pinenut

1996 Lexus ES300

I keep my car in the garage.
I've had to remove and clean the blow motor fan 3 times in the last 6 months because empty peanut shells in the fan caused intolerable noise. I think either chip monks or squirrels got hold of peanuts in shells which I kept in my garage. When it got cold, they got in the blow motor area with stolen peanuts in shells. They leave empty shell in the "squirrel" cage of the blow motor.

I want to know how they got in there. There must be an opening to the outside air. I can't find it.
Can you help me locate the entry point for the rodents?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Haha what is it with you and nuts?

JASC

Hi Pinenut:
I have the same problem with the same model Lexus. Rodents were getting into the air handling system's blower assembly and leaving a mess. The mice are getting up the vertical water drainage channels on either side of the car, scampering along the water collection tray under the wipers, and going down the air intake horn under the cowling. The air horn on these models is completely open.

My solution to the problem was to remove the wiper arms, and remove the cowling, to expose the air intake horn. Then cover the horn with a make-shift screen made of hardware cloth clamped in place with two plumbing clamps to give the necessary length to cover the circumference of the horn. But clear out the mess by vacuuming from the air horn first before screening it, which is more convenient than doing it from the cabin filter access hatch. I found this solution successful, and the disassembly work fairly simple. No special tools or technical knowledge is required. I've attached 5 pictures to show the procedure.

It would be a good idea to get those peanuts out of the garage since they will attract all sorts of unwelcome guests!

Good Luck!

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

Rat traps huge ones!

On a real note go to a nearest home depot and find some sort of squirrel repellent

JASC

I think you're missing the point. Getting rodents out of a garange can be accomplished at least temporarily with strong repellants, but these should not be used in vehicle air systems, which are vulnerable where ever the car is parked. In my case, the car must be parked outside a lot in a rural setting, so what is the use of repellants in that case? Rodents are everywhere and often can ignore repellants when the air-flow is capable of removing vapours. Finally, traps or poisoned treats are quickly cleared away or filled, as an inexhaustable supply of new rodents replace those eliminated by the poison. A realistic solution is to use physical barriers in combination with the removal of attractors such as peanuts (as in our friend Mr. Pinenut's case).

pinenut

Thank you, JASC.

That is most helpful explanation and suggestion.

I will definitely take a look to see if I can handle it by myself.
I may come back for more questions though.

JASC

Sure, no problem. Good Luck!:

kbeasley

Good idea, I have this problem with chipmunks and rats, tired of cleaning out the filter. also possible to get hantavirus from rodent feces and urine. Thanks for the pictures