is formulated to quickly and effectively eliminate foul, musty odors from automobile air conditioning systems. It kills mold, mildew and other odor-producing organisms that grow in the evaporator core and housing. Powerful deodorizers in BG Frigi-Fresh® keep the automobile interior smelling fresh and clean. EPA Reg. No. 44446-20-67145.
Part No. 7083
Part No. 708"

Also, the blower is easy to remove in the W123 cars. You should pull that first. If it is a rat, that's likely the deepest it could get without crawling through a dash vent.

Yuck. A nasty thought all of a sudden... Imagine you hit a bump on a hot summer's day and your mumified rat drops onto your blower fan (set on high of course) and you got a face full of rodent bits and death smell......

You might also want to check the car for rust holes and other possible entry points that a rodent could get into...... If one has gotten into your car another one could and you would be in the same position again......

Could just be mold or fungus. I have read, with 300D's and least, that a common problem with wierd smells coming from the AC or heater vents is caused by mold growing in a drip tray located under the AC evaporator. The drain can get clogged and condesate can collect here, resulting in mold and nasty smells. Apparently it's a real pain to get at though. If your AC hasen't worked in a while, than it's probably not your problem.