Mice in the engine :(

[uksweetheart77]

Hi, I think our car is a Mk III, what I know is that it is a skoda octavia hatchback 64 plate. The engine has been making a weird sound for a week, the garage couldn't book it in before tomorrow but today we thought we'd have a look to see if we could see the problem. It seems we have had some mice and they have done a bit of damage to one pipe in particular we're assuming this is what is causing the noise but no engine warning lights are coming on. It has now got me worried as to whether it is safe to drive the pipe the mice have damaged is near the airfilter compartment it goes underneath it and then down. I'm attaching a couple of photos to show the damage and also hoping someone will be able to tell me what this particular pipe is connected to and if it is dangerous to drive. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw they had chewed not just a hole but eaten away the pipe length ways so there's quite a large gap.

 

thank you

 

 

[FluffyEyeball]

Does the pipe go directly into the airbox? it's difficult to tell on those pictures what they are..

 

If there's no warning lights and the car drives ok then it's probably fine to drive at least to a garage for repairs. What kind of noise is it making?

[john999boy]

What kind of noise is it making?

Probably a little squeek!  

[FluffyEyeball]

Oh dear o dear!

[Orville]

I have no idea what the pipe is, but there is no sign of leakage so it it must transport air. It should be okay to take to the Dealers, but do not travel long-distance.

Edited 14 November, 2016 by Orville

[MoggyTech]

Mice that eat metal? I would suspect Metal Mickey.

[Has]

I've had cats sitting in the engine bay of my Octy III and Golf Mk7, you can tell as they leave hairs stuck on the battery cover. I'm concerned they'll put a claw through a pipe on there way I'm and out. Don't see how I can stop them as there are plenty space from them to crawl in.

[glosrich]

Big problem in Czech Republic with pine martens climbing in warm engine bays and eating rubber and foam and soundproofing.

There are several solutions I've seen...small electric buzzers or even bags of dog hair....the smell scares them off. ..lol

[Sarge]

A couple of years ago the Scout at work went into limp home mode on me. Turned out a mouse had chewed through a rubber turbo related hose. The garage gave it me as a souvenir!

Edited 14 November, 2016 by Sarge

[Gerrycan]

Could be worse:

Sometimes the residents of our South Australian country grain growing areas have to contend with mouse plagues, and they turn up literally everywhere.in their thousands.

That leads to an increase in the snake population, and they love to find a nice warm place such as an engine bay, when the weather cools down.

Leave a car standing around unused for too long and the venomous redback spiders also like to take up residence. You should then spray under the hood 12 hours before you intend to work on the engine as they are fairly resilient and don't die quickly.

 

The funny thing is the only time I have actually seen a person bitten by a snake was about 35 years back at the Boyce Hill golf course in Essex, during an interclub match, when a baby adder that had fallen into the hole bit my opponent on the finger retrieving his putt. He had to concede the game because his hand started swelling and he needed medical treatment.

He was a local to the club and had mentioned only minutes before that there was a thriving local Adder colony.

Edited 15 November, 2016 by Gerrycan

[gregoir]

Can't see obvious mouse damage.It looks like a metal pipe that has had impact damage and the black hose looks like it has suffered severe heat/chemical damage- from the picture anyway.

Have you had a garage diagnosis yet?

[uksweetheart77]

Thanks for all your replies, got the car back from the garage this morning after being away for two days on the invoice it says: Carried out repair to wiring loom on top of engine for cam shaft sensor due to mice damage. Then underneath that it says Removed and replaced breather pipe due to damage - no mention of mice for that so not sure what has caused the damage to the pipe.

[gregoir]

Can we see some pictures after the various repairs? Still can not understand what the top, apparently metallic , item is. Wiring loom damage was not mentioned in your original post and that does sound dangerous.

[CCTaylor]

Mice love wires. Their teeth continue to grow throughout their life. So they chew anything to stop them getting too long. Our farm had many problems with mains electrics in our wooden hen houses, surprised we never had a fire!!