Check your air box…

[tny]

Yep, that more than likely is how mice are getting in the cab. Once through those holes they can basically get any inside the cab.

It is disappointing that Ford did not take care of it in the design. It would be nice if there was an aftermarket snap in solution.

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[Bluestem]

It is disappointing that Ford did not take care of it in the design. It would be nice if there was an aftermarket snap in solution.

That would be very nice, who around here has a 3d printer?

 

[AdamHarris]

I have not checked our particular truck, but most modern vehicles have flaps that close off all open cabin intake locations within a short time of the ignition being turned off. If you are standing around and its quiet, you can hear it happen.

 

[Bluestem]

I can tell you that is not the case with these trucks. if your arms were small enough you could stick it through those holes when the truck is off. There is a mechanism there over the cabin air filter but it appears to be part of the recirculation function.

 

[Jon Olivier]

My worst encounter with rodents in a car, was when I opened the hood on my wife's Rav4, and found a bunch of droppings and chewed up foam under the engine cover. Upon further inspection, I noticed some of the wires leading to the fuel injectors were chewed. They weren't completely chewed through, but they were barely attached.

 

[AdamHarris]

Regardless of ones parking situation, rodents need to be kept out of modern automobiles at all costs. Much of todays wiring insulation is Soy based (instead of silicon) and though it supposedly does not attract rats itself, once they get in there they realize how good it tastes and before long the vehicle is totaled.

 

[tny]

Regardless of ones parking situation, rodents need to be kept out of modern automobiles at all costs. Much of todays wiring insulation is Soy based (instead of silicon) and though it supposedly does not attract rats itself, once they get in there they realize how good it tastes and before long the vehicle is totaled.

I have an appointment to take it to the dealer, end of next week, to change the oil and cleanup/check for damage. I am going to order steel mesh for the holes.

 

[Gil-galad]

Does anyone leave their wire mesh at the engine air intake in place while operating the engine?

My uneducated guess is there would be too much restriction of the air flow to the intake..

 

[tny]

Mine stays in.

Do you know what mesh size and wire gauge is it? Or hole size, wire diameter? Did you get it online ?

 

[tny]

Home Depot

1/2 in. x 2 ft. x 5 ft. 19-Gauge Galvanized Steel Hardware Cloth

I think 1/2" is too big. I heard max hole should be about 1/4"

 

[jblc]

Does anyone leave their wire mesh at the engine air intake in place while operating the engine?

My uneducated guess is there would be too much restriction of the air flow to the intake..

I leave it in. It should be okay to leave it in, since it's probably just a small % of the total input area. Having a mesh may cause a tiny bit more turbulence on the intake tube, but the air filter in the box should smooth airflow out anyway.

I used this 5-mesh Stainless Steel mesh, to make sure nothing could fit through:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097JR8JJ2/

This is 93% open area, according to this mesh to area calculator.

 

[jblc]

The 5-mesh size i used (slightly less than 1/4", as linked in my prior post) does have about a 7% area reduction IF just considering using the front area of the mesh.
This is small but non-negligable.

But, since the mesh insert I made was curved somewhat, and also allows air in from the side, the air flow reduction is probably closer to 3% (since air can also come in from the sides)

3% may definitely matter for some people.
For my purposes, it's fine: I'd rather trade a very small amount of power (that i probably never use) to keep rodents out.

 

[Kyp317]

This thread gives me anxiety. I live at my best friends place in Michigan, 110 acre farm where he had second small home build handful of years ago I now rent and there’s mice all over, outside not inside. No one here has ever had mice get into the filters/vehicles but now I’ll be checking my filters weekly.

I may just follow the lead of others and put mesh screens in to be proactive about this. If I don’t mess it up. I work in the CAD department at a small shop that does prototype stuff for most the car companies = therefore I have no real world abilities with my hands of actually building anything ?

 

[tny]

I have an appointment to take it to the dealer, end of next week, to change the oil and cleanup/check for damage. I am going to order steel mesh for the holes.

I took it last Friday. They looked at it, vacuumed and cleaned up and had to replace the air filter that was chewed through. I guess minimum damage.

 

[Racket]

From under my hood.

Anecdotal but I read somewhere that using Ford engine shampoo may repel rodents. Up until now I've been spraying peppermint oil. I lapsed.

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