Foam Pieces in Defrost Vent

[Wausau 911]

Yup, found some of that stuff and lately been noticing some noise coming from the back of the center console. Possible other foam pieces striking the fan? Suggestions on determining issue and a fix

(Hope it doesn't include a lot of dismantling). Thx for recommendations.

[1schoir]

The issue is that the foam rubber pieces that help seal the flaps over the inner vents have aged and deteriorated and will keep flying out piece by piece for a long time. At the same time, the vents won't have a complete seal and the air (whether heated or a/c'd) will not go completely where it's supposed to go, according to your settings.

There is a comprehensive fix that involves accessing those flaps from the outside of the car, below the base of the windshield and there was a very good write-up by a guy named "rsfeller" on a site called carboncow.net. That fix is no longer on that site but I believe the poster moved it to another location. If I find the write-up, I'll post the link here.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited October 12, 2013 by 1schoir

[hi8ha]

http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutorials/article/121-fixed-my-lack-of-heat-problem-here-is-the-procedure/ Follow the link.

Edited October 12, 2013 by hi8ha

[creekman]

On 10/11/2013 at 11:46 PM, hi8ha said:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutorials/article/121-fixed-my-lack-of-heat-problem-here-is-the-procedure/ Follow the link.

 

 

 

 

It's time-consuming.  I'm lost as to where to remove the servo arm.  Emmett says it's under the center console?  Do you mean it's under the dash forward of the center console?  I don't see any way to get there unless you start removing dash parts.  The tutorial says to remove the kick panel on the passenger side to expose the servo arm?  Can we clarify exactly where the servo arm is for my 996?

 

Thanks,

Mitch

 

These are not in order but could be added to the tutorial. 

Edited August 27, 2017 by creekman
Pics were of good size.

[Schnell Gelb]

We have 2 Threads on exactly the same topic simultaneously.May be a good idea to merge them?

 

[creekman]

Good idea, when I posted the reply I thought it was going to the original post.  Sorry about that...  I just thought bigger pictures would help.  I'm down to removing the mixing door, but I can't get the plugs out, or something is different.

 

How many people have used this thread to accomplish covering the doors?

 

Mitch

[creekman]

 

I've spent several hours trying to remove the 'plugs'.  It appears to me that there are no plugs.  The mixing door is attached to pivot sleeves and there is not a millimeter of up and down per the instructions.  When the door is moved the sleeves move the same amount.  What I see is the door top and bottom is attached to round stock and it turns in the housing. The mixing door was installed between the top and bottom halves of the housing so it's locked in the housing until the entire housing is removed.  That's what it looks like to me.

 

There are quite a few things that are different on a wide body car other than just the brakes and suspension. Maybe it's 2003 vs an earlier year model?   To get to this point and not get the door out will be a ball buster

 

Can anybody add to this...

 

Thanks,

 

Mitch 

 

[creekman]

More questions:

 

The foam that was spitting out of the vents, mostly on the left side was a gray material.  After exposing the mixing door through the heater core the foam covering on the door is a 'very' paper thin gold color.  That leaves me to wonder if the foam was even from the mixing door in the first place.  I think there are 2 different foams here...

 

Sure would be nice if there's anyone out there with more information than I have...
 

Mitch,

Edited August 30, 2017 by creekman
miss-spelled word...

[Schnell Gelb]

There is some confusion in related Threads about the significance of the foam loss in some climates. The suggestion is that the foam loss will NOT affect the a/c performance.I have no personal data for this. It is worth investigating because it is a tedious and time consuming job.

BTW the best replacement for the foam is 3M Flue Tape fire-proof/high temperature tape.It is frequently cited in the "foam coming out of my vents" Threads.

Clever hack version:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/67109-small-foam-pieces-blowing-vents-2.html

Edited October 28, 2017 by Schnell Gelb

[creekman]

I've had the same problem for some time and when my A/C cold air took a long time to come online I decided to follow the tech tutorial...

 

Warning: my door would come out per the tutorial...  My Vent door is captured by the 2 halves of the evaporator box.  Maybe because the tech tip was based on a Boxster, or my 996 C4S is different it was a bust.

 

My suggestion is to start under the dash and see if the door is hinged with the removable bushing before tearing into the upper trunk area first

 

Turned out that I had a very small weep in the pressure side line under the car.  The A/C is now working fine even though I removed a lot of the foam during my try at removing the door. 

Edited October 29, 2017 by creekman