Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

How-to's and repair secrets for your 4WD can be found here. Have a question? Ask it in here!
xirdneh
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 2121
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

Post by xirdneh »

the piece of metal that is between windshield and hood covers the windshield wiper arm mechanisms
if you remove it (pull wiper arms and remove some screws along the front edge )
on the passenger side there is a hole for the fresh air intake
it is hard to get at
a mouse can drop down on top of the blower from there
not sure how he can get back out
i have thought about putting a screen over it
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
jimcrazy
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 515
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2011 6:33 pm
My tercel:: 1985 4wd 1986fwd 1983 4wd

Re: Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

Post by jimcrazy »

i had a mouse in mine a couple of weeks ago filled the fan full of leaves and dog hair, took the lazy route dropped the glove box down, and with a pair of side cutters cut the plastic square hole screen on the housing out, now I can put my hand in the fan and clean it out
North of 64
Top Notch Member
Posts: 237
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:04 pm
My tercel:: "Bones" 87 SR5 4wd wagon
Location: Dawson City, Yukon

Re: Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

Post by North of 64 »

How did you seal up your hole in the housing?
User avatar
Ace
Top Notch Member
Posts: 104
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:57 am
My tercel:: '83 DLX 4WD Tercel wagon 3AC

Re: Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

Post by Ace »

jimcrazy wrote: Fri Nov 27, 2015 2:06 pm i had a mouse in mine a couple of weeks ago filled the fan full of leaves and dog hair, took the lazy route dropped the glove box down, and with a pair of side cutters cut the plastic square hole screen on the housing out, now I can put my hand in the fan and clean it out
That's exactly what I did after the last dadburn mouse nest occurrence. That way you can easily reach right into the center of the squirrel cage fan after removing the glove compartment, without having to do any other disassembly.

The only function of the "plastic square hole screen" is to maybe prevent junk overflow from the glove compartment from getting into the fan intake when it is on recirculate setting.
100_5844.JPG
There was some previous discussion about whether strong-smelling soaps are a deterrent to rodents. A few years ago I put Irish Spring soap in a vehicle that was parked for the winter. I later discovered that a resident mouse was regularly dining on the soap through the winter, probably for lack of better cuisine at the time. There were distinct gnawing marks on the bar of soap.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
xirdneh
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 2121
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Mouse nest in heater fan, and suggestions for prevention

Post by xirdneh »

Remove the wipers then the metal between hood and windshield. If it is rusty and holes in the metal that’s one way they get in. It’s the only way that I have found. I patch the holes with thin metal and some kind of sticky goop. The urathane stuff used to install a windshield works well. Even wet/dry roofing caulk will work. The black stuff.
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
Post Reply