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Anybody Have Rabbits Under Their Hood?


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I noticed that my car recently started to slightly misfire, so I looked on the back plug wires looking for access and noticed that the last plug wire had chew marks!! Not only was the plug wire chewed on, but so is a black plastic cover directly behind it! Upon closer inspection, I then saw RABBIT pellets! Can silicone wires really be that much of a treat?

I mentioned this to a friend who tells me that a Colorado airport was having problems with many people leaving their cars in long term parking coming back from their trips unable to start their cars. SOmeone had their car towed to a shop, when they pop the hood a rabbit jumped out! (someone capitalized on wire netting for under the engine!)

So...

I'm changing plugs, wires, cap and rotor this weekend and want to make sure that I'm not missing or forgetting anything. When I take the air intake off, should I expect to use any out of the ordinary tools rather than a sockets or wrenches? Also, what are the gaskets made of? Are they reusable or do I need to purchase new ones, and if I do what should I look for? Anything else I should look at while the intake is off? Yes, I will be using a wet vac to clean sh*t up!

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Actually, it is RATS that are notorious for chewing wires. Those pellets you saw were likely rat turds.

Sorry for the bad news.

I noticed that my car recently started to slightly misfire, so I looked on the back plug wires looking for access and noticed that the last plug wire had chew marks!!  Not only was the plug wire chewed on, but so is a black plastic cover directly behind it! Upon closer inspection, I then saw RABBIT pellets! Can silicone wires really be that much of a treat?

I mentioned this to a friend who tells me that a Colorado airport was having problems with many people leaving their cars in long term parking coming back from their trips unable to start their cars. SOmeone had their car towed to a shop, when they pop the hood a rabbit jumped out! (someone capitalized on wire netting for under the engine!)

So...

I'm changing plugs, wires, cap and rotor this weekend and want to make sure that I'm not missing or forgetting anything. When I take the air intake off, should I expect to use any out of the ordinary tools rather than a sockets or wrenches? Also, what are the gaskets made of? Are they reusable or do I need to purchase new ones, and if I do what should I look for? Anything else I should look at while the intake is off?  Yes, I will be using a wet vac to clean sh*t up!

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THanks for the replies!

What I thought was rabbit pellets were actually what I think were acorn shells! I did however find what looked like mouse droppings! The critter chewed through cylinders 5&6's wires and the black cover on the rear of the rail. There was also other vegetation(leaves,twigs,etc) where it looks like there was a nest being made! Now if I could just and a hamster wheel, and connect it to the flywheel...

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Here's the link for the rabbit article in DIA:

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME...47-c589c01ca7bf

DENVER - Eric Underwood parked his Audi in the economy lot at Denver International Airport, and when he came back from his honeymoon, there was a warning light on his dash board.

"When I first called the Audi people, they said, 'have you been out at DIA?'" Underwood said.

Rabbits or rodents had chewed through his oil sensor wires.

"I know when I was getting my car repaired, there was two other people at the dealer getting the same problem repaired," he said.

McDonald Audi service technicians say the issues with rabbits chewing through car wires is becoming a regular problem.

"There were certain times over the summer we were getting one to two cars a day," one technician said.

McDonald Audi has remedied the problem by replacing plastic coating with braided metal wiring. But, it's not an inexpensive fix, sometimes costing a couple hundred dollars.

And some people like Underwood have decided to not take any chances at all.

"I'm flying out next week and I'll probably have my wife drive me out to DIA and drop me off and pick me up." Underwood said. "I don't want to pay for another repair."

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The give away is the droppings, which rats are famous for. Also, mice cannot chew like this, but rats have to knaw on something to keep their teeth from growing. In my experience, squirells can hide under the hood but do not chew on the wires.

By the way, the droppings are full of bacteria, and rats spread disease can be deadly. Handly very carefully!

"THanks for the replies!

What I thought was rabbit pellets were actually what I think were acorn shells! I did however find what looked like mouse droppings! The critter chewed through cylinders 5&6's wires and the black cover on the rear of the rail. There was also other vegetation(leaves,twigs,etc) where it looks like there was a nest being made! Now if I could just and a hamster wheel, and connect it to the flywheel... "

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