What are people doing about the black foam coming out of the vents?

Now that my car is just over 25 years old (2001 model), I'm getting the dreaded black foam coming out the vents, defroster outlets and heater outlets. I've read the thread on this forum from several years ago and have watched the Youtube videos on the solution, and I must say it doesn't look easy or quick -- certainly not something I want to do myself. My car has very low mileage, so this issue is obviously age related and not mileage related. So, my question is what are other 996 owners doing about this? Can anyone recommend a shop on Long Island who has done the repair that the Rennlist thread talks about?

All I can say is this� If you take it to a shop to have it done, in addition to your platinum card, bring a big jar of Vaseline, bend over, and spread your cheeks! This is definitely a diy job if you don�t want to get royally reamed! Do you have any mechanically minded/skilled friends who could help you? Also, make sure you have plenty of time to complete this - you never know what problems you may run into. Good Luck

Quotes source post: 20649187

I'm willing to have a shop do it right, but there's a limit to what I'm willing to pay.

This is a fairly easy DIY job, just take your time. I did it, and my mechanical skills are fair.............at best. I bought the VW plugs off Amazon and went in through the cabin side. I got both flap doors and the results were day and night. And dporto is right, an indy or dealer will charge a lot to do what you could do in less than day. Go slow, maybe even find a fellow reenlisted near you to lend a hand.

Quotes source post: 20649187

^^^^^ This !!!! ^^^^^^^ There is no " Book Time " on this kind of repair, so shops can charge what ever the hell they want ........be careful what you wish for ...

The cheap option is to get these so you don't have to deal with your windshield fogging up https://visionvents.com/products/ols...sche-model-996 and then just wait for all of the foam to blow out.

No matter who does the repair make sure get on the same page about the replacement "foam", My Indy has a 996 in his collection and uses a material that doesn't degrade and gives a great seal. I know it's not dynamat, but it's close to that. I've got a call into him and I'll post the name of the stuff. As you read in the thread the first to do the repair decided to use material that was close to the original. They were so spot on matching the foam that it too degraded just like the original. I winced when I read that report.

Quotes source post: 20649340

Why do you need foam at all? Can't you just tape over holes using aluminum foil duct tape?

I removed the radio, HVAC controls, and vents to access and cut into the ducts to get to the diverter vents. I covered the holes with some aluminum tape and after removing the degrading foam as much as I can. You will always get some foam coming out of the vents. If you see any more foam by the vents, just use tweezers to pull them out.

turn the AC on full blast and have a foam party.

I alternated cranking the air up all the way through single vents and sucking it out with a shop vac and occasionally shooting a blast of air from the compressor into it to break things loose. Sometimes a big piece would come out and I would use a piece of wire to break it up and then suck the bits out with the shop vac. I don�t know for a fact that all the foam is gone but it�s been a long time since I have seen any come out. As far as I can tell the heat and AC still work, they may not be optimal but so far no foam no problem. Unless someone can tell me why it�s a terrible idea it seems pretty straightforward, albeit a bit of work, to get the foam out through the vents and then see how it works out for you.

In this YouTube video, the person did only the flap that you get to through the frunk and he said it eliminated the black foam problem without doing the flap that you get to from the interior: ​​​​​​ You Tube What do you think about this?

Quotes source post: 20649846

Understanding the anatomy of the foam and the flaps, I would say that doing the heater core blend flap will not "eliminate" the black foam problem. The foam on the diverter flap will decompose, it's just a matter of time. Also agree that having a shop do this, unless it is a "service" that they know really well and have priced reasonably, is begging them to spend 20 hours taking the dash apart very carefully to do it "right" to make a $50 problem a $5,000 repair.

I had done a lot of hand wringing on what approach to take to remedy the HVAC foam issue on my '02 996TT (outsource, DIY dash removal, DIY "cut and fix") and ended up doing the "Cut and Fix" repair. I accessed the temperature control door via the frunk and the air distribution door from behind the radio. I've got average mechanical abilities and didn't find it overly difficult.

Quotes source posts: 20649408, 20649256

Yes you can. The aluminum tape is the kind used for house tin-tube heater vents, can take heat or cold. Don't know if it is special, but it is Not ordinary duct tape. Going from inside cabin front seats, is probably the easiest way. Sure, you have to cut a piece of the inside air duct, and tape it back together, but so what? It works, fixed, and no one will see it anyway. Be practical. The car is not a Mona Lisa. There is a YT video of guy with a Boxster does it. The blow air in, A/C on high, vacuum bits sounds like a good idea also, but temporary. . YMMV

To answer your question about how to de al with issue, I simply never turn up the fan past three bars.

Eventually after a few years, it doesn�t blow foam out of the vents because it�s all gone. The AC still blows cold, the heat is still warm but less an issue because I just don�t drive it in the cold. Problem solved. $0 materials, 0 hours of labor.

Quotes source post: 20649408

Foam provides a full seal from drafts which makes interior temp control much easier. I was most surprised by the increase in cabin warmth in the Fall after the repair was done. The material was thin version of this: Amazon Amazon

If the fix is to completely plug the holes with solid material, why did they create these flaps with holes in them to begin with? Does the foam in the holes from factory provide some passive flow even with flaps closed? Are we negating some intended design by just completely blocking off ?

Options include: limiting condensation in the form of water droplets, reducing air noise and turbulence, lightening the system, and allowing airflow should the shutter jam...

Here's what I did. Basically, I did what GulfCoast911 did -- the easiest and least expensive solution: I took the car outside, opened the windows all the way and opened the doors fully. I pulled the seats all the way back. I covered the seats and console with thin plastic drop cloth and taped down the drop cloth with blue painter's tape where I could. I turned on the climate control to manual and selected high speed without starting the engine. I used a regular vacuum cleaner with a 1/2" clear plastic tube (about 18" in length) cut diagonally and inserted into the vacuum cleaner's crevice tool. I taped the tube onto the crevice tool with duct tape. I cut the exposed end of the tube diagonally. See photo below. First, I selected the floor heater outlet and nothing came out but air -- no black foam. Next, I selected the face vents. Many small pieces of foam came out and many got stuck in the vent grills. I used a 24" piece of flat snake wire (the kind used for getting wires through walls) to poke through the vent openings. I inserted only the straight end so it wouldn't get stuck on anything. I vacuumed small pieces of foam while poking through the vents. The vent grills were not big enough to fit the tube through. I did this for all 4 face vents. As I poked through with the snake wire, the foam pieces broke up and came through the vents and were vacuumed up. I didn't have to use tweezers to get the foam out of the vents. Finally, I select the defroster. Many small pieces of foam came out and I vacuumed them. The tube was small enough and flexible enough to fit in the defroster grills so I was able to vacuum out what was in the defroster ducts. I left the fan on and no more pieces of foam came out of any of the outlets. I then removed the plastic drop cloth with the pieces of black foam that attached to it, rolled it up and threw it out. This took me about half an hour.

There is a very long thread on here that gives detailed instructions on the two most popular methods. I remember someone getting an estimate from a Porsche dealer for over $7,000 because their method is to remove the entire dash. I've had foam blowing out for a few years now and haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. I haven't noticed any degradation of heat or AC so far. When I do, I'll do the method of going through the interior duct. BTW, I'm a fellow Long Islander.

I used this kit to fix my blend doors. They snap right in, but I used a little RTV just for an added precaution. Amazon Amazon