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2000 Ford Ranger 4X4; inside smells like a garbage dump


arusho

Member
Ham Radio Operator
Joined
Sep 4, 2022
Messages
10
City
Bothell, Wa
Vehicle Year
2000 / 2004
Transmission
Automatic
I picked up a used Ranger with 70,000 miles for cheap. The background on this truck was that it was only used in the dirt and never on the street. It was a "fleet" vehicle.
I started tearing into it and saw the carpet was very dirty so I took out the seats and the carpet and power washed only the carpet, it was full of sand and dirt and it cleaned up nice. I cleaned some of the inside panels and found lots of mud and sand in several areas.. I cleaned the seat covers of the seats with carpet cleaner and then put the seats and carpet back in the truck and let it sit overnight with the windows up.
In the morning I opened the the door and was surprised how bad it smelled. It literally smelled like a garbage dump. You know when you drive into the waste station? - it's that smell.
Today I took everything out again. This time I took off all internal panels, as well as the roof lining, the side panel doors, the small panel side doors, and the carpet again. Inside the small doors were small bags of insulation that were ripped up. So I threw them away. There was mud everywhere inside the tiny back doors, so I hosed them all down. I sprayed the seats bottom and top with water. I hosed all of the interior panels until they were free of dust and mud After I was done, I opened all of the doors and let the truck sit all day with nothing inside but the front interior/dash.
Tonight I pulled it into the garage and the smell remains.

Any ideas on what I should clean next? I may have to take out the entire dash... (there is a lot of dust in the gauge cluster, I am not sure how so much dust can get into the gauge cluster)
Thanks in advance.
 
Did it come from NJ and does it smell like chowdah by any chance?
 
I've heard that ozone generators will remove smells. Don't do it in a garage tho, as the ozone isn't good for breathing.
 
See if you can isolate where the smell is coming from. I suspect the carpet but it could be the seat cushions as well. You may have to replace whatever has the smell but the ozone trick might worth a try before you start replacing things.
 
Just embrace it... like an opossum

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Sprinkle baking soda let it sit and vacuum it up? Febreeze the heck out of it?
 
Last edited:
Here is what I have done since my original post:
Ozone machine for two hours (outdoors). Then I put the Ozone machine in the truck and shut the doors and ran it for 30 minutes with Full AC running.
As of today, the garbage dump smell is gone, and it is now replaced by a musty dirt and dust odor.
Febreeze is next and then new seats.
Thanks for your help.
 

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