In and Out Spray

[LFairbanks]

We have all used In and Out spray in our engine bay.  My question is has anybody had issues with it attracting rodents to chew things under the hood?  Or have they ever had issues with rodents whether or not In and Out spray or some other detailing product was used?  

 

I was just curious as I had an issue with some work that was performed on my vehicle and a part was swapped out with a damaged one.  The dealership was very helpful in replacing the part as I do all my own maintenance, and other than myself they were the only ones under my hood.  Turns out the part that was taken and replaced with the damaged one is a part that can't be bought by itself.  You have to buy the whole wire harness to get the rubber cap.  Which is probably why mine was taken.  The guy at the parts counter is the one that mentioned the rodent theory.  I may have bought the rodent story had it not been obvious that there was a wrench on the bolt to access removal of the rubber cap.  He didn't know what to say.  I would have also thought that other things may have been gnawed on as well.  Not just this cap.

 

This situation however got me thinking and asking the question about certain scents attracting rodents.

[Chris@Adams]

Bummer........never heard of products attracting rodents. I hope you don't find more damage.

[Team Adam's]

In my experience critters will chew wires under the hood of any car, detailed or not.

I've seen plenty of 'un-detailed' vehicles get a rat infestation so I don't think its a product thing, I think its an exposed wire thing.

[LFairbanks]

Bummer........never heard of products attracting rodents. I hope you don't find more damage.

 

I didn't find any other damage.  And like I mentioned in my original post it was obvious that there were wrench marks on the nut securing the ring terminal.  I tried to take pictures of it, but not having a macro lens they didn't show up.  This experience got me thinking however about the "what if".  None of my other vehicles have any rodent damage.  Nor have any vehicles that I have owned in the past had issues. 

 

 

In my experience critters will chew wires under the hood of any car, detailed or not.

 

I've seen plenty of 'un-detailed' vehicles get a rat infestation so I don't think its a product thing, I think its an exposed wire thing.

 

 

In your experience was it on vehicles that spent a lot of time sitting without being used?  This vehicle is used quite regularly.  I know when I made my venture to the Grand Canyon a couple years ago they did mention that there are issues with rodent damage to vehicles.  My car sat there for a week and nothing happened.  This truck also sits in the garage with 4 dogs.  If there were a rodent in my garage the dogs would go nuts chasing it down.  

[Team Adam's]

In your experience was it on vehicles that spent a lot of time sitting without being used?  This vehicle is used quite regularly.  I know when I made my venture to the Grand Canyon a couple years ago they did mention that there are issues with rodent damage to vehicles.  My car sat there for a week and nothing happened.  This truck also sits in the garage with 4 dogs.  If there were a rodent in my garage the dogs would go nuts chasing it down.  

 

Both actually... I helped a friend with a 'freebie' detail a while back. It was a daily driven car, but he almost never opened the hood. When I did there was small piles of dog food and chewed wires. As best we could tell, each night when he would get home and park in the garage they were climbing under the hood for warmth (after grabbing dog food / kibble) from a nearby storage tote that had a small hole in it. Around where the kibble piles were all the wires, insulation, etc were chewed up. The only thing that seemed to be untouched was rubber hoses.

 

On the other side of the spectrum - when I bought my C10 it was from a town about 2 hours south of us called Peyton... lots of open land and ranch properties. The guy who had it kept it in his shop which was clean and seemed closed up tight. After getting it home and tearing down some things I noticed lots of wires had been chewed by rodents. The truck had been sitting for about 8 months.

 

I think its just something that will happen if rodents find it and have access to it. Nearby construction driving them out of a field or cold temps forcing them to look for warmth.

[LFairbanks]

Both actually... I helped a friend with a 'freebie' detail a while back. It was a daily driven car, but he almost never opened the hood. When I did there was small piles of dog food and chewed wires. As best we could tell, each night when he would get home and park in the garage they were climbing under the hood for warmth (after grabbing dog food / kibble) from a nearby storage tote that had a small hole in it. Around where the kibble piles were all the wires, insulation, etc were chewed up. The only thing that seemed to be untouched was rubber hoses.

 

On the other side of the spectrum - when I bought my C10 it was from a town about 2 hours south of us called Peyton... lots of open land and ranch properties. The guy who had it kept it in his shop which was clean and seemed closed up tight. After getting it home and tearing down some things I noticed lots of wires had been chewed by rodents. The truck had been sitting for about 8 months.

 

I think its just something that will happen if rodents find it and have access to it. Nearby construction driving them out of a field or cold temps forcing them to look for warmth.

 

In my situation I would have thought other things would have been chewed, there would have been droppings, etc, like you described in your story.  The hood is lifted weekly as I wash the underside due to over spray from the highway that seems to collect around the edges of the underside of the hood.  The one thing that still makes me believe that it was traded out was the fact that the nut securing the ring terminal was wrenched on.  I bought the vehicle with zero miles and have had no reason to play with a wire behind the alternator.  I might also add that I would have thought I would have found pieces that may have been dropped as they were chewed and there was nothing.

 

Not to say that it doesn't happen, I just have never talked to anyone with first hand experiences of rodents chewing on stuff under a hood.  An attic in a house I have heard of several instances.

Edited February 11, 2015 by LFairbanks

[El_Gabe]

I don't blame the little creatures lol

 

It's cuz Adam's stuff be smelling so damn good they wanna taste it! They get a wiff out that detail spray and they fall in love it's chewing time

[Ricky Bobby]

Not too sure on whether the piece was swapped or not but I'm in agreement with Dylan that In and Out Spray or dressings etc definitely do not attract rodents, pests, etc.

[Team Adam's]

Given whats in a spray dressing its just as likely to repel rodents IMHO... theres nothing edible about it, and though I'm not a rodent I can't imagine it tastes very good either.

[Ricky Bobby]

Chris were any techs working on your engine and eating CHEETOS or FRITOS perhaps?  haha!

[LFairbanks]

I never thought that it was chewed on by a rodent.  That was just brought up by the parts counter guy.  This issue just got me thinking, which was the reason behind me starting this thread.  My initial thought was that it was damaged by someone on another vehicle and when mine was worked on it was swapped out.  To get the rubber boot you have to buy the whole wire that runs back to the battery and it is $28.  It also looked somewhat aged in comparison to other items in the engine bay.  And to see it I have to stand on a step ladder.  Personally I think whomever took it thought I would never notice.  And nothing else had any damage.  Looked everything over really well and like I mentioned before it was obvious that the nut securing the terminal ring was wrenched on.

[Black Bowtie]

I would talk to the Service Mansger and express your concerns. I think you are on the right path. i have never seen rodents chew on rubber. Wiring and insulation is another story.

[LFairbanks]

I would talk to the Service Mansger and express your concerns. I think you are on the right path. i have never seen rodents chew on rubber. Wiring and insulation is another story.

 

They replaced it no issues there.  It is just frustrating to think that someone from the dealership is taking parts off of customers cars.  Put the new part on last night.  When the manager brought me the part I think she was kinda surprised as to how easy it was to remove and be swapped out.  Took me about 1 minute to replace.  The price of needing the whole wire to get that boot is why I believe mine was taken.  Have no issues with the dealership themselves as they have always resolved my issues.  Just that someone there is dishonest; they will eventually get caught.

Edited February 11, 2015 by LFairbanks

[Team Adam's]

Getting a better look at this now (not on my phone, now on my 27" screen) that is ABSOLUTELY not rodent damage... I've seen enough of it to know it and that looks like a slightly rotted rubber piece, potentially thats been 'man-handled' and/or exposed to the heat.

[DieselDude]

It does not take long to change some parts out on a vehicle.  When I got my truck the tie down was broken in the bed and I pointed it out and they ended up going out on the lot getting one because the parts department did not have one in stock.

[TheBurninator]

I've found out the hard way that rodents enjoy spark plug wire insulation...