Jdnet

Go to walmart and get a can of ozium from the airfreshener rack. I use it on my cop car everytime I have a urine and feces covered drug addict sit in the back. Works great.

moparado

Thats worse than rat crap.
I'd double up on the latex gloves in case one split open. Maybe triple up!

DrMcCoy

Thanks for the help, guys. I've been trying some different tricks, but haven't had much success. Not even with the Lysol trick. Also, just to be clear, it is the dog food smell (that rats packed in) that is still coming through, not droppings (thankfully). (In the summer heat, think of an old, bad meal being over-microwaved in a small hotel room.) Because of this, I'm thinking the solution is gonna have to be something other than an antibacterial like lysol. I've never heard of the Ozium, I'll have to look into that.

I've taken the windshield cowling off again, and it looks like the dealer still didn't fully remove all the particles, which I'm assuming is the main source of the problem. Most of the debris is on the truck's right side, right in front of the intake, which is under a metal cover (painted in the body paint). Does anyone have any experience accessing this area? I tried wires, long handled tools, and other things to clean it out, but there's plenty more in there. Kind of frustrating that the service guys didn't fully clean this.

I was also rather surprised to find that the 2014's apparently don't have cabin air filters? If that's the case, is there anything between the outside air and the cab when recirc is off?

Thanks again for the help!

moparado

Did you try vacuuming like i mentioned above?
Since its packed in there, might want to prod deep as possible with a wire while simultaneously vacuuming to get most of the big chunks out.
If you get to a point you think most is all out, then its gonna have to be scrubbed clean deep inside somehow with a disinfectant solution.

I think anything sprayed inside the cabin like the ozium and the lysol treatment mentioned will not address the root cause of the odor.

I understand your situation as i've had to deal with a mouse that died inside the cabin of one of my stored vehicles.
Took a long while and a lot of effort including shampooing the entire upholstery, rugs, headliner then finally an odor ridding bomb to totally get the smell out.
It can be done with perseverance and patience.

If there's no cabin filter then the air enters directly into the cabin from the outside vent.
Are you sure there's no cabin filter?
My '14 Jeep has one. Thats about the time when some mfg'ers started to implement them in some of their vehicles.

DrMcCoy

I did try vacuuming what I could reach. I guess I need to find a much narrower vacuum attachment and get deeper in there. Months of rain water, dirt, and whatever else has turned it into a paste. The design of the intake makes no sense, it seems almost inaccessible.

I'm not 100% sure that there is no filter, but from reading some manuals and other forum posts, it sounds like the generation that includes the '14 does not have a cabin filter. Not to mention that if there is one, I can't find it. Apparently the '15's and up do have them.

moparado

If it straight into the duct work, get a length of small dia. pvc plastic tubing and duct tape it to the end of the vacuum hose air tight.
Or if you need to snake around into the duct work, try stiffer flexible tubing.
I've done this a lot to vacuum tight hard to get into areas.

If its a pasty mess then i'd try to find maybe something like a dish washing type brush/sponge with a handle or whatever will work down in there to move out the stuff.
Then use a fresh brush or sponge soaked in disinfectant to scrub it clean.
If you find the perfect brush or sponge to get down in there, you're probably gonna need a bunch of them.
I hope you're using latex gloves when you work on this.

McLovin

TTKammer

My brother tazed a kid who pulled a butcher knife on him when he showed up for a house party noise complaint, and the kid soiled himself (violently, at that). After he was in cuffs, my brother made him wear a garbage bag "diaper" for the ride to the station. Keep some trash bags in the cruiser. Poke two leg holes in the bottom and cinch the top. Voila!

DrMcCoy

Thanks for the continued help guys. I opened the cowling back up earlier and vacuumed out what I could, using a wire. What I found after getting that deep in there is that the dealer service dept. did a better job than I had thought, but there was still some "paste" in there, as well as a lot of residue. After vacuuming I used a sponge on the wire soaked in dish soap to try and remove as much grease as possible, the used a can of Lysol through the system again (incidentally, I did notice the Lysol smell went straight through, seemingly confirming that there is no air filter). I also cleaned and sprayed all the cab vents, just to be sure.
The smell seems better, but it's still there.

Am I correct in assuming the actual outside intake (looking across the bottom of the windshield from driver's side) is that black box under there with the square hole pattern on the top half? If it is, there's a good chance that some dog food could have fallen down in there. I know the food would fit through those holes, but it's way beyond my skill set and I'm not sure the dealer would agree to dismantling the dash.

Also don't worry, I am wearing gloves. Though whatever's in there has been blowing into my cab for a while...

DrMcCoy

I had forgotten about those! One might have helped clean under the cowl, but the problem is though, the actual duct work on the intake side of the ac system is basically inaccessible. the opening has a grate-like cover over it and is located behind the firewall, in front of the cab, and encased on 3 other sides by the body metal.