Smelly '84 240D - how to remove?

Sep 25, 2007 5 Replies

Hi Experts,



The interior of this old car is really smelly - like decomposing plastic



-, especially if I keep the doors and windows closed.



I tried a large dish of baking soda in it for a week, with everything closed, but there was no change.



I have heard of zeolite crystals that can adsorb odors on the surface and can release them when exposed to the sun, allowing the crystals to be re-used. Has anyone tried this, or any other solution, with success?



TIA



RF


Odd that 23 year old plastic would be off gassing. Suggest you pull up the floor mats to see if a rain leak isn't the cause of the problem. Sunroof drains may have rusted out by now to cause such a leak.

-->> T.G. Lambach the floor mats to see if a rain leak isn't the cause of the problem.

Thanks TGL.

Something is outgassing. The car is garaged most of the time and not very often is exposed to rain. I live in northern California where there is little or no rain between May and November. I take it out typically once a week and I pick the dry days. It has not been exposed to rain for at least six months. I'll remove the mats for a while to see if they are causing the odor.

RF

Where are the sunroof drains located? I have a similar problem with my

84 300D that I know is letting water in to the rear passenger floorboard. It has filled up at least twice during summer thunderstorms, and I can't find the source. I thought it was the rear passenger door seal, but a trip to the car wash ruled that out (I think).

I live there too and know the conditions well. Two thoughts come to mind: a coolant leak from the heater core or battery acid corrosion that's pierced the firewall, behind the battery.

The sunroof drain pipes start at the sunroof well and must go down the front and center pillars. The only way to know is to look and feed a wire into each to learn where each terminates. The get clogged with dirt and debris and eventually rust out.

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