[128206]

Hey fellas,

I finally got a chance today to see my daughters 2005 beetle With 68,000 miles.

I got under the hood and everything looks pretty good. Engine air filter was still clean, brakes & tires are very good.

however when I took apart the dash to get to the cabin air filter I found an old nest from mice.

They chewed apart that material that attaches to the bottom of the air filter cover. can you tell me what that item is called? I want to order a new one for her. it seems to be attached by a bunch of clips.

And are there any recommendations for blocking the area in the firewall that the mice are getting into the cabin air filter area?

Thanks for any helpful advice!

 

[billymade]

You might post a photo; of the part in question or look parts up here: www.parts.vw.com

If the insulation is gone; on the removal panels; you could stuff them with insulation again or i just added some sound proofing insulation. I found a roll of it @ Lowe's for cheap and it works well with a adhesive backing to apply it to things.

We have had many members here with mouse nests, reside in this area; the nature of the system, is a "fresh air" design and so, that allows mice entry. I don't know, if a addition of a metal screen of some type would help? In my experience, this area; needs a thorough, yearly clean out from debris like leaves, that build up in there. I clean this every year; when, i replace my cabin filter, typically every spring, so i remove the nasty smell from the a/c and have a nice clean smelling, easier to breathe cabin environment. I recommend, the use of the carbon impregnated carbon filters; they seem to purify the air, compared to the normal ones. I don't know why but my local vw dealer; has good prices on them, compared to regular auto parts stores.

For any residual mice droppings or urine; you might create your own 50/50 water and Clorox mix, to spray with, kill anything harmful bacteria off, sanitize the fresh air system and remove any bad smells from the area.

 

[128206]

Thanks for the information

I will have to try and figure out if I can get a metal screen in there to stop the mice

Is there a name of the Lowe’s product to put some type of replacement insulation material?

 

[billymade]

This is what i used; less then $10 a roil, is is adhesive lined on one side and foil on the other.

FROST KING SELF ADHESIVE FOIL AND FOAM DUCT INSULATION 15" BY 12" FV516

FROST KING SELF ADHESIVE FOIL AND FOAM DUCT INSULATION 15" BY 12" FV516 - Google Search

Keep in mind, the old insulation; is a good storage place for dust, musty smells and just plain old material, i wanted ti remove this from my fresh air system. This sealed it off and was a improvement; over how things were after 17 years of age, in a dirty environment.

I was doing this for sound insulation purposes and it make a big improvement inside the car and noise from the dash. There are traditional tar based sound proofing mater but i was looking g for a affordable option and something that would not add a potentially bad sell to the fresh air system and melt in summer heat or hvcac temps. This is probably not the perfect solution but it is inexpensive and then listen $10 a roll; something that you can try and even use for other things if you have some left over.

Let is know, how things go and if this worked or if you found a better solution.