I recently bought leather for my mustang, but found the cause of an odd oder my car has always had. My rear seat foams have been wet at some point or something. They have an odd smell to them (everyone that's been in my car says it smells wet). I'm looking for advice on how to clean the foams safely to get rid of the smell. They don't look moldy or anything, but do have a discolored line from the bottom to about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up. I'm also interested in buying someone's foams (maybe someone that did a rear seat delete. Any help is appreciated.

 

Take the seats out and allow them to air out. Putting them in direct sunlight (best done in the summer) to get them really dry will take care of your problem. You can do a steam clean to get the smell out, and if there is a moldy look from underneath you can spray the affected area with a 50/50 mix of bleach and water. Don't let that hit the top fabric or it will discolor the material. Aside from that a complete replacement is the only solution.

 

thanks for the info. do you happen to know where I can get replacement foams? I figure the ford dealership, but they'll probably want something retarded for them

 

Just find someone that has a rear seat delete. Also check out S197forum.com guys are always taking their seats out.

 

I posted a wtb thread over there. hopin for some luck there

 

Call up some local junkyards. You may get one faster that way.

 

This only reinforces how bad these cars' leaking problems are.

 

I wasn't aware this was a common problem =-/. where do they typically leak?

 

The only water leak I have heard of was in the early models and that was a leak in the front. If you didn't keep the drains from the cowl clear, it could back up water and leak inside through the cabin air filter setup. I believe that only applied to 05-06 and was cured later. I have heard of no other leaks. When I first bought the car I was concerned that water might get in behind the window seals but they work fine and has never been a problem for me.

 

the only leak I'm aware of on mine is on my passenger side window. around 60mph in decently windy weather or around 80-90mph you can hear are whistling in, but can't feel it. I'm not sure where exactly, but I've never seen any water come through