rverdoold Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Had a nice surprise last night when i want to drive away. The ej20 did not want to start (and its trouble free for 15 years) and finally after 20 attempts i ran but far away from smooth. It was pitchblack and did not had a light so only checked oil level by touch . When i made it to the nearest lantarn i could see the damage to the engine. The two sparkplug cables on the passenger side were in bitten through. (No wonder 2 cylinders is not possible to run on). Also the light showed more, droppings everywhere on the engine. Some years ago i killed a weasel who was hidding in the engine and got stuck between the v-belt and alternator pulley when i started (yes it made a big mess). Is there anything i can do agains this? I know these ultrasonic things but doubt if they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnlyfnd Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I couldn't imagine you could do anything. There is enough room for a squirel's nest in our engine bays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 heh... on the note of rodents and subarus.... my girlfriend's engine is covered with droppings.. no chewings yet... but her mom got a new 05 outback... back when they were new, and within a week, it wouldnt' start... because a squirel had chewed the wires that lead to the fuel pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I have no suggestions to help prevent such damage, but I will share a few rodent stories - maybe it will help you feel better. - A bad smell in my wife's Pontiac Montana was caused by a rodent nest in the cabin air filter. - One of my old Volvo 240s was running like crap. I found the air cleaner filled with feed corn, apparantly stored there by a rodent. - Something filled the exhaust port of my shop vac with bird seed. I didn't discover it until I turned the vac on. It spewed bird seed all over the garage. It's funny now, but wasn't at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 MOthballs will keep rodents away. We put them around the outsid eof our house when it begins to get cool in the fall to keep down the mouse population. Mothballs and a hungry cat work best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Most rodents like dark, warm places, like under your car's hood after a run, especially in winter. My OB, which is garaged, had a few ground wires chewed through by some mice, and I decided that was as far as I wanted to let it go. I took action on the dark/warm aspect by propping up the hood whenever I pull the car into the garage -- the heat dissipates faster, and it's a lot brighter in the engine bay. I also got a couple of ultrasonic repellers, although I have doubts about their effectiveness. While I still see some droppings, at least the wire gnawing has stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 >Is there anything i can do agains this? The best suggestion I can offer is to clean antifreeze spills, whether in the engine compartment or under your vehicle. As you probably know, anti-freeze can attract animals. A nibbler got under the hood of my 97 OB in November 06. Several vacuum hoses were gnawed through along with two wires. I was probably fortunate the vehicle did not sustain more damage. Two days prior to this, I performed a messy coolant system flush-&-fill and had not cleaned the overspill. Maybe a coinkydink, maybe not. All the best, mp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 Had some problems this morning. Started engine and was running bit like on 3 cyl and rough. Ok was cold so give gentle throttle to keep it going and started to deice my windows with the scrubber. Got in the car reversed out of the parking space, move lever to D and engine stalled. Ok seems weird but lets say its the cold although car ran flawless night before. Managed to drive bit powerless engine, still no codes were shown. drove away from traffice light and just no power at all could not even go above 1500 rpm. Put the car on the side and opened the hood, and got a shock from touching the release button. Managed to open and saw nice lightning sparks from the coilpack to the intake manyfold WTF. Those bastards visited me again:mad: . They chewed cyl 3 cable completely and cyl 2 was opened. Stopped engine and replaced with the 2 i still had as spare in the trunk from last time. Its getting really annoying (and expensive compared to the market value of the car since there are not many junkjards with subarus) Anybody any new ideas against the Beech Martens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_Marten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Maybe this? Somehow you have to make your car unappealing to the Martens, while keeping it appealing to you. I'd think a splash of predator urine under where you park, may discourage them. It won't smell the best to you, but it'll smell worse to the martens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Put out catfood for stray cats. Thats about the best thing there is. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I tried the mothball trick with my XT6..3 boxes of it to be exact..now the car had rodent droppings everywhere and smells like old people..thats about all that did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Have you considered trapping and relocating the Martens? Possibly relocating them under water? It'd be neat if there was a way to intermittently pulse the coil pack when the car is off...that'd discourage them! How about installing a motion sensing alarm under the hood? Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Cayenne pepper sprinkled everywhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Cayenne pepper sprinkled everywhere? i didnt know you could sprinkle porsches nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 feed them something "bad for them"? I use "one bite" with mice - but martens aren't rodents and probably wouldn't like corn or peanut butter. :-p You COULD try a rat trap or 2 strategically placed. they get snapped once or twice and they won't be back (either that or it might "terminate with extreme prejudice") you just need to remember to TAKE OUT THE TRAPS BEFORE DRIVING (and not get snapped yourself) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-fleet-feet Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Dog show people have RVs and we talk about what keeps the critters out of them at every show. Most people aren't like me, and don't have cats which like dogs and stare down 110-pound sighthounds with total impunity. So, cats won't work for most of us. (Love that cat photo, though!) Mice hate mint. Martens hate coyotes and cougar. Find a hunting shop which sells tracking supplies for training dogs (it'll probably not be in a state which does not allow dog tracking of game). What you need is a bottle of either coyote urine or cougar (mountain lion) urine. It's pricey, so you may have better luck hunting on Craigslist for a hunter willing to sell you some (like a tablespoon, tops) to use as a test. Dab it on a couple heatproof fabric pieces and wire them under your hood away from things which get too hot for the fabric. You could also try a small dab on your wheels, the usual entry method for those who don't drop in from above. (A nice side effect: many of the neighborhood dogs won't lift legs on your wheels after doing this; they don't want eaten either.) You won't need much - thank heavens - but marten and other small rodentia larger than rats will not go near a predator which thinks they're tasty and deeee-licious! But the smell may get to you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Mice hate mint. Martens hate coyotes and cougar. How about an old Mercury Cougar then? hehehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-fleet-feet Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 How about an old Mercury Cougar then? hehehehe Evil, you are... Didn't you know that 'Mercury' is a lethal poison????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Lazy Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Is there anything i can do agains this? I know these ultrasonic things but doubt if they work. Hire Wile-E-Coyote to stake out your engine all night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Park another car next to it, and cover the wires with a sugar arsnic combo? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio_file Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Maybe this? thats . . . AWESOME on a side note, i think subaru might be one of the last manufacturers to not put a complete underbelly tray on their cars (could be very wrong about the new ones, as i haven't been under one yet) seems like that would discourage rodents, and improve fuel economy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 the cats idea won't work - a marten would eat the kitty. (no joke - they's MEAN hunters) :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 The parking place was filled with at least 75 other cars so why do they choose me. There are mothballs but i guess they finished working:rolleyes: . I am a biochemist and have access to lots of chemicals (e.g. sodium cianide salts, but salts dissolve in water so one rain and i might kill myself with the vapors comming of). Was more thinking in covering the cables with some steel mesh or duct tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 thats . . . AWESOMEon a side note, i think subaru might be one of the last manufacturers to not put a complete underbelly tray on their cars (could be very wrong about the new ones, as i haven't been under one yet) seems like that would discourage rodents, and improve fuel economy Well at least the 05 OBW has a underbelly under the engine bay which helps a lot already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Have you considered trapping and relocating the Martens? Possibly relocating them under water? It'd be neat if there was a way to intermittently pulse the coil pack when the car is off...that'd discourage them! How about installing a motion sensing alarm under the hood? Nathan Ow yes but i have seen a zoo instruction video about martens. They can bite off fingers easily thats one reason to not even pick them. Second they are full of other small life not so healty to humans. As well they are protected species over here. Altough i cought one once on the engine while i started and that one was pulled in the alternator pulley and was in 2 pieces befor it could do damage. 1-0 but now its 1-2 and i dont like loosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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