I have a 92 4Runner, with gray cloth interior. There's some kind of funk going on that's been there forever and I think the best bet is deleting or replacing the carpet, and replacing the seats, and probably cleaning the roof panel and the door covers... What is the best way to go about doing this?

Are there "new" carpet and seat replacements that aren't too pricey? Should I just get my seats reupholstered? Is removing the carpet and Rhino lining the floor a good idea or is it too loud / hot on the floorboards?

Links to any write-ups or vendor websites would be great.

Thanks!

 

depends on what your goal is for the vehicle and how much you want to spend - do you need carpet or do you need a durable weatherproof interior? there are kits out there for carpeting or you could try an upholstery shop and get some prices. seats will not usually be cost efficient to replace outright. i'd try using some vinegar/water solution first before anything and see if you can kill some smell that way. you could even pull the seats and some upholstery to give it a good deep clean and let it dry with some good airflow. vinegar works pretty well for a variety of smells. the vinegar smell will dissipate after a while. steam clean is another option. you could also ditch the carpet for a coating of some sort, but it will be significantly louder inside the vehicle and will have less insulation. i used to have a k5 that i ditched the carpet for a triple coat of herculiner and it was pretty deafening on the hwy with mud tires...and a diesel...but anyways, it'll be loud.

there are other products to try coating the interior with other than herculiner and rhino liner, like lizard skin, second skin, lineX, etc. but if it were me (and i'd rather buy upgrades than carpet), i'd try the vinegar solution first if the interior is in decent condition but just has a funky smell...and get some seat covers.

 

There is a product at PetSMart called "Nature's Miracle".... it is an enzyme & will kill ANY biological odor/stain. A gallon is about $35.

 

the vinegar water would be my recomendation ive used to kill smells before and it cleans windows amazingly well just mist and vacum the interior then let it sit then air it out add a pine tree to taste but seriously vinegar is well worth it

 

and only costs $2/gal instead of $35

 

steps to follow for odor removal

search for the stinky stuff, rotting tunafish sandwich?

malodor neutralizer

Mr. Clean the carpets and pine-sol everything else

lysol the vents

strip the cab and apply several laters of clear coat
use only as a last resort, such as rotting for several months in the summer

 

We used oxyclean on my seats.
pressure washed em, let em dry infront of a heater. All smells and most stains were gone.
did the same with my carpet, but i eventually just pulled that out anyways.

 

Try this, works for me.

 

For the carpet I would remove it and submerge it in kiddie pool full of water and what ever cleaner works for you. Then pressure spray it, dry, then bingo. It should be somewhat better. I would say set up a shop vac to suck water, then hand spray parts and draw liquid back out.

 

I might suggest that if you have smells you can't get rid of that you probably have a water leak which is causing the carpet to mildew.

 

Not true. In winter, the snow settles in the cab..
i know, because i had a big chunk of ice on my floor a few days ago

 

Japanese Luxury car air freshener ....best stuff ever ...a little pricey though. I can only find it at Danny's Carousel Car Wash for about 15$ and like 8$ for refill.



THEY STINK GOOD!


Good luck!

-RONI-

 

Coffee beans in a sock or charcoal or eucalyptus. Stick under seat and forget. Or go to a detail shop and get it ozoned.

 

When I buy a car/truck, I remove the entire interior. I hang the carpet on my stockade fence with some spring clamps, set the seats on the driveway, lay out all the panels and get rock'n. The carpet I hose down and spray heavy simple green cleaner, the seats I spray simple green lightly till the fabric looks wet and leave for 5mins. Use the hose on fine mist and follow behind with wet vac, u dont want the water to penetrate the seat too deep. Bout an hr in the sun with a breeze and done. Wipe down all ur plastic and then put it all back. It sucks because it takes all damn day but in the end it is worth it to me cause my truck is my comfy place to get away from and not so much if it reminds me of Oh..like duck tape said, dont forget the vents. Back in the day a friend got his vents milked and took him forever to fig it out. I also found a mouse carcass in a heater box once..now that I am recalling all this maybe the vents should be ur start point.

 

^^^ I do the same thing. Nothing like getting a used truck and it smells like some dudes FUNK! If there is going to be any funk it's going to be mine.
Plus, the interior is cleaner then just leaving it in because you remove all the french fries, and dirt in the cracks, not to mention you find rust in your firewall like i did....this will make it stink!

 

Have you watched the mythbuster's ePisode when they bought a vette and sealed it up with a dead animal for a few months?
Seemed like Adam and Jamie had some good funk removal techniques.
Should be on discovery.com or YouTube.