Foam coming from my AC vents

There's some kind of dark gray/black open cell foam that is breaking away from something and chunks are blowing out the vents. Are the hoses lined on the inside? Is it something else? Does it need to be fixed? I doesn't seem to affect the operation of the system. Thanks in advance.

The slip joints in the ductwork have foam gasket material - all cars. Any flaps or diverters ( center cents vs footwell vs defroster ) also have foam on them.

[sarcasm]I'm pretty sure those are bits of your IMS bearing, spraying all over the place...[/sarcasm] I've had that in previous cars, but not my 996. Unless it's a high volume of foam, I don't think it's anything to worry about.

lol It's not a huge deal. It dries out, and that's that. You may lose a little air volume due to leakage, as long as the ductwork stays together it's a non event.

I was going to say IMS but the guys with blown engines don't think it's funny. My far right passenger vent has lost volume. I assume you get under the dash to fix that? Any ideas how to get to it?

I haven't had mine apart yet. I'm sure somebody will chime in on this.

Quotes source post: 12104612

Some of us with blown engines prefer to make light of it. I'm sure the joke got some eye rolls, but it helps to keep a sense of humor about it.

There have been several threads describing the issue here on RL and other sites - and it's not just a 996 thing. Same thing happened in my Corvette and most other 15+ year old cars. The second link below includes a description of how to address the issue. Good luck! http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...-the-ac-vents/ https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...a-c-vents.html

I think you have to replace your heater core

I repaired mine. Not overly difficult just time consuming. The hardest part is contorting yoursel up under the dash. If you take it to the dealer, they will most definitely tear your dashboard apart and sell you a new heater core. I can't imagine what the book time on that job would be! My cost to repair the flap was under $10 in parts.

This is the flap/door that is inside the heater core. It should be covered in foam completely. The holes are a weight saving thing.

I'm actually going to start digging into my car tomorrow to check my flaps as well. I have 1" chunks of foam in mine, and no heat..

Welcome to Porsche life...

Ryan, I'll have a look also, please report what you find.

I'll try to snap some pics if I remember, one of the threads I was reading showed them covering those holes (post #11) with duct tape.

look at this thread also: http://www.scribd.com/doc/212147792/...er-foam#scribd Most of us know about the larger heat/air cond door mentioned above, there are also (3?) other foam covered diverter doors in the system. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...outside-2.html

Just to illuminate...that flap is not "inside the heater core"...It's in the duct system (it's the diverter flap). The "heater core" is a small radiator that is a "in line" (i.e. - hot water/coolant flows through it) part of the heating/cooling system.

^^ True. I'm curious if the other flaps *need* to be repaired, or if the larger flap will solve the lack of heat issue? Also, I'm not digging into mine today, the shop is being used so I have to put it off until next week :/

As long as I'm getting cold and warm air I can blow it off right? Or am I going to do damage?

It will not do any damage to ignore. Except perhaps your pride when your passenger wonders why your car is blowing chunks of foam on her/him.