Piston Slap: Crying Over Spilled Milk
TTAC Commentator PartsUnknown writes:
I just picked up a 2010 Accord sedan (don’t start – at least it’s a 5 speed stick) a month ago. Last weekend I was driving with a full, 2 gallon gas can in the trunk. I was forced to stop short due to some creative driving by some jabroney in a white panel van ahead of me. The ensuing gas spill wasn’t quite BP/Gulf of Mexico, but it did manage to soak part of my trunk carpet, and in a stroke of good fortune, the nozzle managed to wedge itself between the seatback and trunk floor, allowing gas to flow underneath my back seat cushion.
I mopped it up as best I could, but the smell was coma-inducing and really, I had no idea what nooks and crannies the gas had gotten into. A local detailing shop removed the back seat and trunk liner, cleaned everything and put it all back together. The problem is the smell remains, not as strong as it was, but it’s there. I have no idea how to proceed. I have worn out google looking for answers and have seen solutions ranging from organic (coffee grounds, vanilla), to chemical (ZorbX, Lestoil) and just plain weird (baby oil?). Any ideas on how to get that sweet smell of freshly baked polymers back? And yes, a cargo net is on order.
Sajeev Answers:
Ouch. No matter what, cleaning a gas smell makes that new car smell a thing of the past. After years of changing fuel filters, I can assure you that sunlight and a wide variety of soapy cleansers removes the gas smell. I’ve spilled gas, Liquid Wrench, Diet Coke, Mobil 1, and probably some other things in the trunk of my Lincoln Mark VIII. Removing the carpet, wash and dry in the afternoon sun and cleaning the sheetmetal/sound insulation with Simple Green always works for me. But if you spilled two gallons with such an unfortunate nozzle resting point, you got more work ahead of you. Remove these items and clean them a la my trunk carpet:
1. Trunk carpet (obviously)
And that’s for starters. All those parts must be shampooed multiple times, the carpet needs to be done both top (fabric) and bottom (padding). Hose off with high pressure, unless it’s a dark colored interior: darker polymers tend to “run” with power washing. Clean everything remaining in the car (front seats, door panels, headliner) with something like Fabreeze too. Then everything must dry in the sun for days, while every fold in the (now exposed) floorpan’s sheetmetal needs a rub down with any cleaning product. The car also needs to bake in the sun with the windows (cracked) open, sans no carpet and rear seats: eventually the gas will burn off. And while you will drive without rear seats and carpet for a while, you can do this in a weekend with basic hand tools. Odds are a very anal-retentive cleaning fixes the problem. If not, you’ll buy new carpet and a rear seat from a freshly junked Accord. Which won’t be cheap, but it’s not the end of the world.
So no need to cry over spilled milk. The fix is easy: others have BTDT. As you alluded to, your life could be much, much worse.
Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com
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One summer day about 15 years ago, I went to the grocery store and bought a gallon of milk. I didn't have them put it into a bag, and I put it into the back of my Grand Cherokee, and started on the 3 mile trip home. All of a sudden, my dog jumped onto the passenger seat, soaked with milk! I was almost home, and so I just kept going. When I got home, I washed the dog off in the shower, and then went out to see what was up with the GC. The jug had split, and there was about an inch left in the bottom, and the rest was soaked into the carpet and under the back seat. A friend and I pulled the back seat out, and used a carpet cleaning machine to suck up most of the milk. A couple days later, it smelled so bad I was gagging from the sour milk spell. I finally took it to a detailing place my insurance agent recommended, and $100 bucks an a day later, it was gone. Best hundred bucks I ever spent. I went and got a big, deep tub, and any milk or anything but water went in it, and it saved me big when a gallon jug of anti-freeze came apart a couple years later. My friend didn't learn from my disasters, and had the pleasure of having a bottle of ATF leak into the carpet of his almost new minivan. Years later, when it was hot, you could still smell it slightly with the windows shut.
Sajeev, thanks for posting this, although when I saw the lead photo, I thought, "Man, I won't get one serious response, just snark about ol' Pammy." As an update, The Spill happened about two months ago, and I have been regularly treating the affected areas with Zorbx and Febreeze, and to my amazement, the smell is virtually gone. It even passed my wife's smell test, no small feat. To address a couple of comments, I realize carrying a full gas can unrestrained in the trunk wasn't the smartest idea, but the car was literally weeks old and I hadn't yet orderd a trunk liner or cargo net. The plastic tub idea is a good one though. The gas can was sealed properly, but the plastic cap at the end of the nozzle is not watertight. Also, the entire contents of the can did not leak out; probably about a quart at most. As soon as I smelled gas, I pulled over and righted the ship. Finally, Accord sedans are 5 speeds only, and only with the 4 cyl. You can get a 6 speed with a V6 in the coupe. And um, I won't be slamming the Accord - I'll stick with the wimpy 16" alloys instead of chrome dubs. Anyway, thanks everyone for the helpful feedback.