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Old 12-12-2019, 10:03 PM   #1
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Location: Pensacola, FL
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Disabled by Mud duaber

We started on our annual trek across the nation for Christmas in our 2013 Via (Sprinter Mercedes 3500 chassis), and immediately found no power. We struggled to get up to 40 mph. We drove (with flashers on) immediately to our local Mercedes mechanic. After over an hour he concluded that a mud duaber had built a nest which limited a sensor arm travel. This put the engine light on, and limited the power available. This sensor is located deep between the V of the engine, and he used a very small bore scope camera to show it to me.

Since he could not spend the time in the next 2 days to try and get it cleaned out, (Although he volunteered to work on Saturday/Sunday) we will have to travel by alternate means! When I got home, I was able to remove most of the mud dauber nest with a small shop vac suction, and I used 125 PSI compressed air to remove any remains--but the engine light remained on--and still reduced power. We will have to have it worked on after Christmas...I apologize that I did not understand exactly what this sensor, and the arm (I think related to throttle body??) was called.

Our last long trip was the end of August. I had run the RV in Oct, and Nov for a short time--the last 2 weeks ago, and didn't notice the engine light on then.

Has anyone else experienced a mud duaber nest interfering with their Diesel engines? What have others done to prevent this in the future?
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Old 12-13-2019, 05:40 PM   #2
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Unfortunately the best solution is to be vigilant. Stick you nose inside every space it will fit. These mud/dirt duabers are terrible in the south. They love finding places in engines since they are covered and have lots of crevices. Especially when we don't use our cars, boats and motor homes everyday.

As a boat owner too, I have to keep them away from the timing belts and anywhere they can get into. They can do a lot of damage to anything that is stationary. I haven't found anything to "prevent" them. Just periodically check your stuff. Good luck and Merry Christmas.
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Old 12-13-2019, 07:34 PM   #3
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Topsail,
Thanks for the response. We are also long time sailors and boat owners. For the most part the Mud Daubers seem to have built their nests pretty much where we could see them. This nest was way down out of "normal" site. The mechanic didn't spot the nest right away either.
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Old 12-13-2019, 08:17 PM   #4
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I had a massive duaber house deep in one of my Yamaha 250 outboards. Fortunately it wasn't in the timing belt gears, but I only found it when I had pulled the power head off for some rework. They love the deep places where it's safe. Last year I removed some old wood shutters on the sides of our house windows. There were multiple duaber builds. I have to admit I enjoyed getting rid of them. I am not sure but I think it has helped to keep them in check. Like salmon they go back to spawn where they came from (I guess). I have read that they eat spiders so that's nice.
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Old 12-15-2019, 04:22 PM   #5
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Many years ago we had a ducted furnace in our slide-in camper that did not use any electricity - no fans - but it did a great job of heating the place, almost silently.
But at some point, dirt daubers (as we called them) had built a nest in the exhaust pipe. Bouncing around Colorado one winter, they came loose and clogged the pipe.
It was a close call.
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Old 12-16-2019, 03:33 PM   #6
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I have a 2013 Reyo 25Q, and have had problems with loss of power. I found that taking the transmission out of automatic to manual shifting (by tapping the shift knob to the left to downshift and to the right to upshift) allowed me to over ride the limp mode. If you fixed the problem by removing the mud it may take several starts and drives for the ECU to clear the check engine light on its own. Otherwise, have your mechanic scan for problem codes to see if there is something else causing the problem. The mechanic with the right scanner can also clear the problem codes with the scanner.
Hope this helps
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Old 12-18-2019, 07:44 PM   #7
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I too have had my battles with these pests. They seem to like the MBS more than my previous unit Ford E450 Class C.

So far in my engine area that have built colonies right on the turbo air intake close to the engine also around the DEF fuel tank and at the firewall under the windshield.
A mechanic recommended to me to spray a lubricant that is safe for plastics and rubber and one that can handle higher temps of an engine. The Mud Dauber needs a good secure surface to build the mud nest and the lubricant helps prevent that.
CRC makes a product but I ended up going with ACF-50 Anti-Corrosion Lubricant. Seems OK thus far, however, I applied it near the end of the nesting season so have to wait until next spring to tell if it helped.

They also built a colony in my Truma water heater at the back exchanger. I successfully screened the exhaust at the access door but I completely missed the intake at the bottom. The tell-tale were the mud dropping on the bottom vent louver. Thankfully I caught before firing the Truma up.
Access to the exchanger wasn't bad. You have to remove the burner assembly which simply slides out after removing a couple securing screws and disconnectiing the propane line.

Topsail, yes, they eat spiders but they also pack captured spiders into the colony so the larve have something to eat as larve grows inside the mud nest.


One other pest is the paper nest wasp. This year the brown wasp built a nest on the driver side door mirror behind the mirror panel. It was difficult to get the spray in to be effective. That was found naturally by shutting the door, the wasp then gave me a chase.
Yellow jacket wasp built a nest on the passenger door hinge. Nuts!!

I use our Winnebago View regular enough but apparently not enough to keep the scouts from selecting my RV as a nest host.

Bobby
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Old 12-22-2019, 10:20 AM   #8
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It is not just the mud daubers but also any kind of nest builder like hornets and wasps. Anybody out there that runs without a cover on the vents for the water heater and frig are setting themselves up for trouble! An additional concern that many don't think about involves the newer high efficient furnaces we may get installed at home.
The furnace does such a good job sucking the last drop of heat out of the furnace that the exhaust is now made of two inch PVC! That small horizontal pipe looks just right for wasps to build their nest in and the furnace won't light because the air flow is restricted.

When God saw that man only had one woman to give him trouble --- he invented insects to finish the job!
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