They're going thru the fan shroud for sure.

 

This is still puzzling. How do they get into the engine compartment? The grill is too restrictive. At least on mine, there are no gaps or holes big enough for a mouse in the sheetmetal. In through the exhaust pipe is a no-go because they'd only get as far as the muffler, which is not open to the HX. If they get into the engine compartment, and then past the fan, they'd still only squeeze between the cylinders at best, and maybe fall onto the floor.

I think the logical route is to chew through the heater hose. Otherwise they'd have to hang upside down, acorn in mouth, and climb in through the heater box valve. And that would be one bionic ninja mouse or a Bear Grylls mouse with climbing gear.

 

through the gaps in the exchangers or the fan .. mice can get through incredibly small places..

 

I think we're too used to seeing big mouse holes in baseboards in cartoons. As ice says, they cracks and fissures they can get through is ridiculous.

I'd plan on spending a weekend removing my alternator and doing some thorough investigation into what else these vermin have done to the car.

 

There is a local guy who bought a 930 that started t smelll on the way home. Tunrs out the engine shroud was stuffed with dog food. It is now known a the Alporsche!

 

i once found my subwoofer full of raisins .. go figure ...

 

My woofer liked raisins when he was alive.

 

2 scoops I hope! perhaps raisins in the woofer explains the 'wine' in my tweeter.

 

A few years back I received a response to a similar problem from a great guy and Rennlister, Dave Gaunt, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2007. Here is Dave's heat exchanger story:

“I never actually saw the 'crispy critters'. They made a home in my heat exchangers under the engine complete with MY carpet for bedding. It was in the fall, about a 40 Deg day and pissing rain--had to take the car somewhere for something--so had everything pulled to max trying to get the moisture off the windshield. You know how it is, when you start the car from cold, even if it's in a garage, the moisture in the longitudinals gets picked up by the already damp, lightly heated air from the exchangers, and deposits it on the windshield. At least I was only 100 yards from home when it all went to hell… When I drove the car, burning, smoking bits of shredded carpet and backing blew out of the defrost vents landing on my passenger seat and filling the car with vile green smoke. I didn't know whether to run, hit the fire extinguisher or save the insurance documents. I shut off the front blower--which was supplying combustion air to the super-heated material from the exhaust area and it settled quickly. I am not sure how you will capture the full terror of having almost solid green smoke pour from the defrost vents, along with the flaming bits of shredded carpet landing on the seat! The smoke was almost solid and behaved more like water than smoke as it roiled out of the vent and cascaded downward like a wave. The critters stayed in the system despite all my best efforts to hose them out for about two years. The car always smelled of slightly burned BBQ on damp days, but eventually it went away. That was an adventure.

Best,
Dave

 

hahahahaha...

 

https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...use+dead+mouse

^My first Renn-thread.

http://www.carbag.com/

^I just got one of these for Christmas will see if it worked this spring. I still go up to my Dad's to check the traps about once a week. Average about one kill per month. Need to get more poison.

 

By the way, when storing my car for winter I sprinkled moth ***** over the ground under and around the car. I put a few in the trunk and engine compartment. NO CRITTERS ALL WINTER.

 

Ditto on the moth *****. BE proactive or you will pay for it in repairing wiring as well!