Carpets, smell, old foam...etc.

[Rich_NYS]

I want to get rid of the smell in my car, and I've read everything I was able to find in the forum. I understand a majority of the smell is due to the old foam under the carpet. I'm making a plan to remove the carpet, clean it thoroughly, and remove the old foam.

My questions:

-Is the old foam attached to the carpet, or the interior of the car?

-After removing the foam, is it sufficient to replace with an equal amount of Dynamat-type material in the same locations (I'm finding varying ideas w/this step.)

-Any advice on what to clean the carpet with? I'm considering using a pressure-sprayer with detergent, then a foam & vacuum product after it dries.

Thanks,

Rich

[MML]

I want to get rid of the smell in my car, and I've read everything I was able to find in the forum. I understand a majority of the smell is due to the old foam under the carpet. I'm making a plan to remove the carpet, clean it thoroughly, and remove the old foam.

My questions:

-Is the old foam attached to the carpet, or the interior of the car?

-After removing the foam, is it sufficient to replace with an equal amount of Dynamat-type material in the same locations (I'm finding varying ideas w/this step.)

-Any advice on what to clean the carpet with? I'm considering using a pressure-sprayer with detergent, then a foam & vacuum product after it dries.

Thanks,

Rich

I can't comment on the carpets on the floor or sills, but a major source of stink for me was the bit on the parcel shelf, between the relay compartment and the opposite compartment. There's a piece of foam with a layer of rubber there that stank to the high heavens. If you lift that carpet you see the rubber; it's bonded to the foam, the foam is bonded to the fibreglass body. I used a paint scraper to remove it as it was pretty well glued in there. I replaced the foam and rubber and the smell was mostly gone.

[Rich_NYS]

I replaced the foam and rubber and the smell was mostly gone.


What did you use to replace the foam & rubber, and where did you get it?

Very helpful....thanks!

[Michael]

You are probably smelling a mildew odor common with older cars and less than adequate storage. I service several car dealerships and a lot of the detail departments have a odor remover kit that works very well. It consists of a sealed bag that hangs from the mirror and a cup of liquid placed in the car. The AC is set on recirculate and heat for 45 minutes or so and the car left closed up for a few hours.

I have seen them remove some of the most foul wet dog and smoke odors out of a car and they do not come back. I will be there again this Friday and I will find out what it is and the name of the kit for you....may save you a lot of work.

[MML]

What did you use to replace the foam & rubber, and where did you get it?

Very helpful....thanks!

I got the foam in a carpet shop, it's the type they lay under carpets for padding... it's reasonably cheap. It looked something like this:

http://i.imgur.com/B5n1axq.jpg


It was around 10mm thick.

As for the rubber, I couldn't find a suitable replacement, so I used some linoleum in the meantime!

[Rich_NYS]

I got the foam in a carpet shop, it's the type they lay under carpets for padding... it's reasonably cheap. It looked something like this:

http://i.imgur.com/B5n1axq.jpg


It was around 10mm thick.

As for the rubber, I couldn't find a suitable replacement, so I used some linoleum in the meantime!

Thanks!



You are probably smelling a mildew odor common with older cars and less than adequate storage. I service several car dealerships and a lot of the detail departments have a odor remover kit that works very well. It consists of a sealed bag that hangs from the mirror and a cup of liquid placed in the car. The AC is set on recirculate and heat for 45 minutes or so and the car left closed up for a few hours.

I have seen them remove some of the most foul wet dog and smoke odors out of a car and they do not come back. I will be there again this Friday and I will find out what it is and the name of the kit for you....may save you a lot of work.

Excellent....much appreciated. I need to replace the parcel shelf rubber anyway, so I'll start by removing it and using the odor remover kit and see how if that fixes it.

[Jimmyvonviggle]

Thanks!




Excellent....much appreciated. I need to replace the parcel shelf rubber anyway, so I'll start by removing it and using the odor remover kit and see how if that fixes it.


This common underlay may not be the best choice as it may soak up moisture. They have a more expensive underlay that is all rubber. As a replacement for dynamat, many hot rodders and rat rodders use a roofing tar insulation found at lowes.

[DMCMW Dave]

This common underlay may not be the best choice as it may soak up moisture. They have a more expensive underlay that is all rubber. As a replacement for dynamat, many hot rodders and rat rodders use a roofing tar insulation found at lowes.

They apparently don't mind the car smelling like hot asphalt when closed up?

[Jimmyvonviggle]

They apparently don't mind the car smelling like hot asphalt when closed up?

It actually doesn't smell and it doesn't run or drip in high heat. What is dynamat composed of if you slice through it.

[GS450-Junkie]

remove all carpeting and padding. Don't clean it...toss it. Actually, throw the carpeting on Ebay if it's in decent shape. Lots of people are looking for it, which honestly I could never figure out why but whatever.

install dynamat...and don't bother listening to anyone on here about how it will add 50 lbs to your car....then your car will drag when you drive it, it won't go over 50mph when you drive it, and your acceleration will slow way down because of the extra weight....blah blah blah I've heard it all before.

Get new rubber sound proofing (SpecialTAuto)
Get new carpeting (DMCH)

Enjoy!

You can also run an ozone generator to rid the smells. I bought a nice one off of amazon.com for about $100. I have used it about 8-12 times in my wife's car, my car, other people's car, our basement, etc. etc. Works awesome!! If you don't want to buy one, you can call around to car dealerships and ask to use theirs. I was quoted $60 by my local Audi dealer...they would keep your car overnight and run the machine, etc. It takes out moldy, mildew and cigarette smells, etc. I'm REALLY glad I bought mine...it is amazing.


I'm sure others will chime in.

[bdmiko]

It took me a while but I finally got rid of the smells from my car. Ozone generators and odor removal devices didn't work for me, and I tried a lot of them. The problem is they don't get the source of the odor, so the odor keeps coming back.

For me the source was definitely the old foam, especially the molded foam around the wheels. The other foam had some odor too but not as bad. So I took out the foam and then used goof-off to clean off the stuck bits of foam from the fiberglass.

For the carpets I power washed them several times and they still had some odor left in them. Ended up putting them in the wash machine (one at a time) with some oxyclean and that did the trick. If I had to do it again I would take them to the laundromat as it was pretty hard on my wash machine.

In another thread this foam was mentioned for replacement: http://www.mcmaster.com/#sound-dampers/=r2jjv9
part # 5692T61

I am planning on picking up the foam this weekend so I can't comment on if it is a good replacement yet.

[john 05141]

I replaced everythig in the car, carpets, insulation, new seat covering, headliners....
The wordst smell is certainly from the foam on the parcel shelf, no doubt.
I also added Dynamat, it is heavy, but that is not such a big problem, but for sound insulation I can tell you it does absolutely nothing!! I put the Dynamat everywhere except the doors. I could not hear any difference. Belgium is not hot so I can not tell if there is an advantage for heat comming from the road, but I heard it does.

With everything replaced I had a nice new carpet / new car smell but that did not last long. Funny enough it still had a typical Delorean smell to it, but it does not smell bad.

Jan

[jmettee]

I thought the foam on my parcel shelf was the main problem & replaced it....still had an odd smell in the car. The smell my car has is not mildew, but is more like an adhesive...almost like a gasoline-type scent. It's not the carpet either & having never been able to lock onto the source, I gave up & just accepted it.

THEN....I recovered my seats this winter & found it's the seat foam that has the smell. I left the seats bare for a few days & used Febreeze on them before re-covering. I haven't put them back in the car yet, but will know if I did anything at all when I get them back in the car in a week or 2.

If it's still there, I'm not upset as the smell is not really that offensive, but is strong enough that I'm reminded every time I open the door of the car & the smell hits me.

[Rich_NYS]

THEN....I recovered my seats this winter & found it's the seat foam that has the smell.

I hadn't thought of this....and now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I noticed the smell when the seats were out. I'm going to take the seats out first, then the parcel shelf foam.

Thanks.

[Michael]

OK I found out the name of the system. It's called Auto Scents brand Wipe Out Odor Eliminator System. It's actually a 6 step process and seems pretty thorough.

http://www.autoscentsinc.com/xcart/product.php?productid=66

[GS450-Junkie]

Just a few thoughts when it comes to the ozone generator.... shut all doors tight with windows up and run it inside the vehicle for 24 hours. You can't expect it to work if you run it a few hours and then recheck it. In an older car (like my D), I would run it twice. This is AFTER I pulled out all the old foam, just sort of a last final cleaning. I wouldn't waste my time using it if you plan on keeping the old foam in there....that would be pointless. I've done my wife's car(s) multiple times....on newer stuff it seems to be an overnight situation, or just a few hours to accomplish. The next couple of days the car may have something similar to a chemical smell to it, but it will fade. We always welcomed that smell over any odor.... like cigarette smoke, or something worse.... i.e. my son's baby bottle that tipped over on the floor and soaked into the carpet and we didn't find it until the next day, etc. Wow, that sucked.

And be careful with ozone generators... they convert oxygen to ozone so if you fall asleep in your car while it's running, it will kill you. :nono: I don't recommend death. It's overrated.

[ILM1010]

my car smells like an old boat. And from what Im reading here in this thread, even after the carpet and seat foam are changed out, my car will still smell of old musk and the 80s? I have removed my carpets and cleaned them, i have not done my seats yet, i dont even know how to do the seats.

So are we supposed to just enjoy the delorean odor?

[outatym2001]

Rich_NYS
Regarding the carpet padding please review the picture I included in post number 5 in the thread below. The padding is glued to the backside of the carpet.
DO NOT use the cheap multi-colored recycled foam since it will absorb water and does not let go. I recommend closed cell foam.

Carpet with much clutch fluid
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?3642-carpet-with-much-clutch-fluid


What is dynamat composed of if you slice through it.

The answer you seek can be found in this thread below. Hint read post number 5.
Also I have posted about a bazillion pictures in the thread below.

New carpet, soundproofing, and dynamat – any tips?
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?439-New-carpet-soundproofing-and-dynamat-any-tips

[Rich_NYS]

Rich_NYS
Regarding the carpet padding please review the picture I included in post number 5 in the thread below. The padding is glued to the backside of the carpet.
DO NOT use the cheap multi-colored recycled foam since it will absorb water and does not let go. I recommend closed cell foam.

Carpet with much clutch fluid
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?3642-carpet-with-much-clutch-fluid

Thanks Mark....good stuff.

[Jimmyvonviggle]

Thanks for the link to this thread Mark.

[Rich_NYS]

I thought the foam on my parcel shelf was the main problem & replaced it....still had an odd smell in the car. The smell my car has is not mildew, but is more like an adhesive...almost like a gasoline-type scent. It's not the carpet either & having never been able to lock onto the source, I gave up & just accepted it.

THEN....I recovered my seats this winter & found it's the seat foam that has the smell. I left the seats bare for a few days & used Febreeze on them before re-covering. I haven't put them back in the car yet, but will know if I did anything at all when I get them back in the car in a week or 2.

If it's still there, I'm not upset as the smell is not really that offensive, but is strong enough that I'm reminded every time I open the door of the car & the smell hits me.

Did covering the seats fix the odor problem?

[Rich_NYS]

OK I found out the name of the system. It's called Auto Scents brand Wipe Out Odor Eliminator System. It's actually a 6 step process and seems pretty thorough.

http://www.autoscentsinc.com/xcart/product.php?productid=66


Thanks, I'll probably give this a try after recovering my seats.

[Rich_NYS]

I removed the carpets and I'm planning to clean & replace them.

What type of adhesive is used to re-install? Around the doors it appears to be weatherstrip adhesive.

I'm also wondering if it's necessary to remove the yellow foam from the carpets. It doesn't seem to smell bad like the parcel shelf pieces did, has anybody else here left it on during cleaning and re-install, or is it best practice to get rid of all yellow foam in sight?

[NightFlyer]

I removed the carpets and I'm planning to clean & replace them.

What type of adhesive is used to re-install? Around the doors it appears to be weatherstrip adhesive.

I'm also wondering if it's necessary to remove the yellow foam from the carpets. It doesn't seem to smell bad like the parcel shelf pieces did, has anybody else here left it on during cleaning and re-install, or is it best practice to get rid of all yellow foam in sight?

IMHO, the call of whether to replace or not is solely up to you. You already know my motto - if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

If the existing foam padding is in good condition and isn't disintegrating, then I'd keep and reuse it. But that's me.

As far as adhesives go, in the past, I've used various 3M products over the years with good results - Super 77, Hi-Strength 90, Fastbond Contact Adhesive, etc.

[Rich_NYS]

IMHO, the call of whether to replace or not is solely up to you.

I'm hoping to not replace unless I really need to! :thumbup:



You already know my motto - if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Mine too..!
:cheers:

[jmettee]

Did covering the seats fix the odor problem?

Not really. The scent is still there, but I don't think it is quite as strong as it was.

[gulwng3]

I removed the carpets and I'm planning to clean & replace them.

What type of adhesive is used to re-install? Around the doors it appears to be weatherstrip adhesive.



I installed a new molded carpet set from DMCH a few months ago and asked this very same question. I ended up using almost no adhesive at all to install the carpet, except near the deadman pedal in the driver's footwell and the back panel. It will be so much easier to remove when I get ready to install my killer stereo system...:) I left all the old yellow foam and there is very little smell left.

Andy