2002 996 Windshield Cowl Replacement

I have a 2002 Porsche 996 Cabriolet, and I recently replaced my windshield wiper cowl. While researching how to swap out the cowl, I found only a few posts, and no photographs. As you can guess, I found a few surprises during my installation. So, I will post my procedure here in case anyone is interested. As you can tell from picture 8, the new cowl makes a huge difference! The swap out took me about 75 minutes. Tools Required: Torx T-25 driver and assorted metric sockets Parts Required: Windshield Cowl Cover 996-572-563-06-01C Right Cowl Cover Screw Cap 996-572-569-01-01C Left Cowl Cover Screw Cap 996-572-570-01-01C Windshield Cowl Gasket 996-572-931-00 Procedure 1) Pry caps off windshield wiper arms. In my case, I had to remove a nut beneath the cap. Once the nut is removed, raise the front part of the arm to release the spring tension, and the arm pulls straight off 2) Remove left and right cowl cover screw cap, and remove nut 3) Remove the center T-25 screw on the windshield cover cowl 4) Behind the battery, there are two T-25 screws that need to be removed (picture 1) 5) Remove the main windshield wiper fluid connector behind the battery (picture 2) 6) Now things start to get tricky. Disconnect the electrical connection that powers the windshield spray nozzle. Behind the battery, you�ll see two connections attached to the front of the cowl, one on the left and the right. (picture 1 shows both connections attached to cowl, while picture 3 shows one plug disconnected) 7) Once the screws and the main windshield wiper fluid connector are removed, and , both the right and the left electrical plugs are disconnected, you should be able to remove the cowl from the car 8) With the old windshield cowl cover removed, the windshield spray nozzles can be pulled out from the top of the cowl. (pictures 4 & 5) Disconnect one of the hoses, and with the electrical connector removed from the cowl guide, you can slide each nozzle out from the cowl 9) Using the old windshield cowl as a guide, install the new gasket in the new windshield cowl. I placed the new cowl on the floor of the garage on top of a towel so not to scratch the new part. Using my hands, I then guided the new gasket into place. After I installed the gasket, I found using a Philips head screwdriver helped firmly seat the rubber into the channel. Key advice: be patient and don�t rush this step. There was about 4� of excess gasket which I cut off with a razor. (picture 6 shows how the gasket fits into the groove of the cowl) 10) Reattached the nozzle by guiding the hose and electrical through the top of cowl, and then reseat the spray nozzle into the cowl. You�ll do this for the left nozzle and right nozzle separately. Once both are installed, reconnect the hoses. 11) Reattach the nozzle electrical connectors to the front of the cowl (picture 7) 12) Install the new cowl on the car; I needed to raise and lower the front lid as I moved the cowl into position. I also validated the gasket was properly seated against the front windshield. 13) Once the cowl is in place, attach the two screws behind the battery that seats the front of the cowl to the car. Also attach the screw that connect the center of the cowl just below the windshield. 14) Connect the hose to the primary windshield washer fluid hose (disconnected in step 5) 15) Connect the two electrical connections. Make sure the connectors are properly oriented. In my case, the yellow wires were on the top edge of the connector 16) Connect the two nuts at each end of the windshield cowl 17) Install the driver and passenger windshield wiper arms, reattach the nuts and the wiper arm covers. I placed a towel on my windshield to avoid possible scratch as I reoriented the wiper arm into position. 18) Test the windshield wipers and the wiper washer spray system 19) Install the two cowl cover screw caps (picture 8)

Nice DIY with pictures and nice job on the Cowl exchange it looks good. I need to do that to mine eventually, instead of rejuvenating it with Armor-All which only last a few days .

Nice job. These cars are so strange. It's easier to swap out the exhaust than to change a plastic trim piece. A vendor on another site is selling a carbon fiber version for the low price of $1279

Very nice Diy thanks for sharing! So how much were the parts?

Nice work! I've got a new one of these sitting around waiting to be installed. Helps that I recently changed one of the windscreen washer nozzles so hopefully all good in that department! What torque did you use to re install the wiper arms?

Parts including shipping were $156.87 from Pelican Parts. I had free shipping and a $10 coupon which helped. Next best price was around $168 (including shipping) from Napleton Westmont Porsche. T

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Thats a bit, did that include a new rubber gasket? I guess it is a fairly large piece I didnt pay that much from my local dealership but then again im in Australia so its not really comparable

yes..included everything. shipping was ranging between $44 and $55 for ground service. And yes, it's a large piece and came in a giant box. in regards to the torque...unfortunately, i didn't write it down. sorry.

Excellent write up, thanks!

About a half a can of Black Plasti-dip did mine just fine (that's about $4...). Going on 3 years now - still looks new

Superb write-up, thanks for taking the time. This will spur me on to do mine, too - the plastic has broken under the right nut (?!) so the cowl doesn't sit flush. Have the cowl and caps been updated? Your screw caps (pic 8) look different, mine are small and circular - and looking at the spare that came with the car, it is 996 572 569 0 0 01 .

Great job! Thanks for taking the time to write this up and post. I take it these crack and discolor over time? Chris

Yep, and also the infamous nut crack described by JimmyB.

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^Yeah, I think the OP said '02 or '03^ hence the difference in screw caps... Fortunately for me my cowl didn't have the infamous "Nut Crack", so a little plasti-dip was all it took to make it like new again... The moral of the story? If your nuts aren't busted, use the Plasti-Dip!!!!

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Did you use the matte black and did you topcoat it with anything? Also, did you remove it for painting or just mask it off?

^^^^ Yeah, was wondering the same.

I had some Armor All Extreme Tire Shine on hand so I figured I'd give it a shot. It came out really good. I also put it on the black plastic part of the sideview mirrors. It also did a nice job on my unpainted bumperettes.

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Finally got around to installing this now cowl on the weekend! I ended up re-using my old gasket it was in pretty good shape. Was fairly easy to replace with some patience. @OP your write up is spot on I ended up winging it and it all went well. Some additional notes: - Watch out when disconnecting the main washer fed line there is a very small round plastic screen/filter inside it. I caught it by accident or else I would have lost it - While you have the washer nozzles out pull them apart and give them a clean - they clog with gunk - I had metal bolts whereas the PET actually denotes T5 plastic nuts - which I had on hand but didn't fit so I used my original metal ones that had a floating washer - Mark your wiper arm positions with masking tape before removing them - quite helpful

I finally got around to doing this - replaced my gasket. Thanks for the heads up on the screen in the fluid line. I surely would have dropped that if I didn't know it was in there. Of course, I dropped it when reinstalling things! (ARGH!) But otherwise, all went well. Only thing is, the cowl doesn't lay flat against the glass. I'm hoping that's because the gasket came wrapped in a bag and despite my hanging it for a few days, it was still sorta twisty. Maybe the summer sun will help things lay flat. That is, if the summer sun ever gets here!

Holy resurrection. Great write-up. For those that have done this and don't know what to do with the cap covering the right side opening, I am need of one. PM if you'd be willing to mail me one. It's the last thing I need to make my car complete...

I just installed the same cowl from Pelican and it looks great and was an easy install with your directions. It looks so much better and seals great. Thank for the directions.

Perfect timing! Mine broke where its mounted on one side and is noticeably lifting on that side now. Thanks for the great tutorial including necessary tools inventory.

Don�t forget to register with Pelican as a new customer and you will get 10% off your order.

Thank you for this write up in detail I have a '04 40th and I had a vibration noise that I could not figure out as it would start at 85 mph- I think this is exactly the problem as mine is also cracked and broken on the passenger side just like the OP Thanks, TG

Mine [2002] 996 broke too with the nut crack and then I replaced it.. Looks great replaced gives a good feeling to keep the car fresh. I like that in this forum people have the same crazy issues that I do! The swap only took about 30-40 minutes and was not very difficult