Deteriorating foam rubber coming out of vents ?

[hardtailer]

Foam in those places will indeed degrade too an get blown out the vents. I have seen this on my BMW E30.

If owners experience no issue with either heat and cold blending or regulating which vents the air exits but have foam coming out then it is as they say. If they do, however then it must be the foam covering the holes.

 

Lousy design btw. No need to make those flaps out of metal as shown by many other car makers and their HVAC suppliers...

[WTL]

so I have air coming from the windshield vent when the ac is on and have vents footwell and dash only selected......  Could this be caused by this foam deterioration issue you think?

[DBJoe996]

The simple answer is yes.  The foam has deteriorated on the blend door inside the HVAC box.  There is no easy fix.  To get to the blend doors inside the box, you have to remove the entire dash.  I have just learned to live with it for 10 years.  Once the foam stops spewing out the vents, everything works well for heat/air.  So I just let it be.

[WTL]

1 minute ago, DBJoe996 said:

The simple answer is yes.  The foam has deteriorated on the blend door inside the HVAC box.  There is no easy fix.  To get to the blend doors inside the box, you have to remove the entire dash.  I have just learned to live with it for 10 years.  Once the foam stops spewing out the vents, everything works well for heat/air.  So I just let it be.

so once the foam stops coming out, the vents work the way they should?  i.e., the air will not come from the defrost when its not selected......

[DBJoe996]

Not exactly.  I still have a slight bit of bleed to the defroster whatever vent selection I make.  I usually just select the dash vents only.  I live in Florida and the humidity is high, so I run the AC all the time.  A little bit of cold air comes out the defroster and on high humidity days, when I have the temp setting at or below the outside air temp, a slight bit of humidity condenses on the outside of the windshield.  Either a quick wipe with the wipers or setting the HVAC temp at or just below the outside temp makes it go away.  I live with and have just settled my mind as just a quark of the system....because...I'm not going to pull the whole dash apart to get to the HVAC box to fix some stupid foam covered blend door.   The foam does stop coming out, and then you just live with it.  I can adjust things myself to manage it.

 

BTW - the blend doors are probably 40-50% solid metal, with some holes in the door.  That is what the foam covers.  Once it deteriorates, the holes are open to air flow, and that is why you get some bleed to the defroster vent.

 

Another repair write-up -

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by DBJoe996

[alabamatoy]

On 8/28/2017 at 10:28 AM, Schnell Gelb said:

For those in hot climates only.

...

Cap off the 2 open tubes to the heater core temporarily.

Do we know that the heater core flowthrough is necessary to proper engine cooling?  I doubt that it is.  If so, a simple shutoff valve may be used.  I did this on my Ford truck, and it makes the AC far more effective.  If the cutoff valve turns out to make the engine run hot, it can be left in the open position with no harm done, or it could be replaced with a simple pipe nipple.  This is what I used on my Ford.  Obviously you gotta get the correct pipe diameter for this application.  But it works well: shut it off in spring, open 'er back up in the fall.

[waterski56]

Anyone know how to remove the passenger side kick panel forward of the console under the dash? My Carrera 4 has a big bulge there and it is in the way of getting to servo arm link screw that attaches to the bottom of the flap.

Thanks

[WTL]

I looked but could not find my file I had on this. But, I think there are 2 screws - 1 kinda hidden in the carpet liner somewhere and 1 around / in the plastic vent of the liner.

[waterski56]

Thanks. I found the one forward behind the vent - 6 mm screw with a Torx head. It's now loose on the front end, but stuck solid in the rear in the corner between the floor and the console. Do you know what kind of fastener is behind there. I don't want to break that panel.

[WTL]

does this help?  I think the other Torx is hidden in the carpet if I remember correctly/

 

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-gt3-forum/614529-997-2-center-console-removal-diy.html

Edited February 20, 2023 by WTL

[987_RDC]

Isn't that the bose sub? I think big torx up top and often that tab is broken. Take pics. 

 

I plan to go the behind the radio and cut the duct route to get to both flaps. Then JB black 5 min epoxy the cut. Will be stronger than before that stuff is amazing. Lots of youtube videos on the behind the radio method vs. one door access from under the cowl. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by 987_RDC