Help with Cowl installation

My cowl needs replacing. The bolt placement on each side of the cowl is sheared through. Adding insult to injury, a previous owner had replaced the original bolts with American bolts. I bought replacement hardware for the new cowl, but I haven't got the slightest idea how to install them. I need to know how the hardware fits since there was nothing to remove to provide an example for me. Specifically how the large rubber covered bolt goes on. I'm thinking the flat side should be screwed in facing downward, but I have not find any illustrations to confirm this. Thanks in advance.

Pic or part #s?

"cowl".....there are many on these cars.....you'll need to be more specific on what you are asking help with in order for others to help you.

Windshield Cowl Panel for 99 996.1 Coupe Part Number: 9965725630401C I included an image of the part I needed help with. It will be obvious what I was asking about. With regard to the 'cowl' remark, the interpretation in the US is different and listed below. Cowling is just another term for Cowl. So I am technically correct. The remainder of it's definitions applies to buildings, chimneys and apparel. Every car has only 1 cowl. Do a lookup in a search engine using 'cowl definition' to confirm this. US English the part of a motor vehicle that supports the windshield and houses the dashboard. Porsche on the other hand misuses the term and uses it haphazardly with no regard for the actual purpose and definition.

Sorry but its still not obvious. After removing the windshield wipers my mk1 cowl slips over a stud on either side of the lower windshield corners and a m6 flange nut secures it. There r 2 additiinal screws that hold it down in the center frunk area. Also there is no image. https://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-...section=813-20

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Apologies for late reply. I don't know what happened with the image upload. I did discover the hardware I have is for the 2001 model (groans). I'm going to have to run down to the shop and check if the cowl has parts. However I believe it will work. The original owner was a Porsche salesman and had access to the shop. On close inspection of the right front lens and fender, it appears to have been in a minor fender bender. It isn't recorded anywhere leading me to believe it hit something static while parking. Again, access to the dealership shop got it repaired and repainted. That's a more reasonable reason the damage was so limited. But the paint job was a disaster. The clear coat was bubbling and flaking and dings in the hood showed a darker color of red below the paint when I bought it ($5,500). The new paint job is 11.5k and will take 2 to 3 months to complete. The interior is spotless with wear on the driver's seat and steering wheel. Same with the carpet. Weathertech floor mats reducing the wear it might have had. 92k miles, IMS replaced and the engine still appears strong. Hadn't been driven in the last 5 years and 10 year old tires (Continental). So I changed all the lubricants and put Michelin Pilot s/w 4 tires. So I'm happy with it. Mind blowing agility and power. Downside is the Tiptronic, but I can live with that.

I just got my car back from the paint shop and I took at picture of the current cowl installed. So consider this an update to this thread that stalled when I couldn't produce an image of the cowl. One person had described how their cowl was attached to their 99 and it didn't match what I actually had. So more input is desired. Thanks in advance Sorry about the images. I couldn't figure how to remove them and replace them a cropped version.

Those holes r how it attaches. There is a stud that is welded onto the tub and a 10mm plastic nut holds it down. U have to remove them and pull both windshield wipers. There r also 2 screws tight to the battery area. They require an 8mm screwdriver. U also have to remove the hose and electrical connections for the windshield squirters. The squirters themselves can be popped out and moved to the new one. if u can get those recessed nuts out just remove the rest of the stuff and rip out the old one. It will break and then u can figure out how to secure the corners once u can get an eye on how the po rigged it.

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The recessed bolts have to come out. They aren't metric. I've got the bolts and nuts, just bought the wrong part for cowl. My fault for not checking it when it arrived.

Post a pic of the hardware u have bought. I still dont understand the issue u r having. If u cant get the 2 plastic nuts off the studs that r under the removable covers in the corners just break the old cowl and remove it so u can get to the hardware.

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The two bolts the nuts attach to that hold the cowl in place are Imperial, not metric measurement. These two bolts have to come out. It's a non-issue now that I am buying Pelican Parts (PEL-986CWLCVRKIT-A) Windshield Cowl Cover Kit. I've already paid the body shop to swap it out, but I bought the wrong part for the cowl originally. So it's now a do-over

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Uhmmmm.... .....what?

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And what im telling u is that the studs are not imperial unless someone welded new studs into the sheet metal. They r a very course thread stud and accept a plastic nut that requires a 10mm socket to tighten. I am sure your body shop will figure it out.

I replaced the cowl on my �02 996 last year and it wasn�t a particularly difficult job. The only thing I would add is to use a sharpie to mark where the windshield wipers should rest on the windshield before taking them off. From there it�s a couple bolts/screws and the thing comes right off. Probably most of the time I spent on the job was making sure everything was clean underneath before I put it back together.

Here is a thorough video on the Windshield Cowl replacement. The host states the size of each fastener correctly, as stock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IveXGsfnEg&list=PLSuaW3OGfTCH5jTuryl4M95qAFbtLZ9Ce&index=5

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I know the bolt stubs are Imperial, one of the previous owners was a moron because that's what's in there. Not a metric bolt. Replacing the bolt are outside of my skill set. Good thing I'd already paid the body shop to replace the cowl, I just need to order the right part this time. Removing and replacing the bolt was part of the repair that was supposed to have been done. I'd rather go with the part kit this time around rather than make another tiny mistake to derail it along the way.

Its good u have the body shop doing the work. A pic if whats there would still be nice to see, curious on how the p.o. replaced it.

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It's ugly. If my hands were steadier I would try taking a more detailed image. Instead I will see if I can build a mental image you may can relate to. Focus on the cowl nut/bolt attachment point, the base of the cowl where it contacts the body. Simply put, a a bolt protrudes through the bottom, it connects to a nut, with a top that meshes at the top of the cowl to conceal it. Visualize the base where the bolt protrudes through. Only it's broken and little remains of the bottom. The bottom attachment point is broken up so only small parts of the base remains protruding from the attachment point wall. In short, the cowl attachment area is cored through from top to bottom and any bolt/nut combination doesn't have any solid mount points. Thus my need to holistically address the entire problem from replacing the current Imperial bolt with the stock metric bolt, bolts, cowl and cowl seal, etc.

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Finally some pictures for u

Strange?

Need some advice. I started the job of removing my windshield cowl. The first two screws, one on each side holding the plastic covers, are just spinning. From the top, I can see some white residue that might be corrosion, not sure if this is part of the problem. From what I've seen in videos, it looks like these screws may be fastened through some kind of plastic grommet mounted in a hole near the top of the strut mount. I can't see a way to hold the nut/grommet in order to remove the screw. Any ideas?

R u trying to remove the flat covers that fill the space between the windshiels and frunk? A pic if the issue would help. If it is that cover they r held in by a rubber well-nut. They split sometimes and the bottom just spins. U can pull up on the plastic and create some friction on the well-nut and hopefully it will unscrew.

It could be that it broke at the attachment point and someone gunked it up to stay in place. My cowl was broken at both outer mount points. It's not the strongest design and at this point the plastic has sustained 20+ years of sun and weather.

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Yes. I tried pulling up on the panel, but had no luck. Got concerned about breaking the panel.

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U r gonna have to pull up on the screw while unscrewing. Maybe use a trim tool or even a flat screw driver. U r gonna need to put enough pressure on whats left of the well nut so it doesnt spin. Or u can drill off the head if u r carefully and the bits will fall through. U may not find the pieces but they will eventually land on the plastic trays.