I bought a beautiful '97 4x4 ext cab and upon opening the door the first time, discovered or rather, was assaulted by the strongest odor of rat urine I have ever smelled. Since then, I have taken every interior panel and seat out and today, the entire dash. i have washed the seat covers I could remove, "febrezed" the ones I couldn't, vacuumed out all the "chewings" and all, but the smell persists. I'm not even completely convinced that the rat isnt still inside the heater box somewhere. Does anyone have any idea as to how to get rid of that smell? Thanks.

 

maybe try to replace the carpet cause the padding is attached to the carpet so it maybe stuck down in there or maybe try shampooing it

 

thanks for your reply, moparman. when i said i had taken everything out, i meant everything. the carpet did absolutely reek with urine smell, but now that there isnt any other absorbtive surface in the truck and the smell persists, I'm rather at a loss. My next idea is to make a solution of ammonia and chlorine bleach to produce pure chlorine gas inside the cab, let it set for a few days and then air it out. Maybe that will work.

 

It is one of the hardest smells to get out. Almost everything will need to be wiped down with some sort of strong chemical(heater vents door panels ect) If all that smells good then time to move towards the cab and get it wiped down. Whats still in the truck that isnt out?. I would contact a detailer before you start mixing stuff together.

 

The only things that are physically in the cab is the actual heater/AC core and the wiring harness that didnt come out with the dash. I have sprayed chlorine bleach inside the vents and wiped all the dust off everywhere I could reach with a moist cloth. I put a bowl of "uncooked" coffee grounds inside last night. will see if that works. Yeah, I'm kinda spooked about the whole chlorine gas thing, myself. I keep getting visions of "overhaulin' " in my head when I think of how far I may need to go to get rid of the smell. Thanks again for your replies.

 

buy a couple of those renuzit adjustable room air fresheners (like the kind most people have in thier bathrooms) and open them up and leave them in the truck with the windows up for a few days ,, works like a charm im telling ya , reason i know is awhile back we had a mouse problem and set out some traps ,, and i forgot to keep a check on the one in the cabinet under the kitchen sink , when i remembered it was already too late and the mouse was decomposing pretty good and stunk really bad ,, and to make matters worse the a/c vent is right in front of that cabinet door so every time it kicked on the smell would go through the rooms !! nothing we tried to clean with worked for the oders , my sister-in-law told us about the air freshener trick , tried it and it worked !

 

Thanks, Rob, for that idea. I have just finished a 2 day trial with coffee grounds trying to absorb the smell to no avail. I think i'm gonna have to disassemble the heater/AC box and see if there are remains/fecal matter/urine inside that, too. Oh well. I have to register it as a non-op anyway until i get the new engine/tranny in. I just hope I dont forget how to re-assemble the interior. lol. I'm still open to any other ideas. Thanks again.

 

Well if your getting a new engine and tranny take the rest of the heater box out and just park it in a river for 2 or 3 days lol

 

Man! If Southern California had rivers, I would definitely consider it. I'm not as intimidated by the removal of the heater/AC box now that I have most everything else out. Still mildly daunting but I'll just go slowly and deliberately. While I have the interior stripped, I figure I might as well do the sound-proofing and pre-wiring for the stereo also. By the way, have you heard of anyone putting an electric rear window in one of these trucks, like the toyota trucks? Thanks for your help.

 

Inground pool works in pinch too lol. We had a discussion about power rear windows about 2 months or so ago. We found out it is possible and there is a kit for it(i have no clue who makes it) if you dont mind spending about 400.00 for it I wanted to do it but ill just rather reach back and open my window the old fashion way. Plus with my back window open I get a bunch of dirt and crap inside my truck.