Vents smell like piss

[K5Rob]

It’ll be 40 years old in 2 years. Unless you can verify it’s newer, the heater core is going to puke soon anyways, and the vacuum lines probably need replaced and 40 years of dust unless it was a garage queen and if it smells like piss it needs cleaned.
And it’s not horrible to do. Took me about 2 hours to remove and 1 hour to reinstall. Mine just needed a heater core. Next time around it would be out in an hour.
Just saying I couldn’t drive my classic rig around smelling like the bathroom at a sketchy gas station. That’s all.
Or you could drill a peep hole, drill thru the heater core and then remove it and patch a hole.

Good points. I will investigate asap

 

[K5Rob]

Well unfortunately i ended up pulling the hvac box but not because of nests.Turns out two of the doors are broken. Please see pics. Does anyone know where I can find these parts? Also. How to adjust. I believe they were adjusted incorrectly. The metal door was butting up against the plastic door and not shutting correctly. This seems incorrect to me ??? Honestly i really only need a good strong defrost if all else fails.

Btw i did find nests, they were in the dash vents so the right thing to do was pull all the ducting even though i got all the nests out the ducts were sticky and nasty.

 

[K5Rob]

Would anyone be able to explain how the above doors are supposed to function? In other words, in what relation should the metal door be to the plastic door (baffle i believe its called)

I looked abd looked for this, found videos that start to touch on it but nothing definitive. Both doors are busted up so I will have to disassemble.

 

[K5Rob]

FFS, just take out the heater AC box. If that’s too difficult or too much work, an old vehicle ain’t for you.

Grit dog maybe you know about the heater doors?

 

[Grit dog]

Grit dog maybe you know about the heater doors?

Sorry, I don’t have any experience fixing them. I haven’t removed one in 30 + years until last year but I only put a new heater core and some gaskets in it.
If there’s hard parts actually broken I might suggest finding a junker with AC and getting a replacement unit. I’m not certain you can find individual parts, retail?

 

[K5Rob]

Sorry, I don’t have any experience fixing them. I haven’t removed one in 30 + years until last year but I only put a new heater core and some gaskets in it.
If there’s hard parts actually broken I might suggest finding a junker with AC and getting a replacement unit. I’m not certain you can find individual parts, retail?

Yes and no, i found the “baffle” they call it, the plastic door. Its worth its weight in gold. So that one i will try to repair.

And the metal door, the plastic latch they make a metal replacement for $16, so i have that coming. But i believe due to the baffle being broken, when i actuate the doors by hand they hit eachother so the metal one doesnt fully close and seal the box shut which i believe is wrong. And i need to know where the baffle is supposed to be. Hopefully it will be more evident when i take the box apart.

 

[goldpack]

I was looking here, but they don't call the things what I call the things, and some of the hardware looks like it is not a currently retail -able part, ...although I would think there are other catalogers. .."year one" maybe ?

https://www.lmctruck.com/heater-ac

 

[Lil'm]

If the source of the stink is not located, removed, and then thoroughly cleaned, no amount of ozone, air freshener, vinegar, or other masking techniques will prevent said stink from returning. I've had to deal with this situation MANY times.

 

[mxer147]

Assuming your truck is a runner, hook up the vacuum lines and move the controls around to see how it works leave some of the vents off so it doesn’t block your views.

 

[carnutjw]

My ('87)Suburban has had a funky smell from the vents when I first start it since I bought it last August. The heater core started leaking enough recently that I am 95% done with the process of changing it. I hope that was the source of the funk- no evidence of critters. Some of the doors are vacuum actuated and at least one is cable. Apparently the white plastic clip in your first picture is prone to breakage- there are aluminum replacements available online. The metal flap and plastic duct thing do interact with one another somewhat during the vacuum transition. I confirmed operation of the (two)vacuum canisters on mine before I reassembled it. Fortunately they all held vacuum.

 

[82SquareBurb]

FWIW: I just did the HVAC refresh on my 82 with pics: https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/heater-box-refresh-with-pics.47912/

It's not as labor intensive as some make it out to be, took maybe 30 minutes to get everything out, then another couple hours of cleaning, and resealing everything.

 

[Steelbuddha]

I've had good luck in rodent heater box situations pulling out the blower and probing with a narrow (~1") Shop Vac hose, sometimes attached to something like a coat hanger. Once you get the offending material out (critical), vinegar and/or good old Febreze will take care of the odor.

Thanks to our Chinese overlords, you can get an excellent endoscope for under $100. I got one from Vevor that has a remote controlled articulating camera head, which will do very good inspections in tight spots. Like, you can stick it in a spark plug hole and examine the cylinder bore, the combustion chamber, and the valves without really taking anything apart (besides removing the spark plug).

 

[Fat 454]

CATS - get at least one, more are preferable. Feed them enough and regularly so they know where home is, but not too much so they want to hunt for critters. They are a cheap and effective varmint eradication system they assist with preventing -
* nesting
* breeding
* wire nibbling ( can be VERY expensive - ask me how I know )
* smells and all other kinds of unwanted intrusions

Word will get round the neighbourhood - trust me ....

 

[Fat 454]

Plus they are a hit with the kids and the missus when they leave a dis-emboweled offering outside the back door first thing in the morning.
Don't seem to like eating the guts or head for some reason ?....

 

[JBswth]

Plus they are a hit with the kids and the missus when they leave a dis-emboweled offering outside the back door first thing in the morning.
Don't seem to like eating the guts or head for some reason ?....

If they are hungry enough, or if they were born wild, trust me, they will eat the guts. The head, though, is too bony.

J. B.