Side Vent Removal Process
 

I just bought a 2003 Boxter-S and there's a very minor ding above the side vent on the driver's side. I took the screw out, but was unable to pull the vent free from the body. Does anyone have any experience in removing one of these vents?? Thanks in advance! FH

Vent Removal - my gosh!
 

Thanks so much for the lesson in removing the side vent. Now I understand why we threw in the towel. What's up with making something so complicated that could be easy? I guess Porsche has their reasons. With your instructions, we'll go at it again today. Thank you for the help. FH

Thanks for the help on this topic!

:cheers:

To clear up things up - these are not my instructions. They were created by a man who goes by the name Skyler on other boards. He is currently in Iraq serving his country.

98Boxster98, your post was serendipity of the first order.
I had removed the passenger side vent for cleaning, and ran into trouble with the tabs when reinstalling. The result being that the vent is installed with the front tab connected, and the screw, but not the other two tabs. An unsatisfactory situation.
I was however saddened to note that there is apparently no secret Teutonic process for removing and reinstalling these buggers, unless you count the mysterious "plastic wedge".
Much obliged for your post.

bump from the dead.
this was immensely useful stuff.

Does anybody have detailed picture instructions for 03-04 Boxsters with the one-piece vent? :p

A tutorial link is below. But, those instructions didn't work for me. One thing that I didn't understand from the beginning is that the vanes and the body-color trim are two separate pieces. Once you understand that, pushing the vanes out makes sense. But mine were very very tight. (MY'99 - been attached together for 8 years) I finally pulled the whole trim piece out with the vanes still attached using brute force. The body-color trim is held in by a tab in the lower left corner, that's where you'll need to concentrate on pulling if you do it my way. Even with the whole assembly out of the car, I found it difficult to separate the vanes from the trim. I did manage to separate them, and wash both parts. Reassembly exactly as the tutorial shows worked fine for me. Put the vanes back in first, then the body-color trim fits right into the vane assembly. Finally, push HARD on the trim in the lower left corner to snap it into the body.

http://www.ppbb.com/boards/ppbbphp/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=ARCHIVES&Number=820409&For um=ARCHIVES&Words=10min&Match=Entire

I'll give it a 2nd look again, but don't want to risk brute force without a little more informaion. The difference though is 03-04 models are one piece, not two pieces. Here's a link to a sample pic I found on the web: http://www.seriouswheels.com/2000-2003/2003-Porsche-Boxster-Yellow-Side-Vent-1024x768.htm