ARGH! Broken Air Vents - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

dteague · 08-23-2016, 03:22 PM

So, just bought my 98 Boxster and noticed that the airvent on the passenger side was broken (vents would not go up or down). OK, went to eBay and got a replacement and 5 minutes later it was fixed.

Driving today and noticed that the driver's side is broken now. WTF?!?!?

Is there an easy way to fix this?

Thanks!

tommy583 · 08-23-2016, 04:35 PM

Go on ebay and get one for the drivers side. All kidding aside this is the first time I've heard of the side air vents breaking. My center air vent is a little loose and it drives me crazy when I hit a bump and it points down.

dteague · 08-23-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy583

Go on ebay and get one for the drivers side. All kidding aside this is the first time I've heard of the side air vents breaking. My center air vent is a little loose and it drives me crazy when I hit a bump and it points down.

:-) OK, I thought of that as well... but was thinking if the both have done it, maybe it was something simple to fix. Would rather not have to go replace them weekly.

Yeah, I noticed that one of my center one falls down every once and awhile as well.

particlewave · 08-23-2016, 05:31 PM

What's broken about it?
Woody is great if you need used parts. His prices are great, shipping fast and customer service far exceeds most.

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-parts-sale-wanted/52469-parting-out-whole-lot-boxsters.html

It's best to call or text him at 512-925-9171 if you need a fast response.

dghii · 08-23-2016, 05:50 PM

Mine both broke over time as well. I pulled one out and tried unsuccessfully to fix it. I bought a pair off ebay so far so good.

aczyzewski · 08-24-2016, 12:07 AM

I had this problem (driver's side) and was able to pull it apart and fix it. Took about an hour and was a little tedious as I didn't want to break anything. On mine, the vertical slider popped loose from the fins. I was able to pull the unit out, open it up and snap the parts back together. I was impressed with the engineering of the whole thing. Pretty simple really. I have pictures and can elaborate if you decide to try it yourself.

dteague · 08-24-2016, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aczyzewski

I had this problem (driver's side) and was able to pull it apart and fix it. Took about an hour and was a little tedious as I didn't want to break anything. On mine, the vertical slider popped loose from the fins. I was able to pull the unit out, open it up and snap the parts back together. I was impressed with the engineering of the whole thing. Pretty simple really. I have pictures and can elaborate if you decide to try it yourself.

It sounds like you had the same issue as mine. Would love to see the pics and how you did it, so I can fix this one, as well as the one I already replaced.

Jthoms1 · 08-24-2016, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dteague

It sounds like you had the same issue as mine. Would love to see the pics and how you did it, so I can fix this one, as well as the one I already replaced.

Love to see the pics/write-up as well.

itsnotanova · 08-24-2016, 04:30 AM

I come across a lot of them that just need to be snapped back on. Sometimes you get lucky and can fix them without taking them completely apart. As for the center vent being loose, There's a small square rubber piece that the vents rub up against and keeps tension on them. That rubber piece either shrinks or gets worn down over time. I put a shim behind it on mine and it fixed the problem of them flopping down. You'll have take the center vent apart to repair them though.

ArizonaDan · 08-24-2016, 06:01 AM

@Tommy...if you're ok with the vent being set in one basic place, I just rolled the vent downwards and stuck a small piece of weatherstripping (about 1/8" thick) on the top edge and then rotated the vent back up...squeezing the weatherstripping down so the vent rolls back inside the housing.....it won't fall down anymore.....

BRAN · 03-30-2020, 09:35 AM

Don't disassemble the vents, they are not meant to be!

The trick is: It all can be done from the front!
1.) Disconnect the connector carefully first.
2.) Pop the louvers carefully from the slanted side (facing towards the door) with a screwdriver, access them from above, pushing towards the middle. They will "pop" from their mounting holes.
3.) NO WORRIES...they all have a TINY number imprinted (except of the leather cover ones for obvious reasons) to keep the order for reassambly.
4.) Reassembly: pop all louvers (in order) into that connector FIRST.
5.) Carefully fiddle all pins into the mounting holes of the "INNER" side first.
6.) Carefully pop the other side one-by-one back in, on the other side (little force required, but not too much)

The side wheel...seems easy but is not...too diffucult to describe. But it is possible, once you understand and see all Little Pins and connectors. It can be done, just be patient.

Zibodo · 04-03-2020, 08:38 AM

Just wanted to follow up. This worked perfectly and only took about 5 minutes. Thanks

AaronPDX · 07-22-2023, 07:16 PM

Just did this repair. I had knocked a couple of vanes out trying "aggressively" to get foam out of the vent after doing the vent flap repair. One of the more fiddly jobs I've done on a car, but I'm amazed at the quality of these cars. In most instances, the plastic vanes would break if you looked at them wrong. These allowed multiple ham-fisted attempts without a hitch.

Thanks to aczyzewski for the instructions and pictures!