So, it was suggested I document the rehab of what will be my MSM, so this will be that location.

My father in law has been the original owner of a 2004 MSM, I believe the Touring model since it arrived in march of 04. Does have the double din stereo and Bose speakers. A few years ago he was unable to drive it, and some rats got into the engine, and ate a couple wires. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and he is getting around to rehabbing it as a joint project, and I will purchase it from him once done. It's been sitting outside in the Az sun in a desert community, but has surprisingly weathered the sitting pretty well. He said he put a gas stabilizer in, so we will se how well those hold up to claims.

First pics of the engine bay - The first pic was the original nest, and two days after he cleaned that out, the other stuff got hauled right back in.







This is from around the exhaust piping underneath, after we pulled the debris plates off:

 

First update - We have taken to wrapping the MSM up on the stands to keep more rats from getting in. After a lot of digging, digging cholla spines out of hands/arms/shoulders/legs, leaf blower and long pliers/grabbers, the upper engine bay is basically clean of debris except for a couple straggler seed pods I'm sure will pop up later. There is some fading/peeling on the trunk lid and the spacer between between trunk and top, and the top will need to be replaced there are a couple holes in the fabric and it's pretty fragile. The hood looks messy, but that's dirt and it's not quite latched.

 

Some pics of the interior - Very little damage, but the seats/carpeting show the 187k it's got on it. The Bose head unit still has the factory peel protector over the faceplate though
The air vents are loose, so I will probably be replacing those either with the etsy guy or the Jeep Commander replacement (Most likely).

 

Crawled under again today and got almost all of the rat remnants out from around the exhaust and transmission tunnel. Pulled out what was probably their main nest above the transmission, its a good foot+ across of fur, plus all the associated seeds, cactus and other crap. The three images are separate dumps of stuff from the area.








Got the valve cover mostly cleaned up -


And pulling things out to get to the chewed wires. So far have identified the AC compressor motor wire, and the AC compression sensor wire (I think that's what it is), and one wire to the PS pump. Coolant overflow was banjaxed, as well as (As can bee seen in the pic) the brake master cylinder is destroyed as well-


Pulled the shields from around the wheels and pulled the wheels off. More rat stuffings pulled out. Rotors all need resurfacing or replacing, but the boots on the shocks look to be ok. But, they do have 180k on them, we may replace them anyway. Also planning om relocating the oil filter with an aftermarket kit as part of the rehab.

 

No pics, just a status update. Pulled off the front fender, cleaned out the stuff from inside that. So far ordered new brake lines, brake master (Plastics were banjaxed), oil filter relocation kit, coolant reservoir, clutch master, fuel filter. Headlight mounts are jacked up as well, so looking for a new set of headlights. Looking to hopefully have the car running by mid December.

 

A few more things done - Replaced the brake and clutch master cylinders, mounted the upper portion of the oil filter relocation kit, installed the windshield wiper fluid relocation tank. Removed and resurfaced rotors, cleaned the mounting plates. Added a DIY air filter cover for the cabin air intake. The tabs on the headlights were broken, so we used plastic weld, then reinforced with window screen and covered with more weld. It's holding, we will see how it stands up to road vibrations. Clutch line replace (Get rid of stock + the pigtail), brake lines replace, reinstall rotors and bleed brake system are next up on the list. Got the air filter box and MAF plastics all cleaned up and reinstalled.

 

Been a while since I had an update, life's been a bit busy.

The 'speed is almost ready. Oil filter relocation done, transmission fluid changed, neutral position sensor, reverse sensor, knock sensor all replaced, a few chewed wires spliced and wrapped, harness zip tied up (The retaining clips all broked). The debris plates have been scrubbed clean and are ready to go back on, as is the front bumper. No check engine lights or PCodes on the last startup, and it runs smooth.

Still needs tires and reassembly, but then it's ready for emissions check. Once it passes we will do the routine maintenance stuff (Water pump, belts, etc) and should be ready for the road. Almost there!

 

Well, the 'speed ran and drove this last weekend. Drove it a couple miles down the road to the gas station (Twice since we forgot wallets), did a couple of hard pulls, ran it through the gears, hard brake. Everything worked pretty well. There was an engine miss when we ran through the gears the first time, and after we filled with gas and started it had a P0302 (Cylinder 2 misfire) code. Cleared that and it didn't come back. Parked it, and there may be some small leakage from the front seal. Also need to check leakage from the rear CV boot area, there was some just before we put wheels back on, but that may be from it being on jack stands and at full extension for 3 months.

Emissions check up next, then on to the routine maintenance stuff. Need to get a new soft top, this one had some small tears that turned into bigger ones when we put the top down and then back up.

 

Really cool thread! That nest looks similar to what we found in an NA that had been sitting out in the desert. Though in our case it was jackrabbits, there was one living under the hood the first time I popped it when we went to see the car. They bring a shitload of cactus in, which is crazy, and sucks while you are working on the car. I got poked more than a few times cleaning it up. The car had mice too, but I think most of the wiring damage, etc. were from the damn jackrabbits.

Get us a pic of this thing on the road all cleaned up!