Engine Damage to firewall (outer) covering?!??

Damage to firewall (outer) covering?!??

Folks,

As a part of washing the car yesterday, I popped the hood, only to find a bunch of stuff like this on the stuff that covers the firewall:



Have any of you seen anything like this before?? While I thought it "might" be just kind of abnormal wear and tear due to winter driving -- sand on the road, etc. -- the more I look at it, the more I think it looks like a bird or a squirrel got up there, and yanked stuff out in order to use it for some "nest padding." While I'm parked in a secure garage at night, I do park in a "park-like" area during the day at the office, -- an area filled with squirrels, crows, and especially some aggressive blue jays, which I tend to think may be the most likely culprits.

But, again, have any of you seen anything like this? Anyone got any ideas for keeping varmints out of your engine compartment? Plus, what the heck ought I do now to keep the integrity of things intact? I'm not too keen about replacing that firewall "blanket" or whatever it's called, but I could see putting some "duck tape" over the damaged areas -- or at least something similar to duck tape that would be better and would look a whole lot better....

Thanks for any thoughts you might have about this!

thoots

A similar thing happened to my grandpa's truck. The culprits ended up being rats. The only thing we did was move his truck to a different spot, and the rats stopped.

You could take the "firewall" material out and replace it with a deadening material (such as Dynamat) - you would want to check it's fire rating of course! If Dynamat (or any similiar substitutes) are fire/heat worthy I'd go for it.

Also, have you ever "power" washed the engine bay? If so, the strong water jet may have touched the material, rendering it to it's current ragged condition...

Definately looks like animal damage.

Folks,

Actually, I'm a squirrel fanatic -- check these out:

http://www.pbase.com/thoots/squirrels

http://www.pbase.com/thoots/a1sq

So, I blame the blue jays. :twisted:

Though, I do go through the "Laser Wash" car washes, with the option that shoots up a very strong "under-car" spray from the floor. Gosh, I sure haven't noticed this "damage" before, but it could come from these under-car sprays.

Though, the fact that it's in kind of "random" areas and by no means anything resembling "over the entire area" makes me think it's more of an animal problem.

I've definitely thought about Dynamat-type stuff -- it does occur to me that this is eating away at "sound-deadening" material that keeps the engine noise out of the car's interior. But, like you say, "make sure it is designed to handle the heat!!"

Thanks for your thoughts!

"Where's that tasty Corolla???"



:twisted:

thoots

thats weird.... my 03 doesnt even have anything covering the firewall