Fixing blitz

[Buxton]

Well, me and my dad have finally had some time to work on the car. It's got a terrible stale smell coming from under the carpet (It must be damp as both sills had to be repaired).

Rust coming through!

Quickly rust-remedied, sanded and sprayed with some spare Halford's
own caliper silver

After a clean underneath - may put a bit more sound deadening in there.

Next job is to tackle the badly scratched bumper.

I also buffed quite a few scuff and scratches out of the car, including one on the bonnet where it looked like someone had sat on it.

Sadly the smell is still there, I'll have to take out all the seats and bits to get all the carpet up and have a real good look. Hopefully I can rid of the smell or I may have to get it re-carpeted : 0

 

[dogsbody]

Nice work
Try Febreze for the smell :yesnod:

 

[pauldf1971]

or zoflora

 

[Pid_16V]

Good to see you getting on top of it matey. Have you given the carpet and seats a good clean to try and get rid of the smell?

On a side note: This could be a warning to all owners, it might be a good idea to pull the seats and carpets out completely and check around the inner sills especially for rust/corrosion, ideally when the weather is more forgiving.

 

[Cullers]

There are several ways of dealing with the smell. You can get a natural sponge and leave it in the car overnight and it will soak up the smell. Another option is to put bicarb all over and that will do the same. These will work providing the source of the smell is sorted. A decent spray of antibacterial will also work killing any live bacteria causing smells.
It might be worth getting some Neutrodol as well which destroys the smell but I would always say the first two options are going to be most effective at physically getting rid of the smell.

 

[Buxton]

Nice work
Try Febreze for the smell :yesnod:

or zoflora

Thanks, I've tried many things on top on the carpet, even Autoglym Odour eliminator, which cured it too an extent, but still there's no fresh odour getting in the car, just a heavy damp one.

Good to see you getting on top of it matey. Have you given the carpet and seats a good clean to try and get rid of the smell?

Thanks , it's great to have some spare time to do things at last.

I've Vaxxed the front seats and front carpet, as well as the headliner many times (we thought the stench was from tobacco since the car had been smoked in :mad5.

I just simply reckon the underneath is smelling, since a god awful pong came up lifting the back bit.

On a side note: This could be a warning to all owners, it might be a good idea to pull the seats and carpets out completely and check around the inner sills especially for rust/corrosion, ideally when the weather is more forgiving.

SECONDED. I was informed it's a design fault that the sills rot from the interior, so after we pull out the carpet theres gonna be a lot of sealing to just make sure.

There are several ways of dealing with the smell. You can get a natural sponge and leave it in the car overnight and it will soak up the smell. Another option is to put bicarb all over and that will do the same. These will work providing the source of the smell is sorted. A decent spray of antibacterial will also work killing any live bacteria causing smells.

I didn't know about the sponge or bicarb! I'll definatley try that when we've killed the source.

We did wipe down most of it with dicenfectant, I like it, even if it's just a bit of peace of mind.

 

[Cullers]

So do you have any idea of where the damp/water is coming from at all? I remember many years ago someone had a similar problem with a *ahem* Morris Marina. He took all the interior out and couldn't trace it until he dried out the interior and then sprinkled icing sugar in the car. When it rained again, the icing sugar showed where the moisture was coming in by turning pink/red lol. Once he found the area he vacuumed the rest of the icing sugar up.

Is there any chance its the heater matrix leaking? I had that once in a Renault and it stank awfully and steamed the car up when switched on.

 

[JJ]

silica gel is the best thing for getting rid of the moisture but not easily to get hold of, otherwise they do those tubs with absorbant stuff in them for help to dry out clothes etc those also work very well just need to keep on top of changing them for a week or tweo depending on the dampness level.

JJ

 

[pauldf1971]

have you thought of checking the rubber seal in the rear quarter window?

 

[Richie Connor]

i had a problem with a musty smell in the boot of mondeo after rear lens seal let go and was told to use a peeled onion choped in half so tried it and it done a pretty good job ok u say there was a light odour of onion but after a small time both were gone

 

[jimmymac]

I wonder if that rust is due to the rear 1/4 window rubber seal not fitting correctly. ive seen a couple of cougars where the rubber seal seems go behind the glass slightly, and these photos seem to show the aproximate area the water would go.

 

[Buxton]

All great ideas guys, thanks

So do you have any idea of where the damp/water is coming from at all? I remember many years ago someone had a similar problem with a *ahem* Morris Marina. He took all the interior out and couldn't trace it until he dried out the interior and then sprinkled icing sugar in the car. When it rained again, the icing sugar showed where the moisture was coming in by turning pink/red lol. Once he found the area he vacuumed the rest of the icing sugar up.

Both side sills had to be welded up when I bought the car, and I reckon it's just the residue of water in the underside of the carpets, hopefully there's not a gap on the inside :nonod:

I wonder if that rust is due to the rear 1/4 window rubber seal not fitting correctly. ive seen a couple of cougars where the rubber seal seems go behind the glass slightly, and these photos seem to show the aproximate area the water would go.

have you thought of checking the rubber seal in the rear quarter window?

Mine is bent in but there is rust on the both sides - and glass was found on the right underneath the carpet, I reckon it's been broken into and badly replaced as there are smudges I can't clean out!

i had a problem with a musty smell in the boot of mondeo after rear lens seal let go and was told to use a peeled onion choped in half so tried it and it done a pretty good job ok u say there was a light odour of onion but after a small time both were gone

:smile5: I'll soon be trying everything if I can't find a source

 

[zarquon]

silica gel is the best thing for getting rid of the moisture but not easily to get hold of.........
JJ

Loads of it ebay. 10x100g bags for about 12 quid.

 

[rust]

that rust looks the same as mine!

my sunroof drain hose had split, water was pooring in running over the roof lining and straght down behind the rear trim filling up the rear footwell!

pull your head liner and cheak the drains.
there are 4 of them, one in each corner of the plastic sunroof assembly.

if you have one that is lol