Interior vent debris

[GLImages]

Oh, so this is why my heat is luke warm and I get blasted with foam from the vents. Haha.

Couple questions about the center console method:

Does the section of vent I need to cut get removed completely or are we just cutting enough to fold it down out of the way?

Do you have to 'repair' the cut vent somehow once your done?


I'm sure it will be clear what to cut once I get the console off. But any additional info would be great.

Thanks guys!!

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[78F350]

Originally Posted by GLImages

Oh, so this is why my heat is luke warm and I get blasted with foam from the vents. Haha.

Couple questions about the center console method:

Does the section of vent I need to cut get removed completely or are we just cutting enough to fold it down out of the way?

Do you have to 'repair' the cut vent somehow once your done?


I'm sure it will be clear what to cut once I get the console off. But any additional info would be great.

Thanks guys!!

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Here's the original instructions from earlier in the thread. Cut and Fold down. Tape back together afterward, or plastic weld if you don't like tape. I used the blue tape just because it was heavy duty tape that I had on hand. You can find better products. Next one I do, I'll use metal flue tape on the vent doors and black "Gorilla Tape" to put the duct back together.

Originally Posted by 78F350

1. I ended up pulling out the console, which had already been modified for a 2 DIN head unit.
2. Cut the duct so I could peel it down out of the way and temporarily taped it.
3. My foam was COMPLETELY gone, otherwise I would have cleaned the flaps.
4. Covered the flaps with a heavy duct tape that has a long lasting, thick adhesive.
5. Tested the operation to make sure nothing was blocked and the tape was secure.
6. Put it back together and used the same tape to seal the duct.

Relatively quick and painless. YMMV depending on your center console configuration.:dance:

[GLImages]

That makes sense. Sounds pretty simple.

Some how I missed the most important post. Lol. Guess I needed more coffee this morning.

Thanks!!

[GLImages]

I got one door taped up yesterday before running out of time. Going to tackle the second half next weekend. My doors had zero foam left on them just like others in the thread. I think my lungs filtered most of it out over the last year. Haha.

Pretty straightforward repair. A pair of small hands is very helpful. I used a razor to cut the duct and the same aluminum tape i used on the door to repair it.

I also cleaned up the previous owners shotty radio/lidar jammer wiring. Talk about a birds nest. Haha.

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[Kboggs]

I did this repair while putting in my double din stereo while I had the dash open. None of the doors had any foam left. Wish my hands were smaller for the ones way back in there! Works great!! Would have never tried to tackle it with out these detailed instructions!!




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[GLImages]

What a difference having fully functional heat makes, right! Not sure why I waited so long to tackle it. Haha

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[Kboggs]

Originally Posted by GLImages

What a difference having fully functional heat makes, right! Not sure why I waited so long to tackle it. Haha

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I could not believe how much hotter, and faster it heated up!!


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[PaulE]

I'm bringing this up to the top as I've started getting foam out the vents this year on my 2003. I haven't been hit in the face with it yet but it's starting to make a mess on the dash and the floor.

After reviewing Meir's full disassembly method and 78F350's center console method, I am going to opt for 78F350's.

My questions are about the use of solid tape instead of foam. Has anyone who used tape noticed any adverse affects? Someone in an earlier post said they thought the original use of foam may have been for sound attenuation. No one has mentioned that their heat or a/c is noisier now. Also, it seems like the original foam would have let some small amount of air to continue to pass through the doors when they are closed and the tape won't. I'm planning to use the aluminum tape but would be curious to hear if anyone has anything to add before I take this project on soon.

[Carlton Bale]

As loud as the Boxsters are, I cannot imagine foam deep in the ventilation system making any noticeable difference in noise levels.

[bg305]

I have not noticed any negative effects. It has only been a year, but the 3m tape I used has been great. I did not notice a sound difference but to be honest the top is down on mine 95% of the time I am driving it, the AC / heat is off and the fabspeed is on full blast

In all seriousness though from the little bit i did use the blower before i did it I noticed no difference. But it was one of the first repairs I did (3 months or so after buying) so take my opinion with that reference point.

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by bg305

I have not noticed any negative effects. It has only been a year, but the 3m tape I used has been great. I did not notice a sound difference but to be honest the top is down on mine 95% of the time I am driving it, the AC / heat is off and the fabspeed is on full blast

In all seriousness though from the little bit i did use the blower before i did it I noticed no difference. But it was one of the first repairs I did (3 months or so after buying) so take my opinion with that reference point.

Thanks, like everything else, I'm probably overthinking it!

[grc0456]

I used this 5 years ago. No debris and no problems.


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[PaulE]

Originally Posted by grc0456

I used this 5 years ago. No debris and no problems.


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So you went with foam and it's holding up! Looks like you did the Meir method! Kudos to you!

[grc0456]

Originally Posted by PaulE

So you went with foam and it's holding up! Looks like you did the Meir method! Kudos to you!

Seems to be, yes. Better be, as we’re going for a ride north tomorrow and it’ll only be around 40 in the morning and we’ll need some heat.

Actually, the Meir method was too daunting for me, although he was generous with his advice. I went in through the heater core. The only scary part was dremeling off that little round bit on the upper left to get the door out. More work taking things apart than it was actually fixing it.


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[Tomikaze]

I basically used regular old duct tape. Worked fine. 3 years later no issues. Can’t hear any difference. One of the more satisfying DIY’s I performed on the car. The blowing foam is annoying. Could finally vacuum the car out and not be afraid to turn on the HVAC afterwards.

Originally Posted by PaulE

I'm bringing this up to the top as I've started getting foam out the vents this year on my 2003. I haven't been hit in the face with it yet but it's starting to make a mess on the dash and the floor.

After reviewing Meir's full disassembly method and 78F350's center console method, I am going to opt for 78F350's.

My questions are about the use of solid tape instead of foam. Has anyone who used tape noticed any adverse affects? Someone in an earlier post said they thought the original use of foam may have been for sound attenuation. No one has mentioned that their heat or a/c is noisier now. Also, it seems like the original foam would have let some small amount of air to continue to pass through the doors when they are closed and the tape won't. I'm planning to use the aluminum tape but would be curious to hear if anyone has anything to add before I take this project on soon.

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

I basically used regular old duct tape. Worked fine. 3 years later no issues. Can’t hear any difference. One of the more satisfying DIY’s I performed on the car. The blowing foam is annoying. Could finally vacuum the car out and not be afraid to turn on the HVAC afterwards.

Thanks! This Thursday is a road trip to VIR for a 3 day HPDE, so I'm not going to try this until some time after I return. My car has the newer style cupholders below the vent. It broke several years ago and I replaced it, which required disassembling the entire center stack, so I am/or was, at least familiar with that part.

[CBRacerX]

Just did this over the weekend as part of double DIN update. Amazed that 100% of the foam and adhesive was completely gone.

[Lemming]

Finally got around to doing mine today, easy job, thanks for the writeup.

[Carlton Bale]

Here’s a video showing how to repair both blend doors using plastic plugs from seller DSP on eBay. It turns out many VWs from the same era have the same problem. When researching that VW problem, I noticed that the blend doors are almost identical, and the plastic plugs work actoss both.

This method goes through the center dash vent behind the radio, similar to other repair methods.

https://youtu.be/ZiFFllCzlxc

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

Here’s a video showing how to repair both blend doors using plastic plugs from seller DSP on eBay. It turns out many VWs from the same era have the same problem. When researching that VW problem, I noticed that the blend doors are almost identical, and the plastic plugs work actoss both.

This method goes through the center dash vent behind the radio, similar to other repair methods.

https://youtu.be/ZiFFllCzlxc

The plugs are overkill. $40+ for something you're not going to see... and $00.25 worth of tape achieves the same end result.