chamilka

I am trying to remove the Recirculation Vent box located in the passenger footwell per John Pirtle’s 928 S4 page(http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/svc.html) .

So far I have done the following 9 steps but I am stuck at step 10:
1.Disconnect the battery ground strap in the rear hatch.
2.Disconnect the blower fan electrical connection.
3.Remove the storage tray + glovebox door
4.Remove the wooden door covering the fuse panel.
5 Remove the lower wooden door piece.
6.Remove the eight nuts around the recirculation vent
7.Remove the bolts retaining the lower fuse panel brackets.
8.Pull the fuse panel out and down off the upper studs.
9.Remove the metal brace across the four rear studs of the ventilation flap.

10. Pull the ventilation housing down. The housing has been sealed with a nice black goo so some careful prying may be necessary.??
OK I AM STUCK HERE at above step 10: Do I cut the black goo stuff away? It does not come down as I pull it down. Do I need to re seal it with the black goo when I reinstall it? What is the trick to pull this out?

thanks
Chamilka

ROG100

You need to remove the three screws that hold the blower motor in place.

worf928

Black goo is strip caulk. You will need to - in addition to Rog's steps - go to a auto body supply store and buy some new 3M strip caulk. You'll need to remove the old stuff and replace it with new. And don't skimp.

Lastly, once you have the lower air box back in place and screwed tight with your new strip caulk, you need to test the water integrity by dumping a Super Big Gulp-sized cup of water around the HVAC blower from above. Then check for water intrusion from the edges of the lower air box. (Water on your fuse panel is bad...)

RET

Do as Roger and worf928 wrote. You should be able to get the recirculation box to drop free by pressing gently (but evenly, firmly and relentlessly!) from the top under the hood. Prying from the bottom is awkward.

I just did this on a hot day without too many complications, and with a little manipulation, you can drop the fan down through the hole into the passenger foot well after the box is out of the way; if so, it will save the effort of removing the hinge for the hood to allow removal of the fan from the top. OTOH, putting the top two screws that hold the fan to the recirculation plenum back in with the hood in place is a huge PIA.

Good luck.

Bob

chamilka

ok I was thinking of taking the Hood out but was not sure it was easily removable, I shall try that.

Alan

The hood comes off pretty easy... its getting it back into the right place that can be tricky - make sure you mark the positions of the hinges well and note where the shims are.

Alan

worf928

Actually, you don't need to take the hood off. With the blower loose, remove the 8mm-head trim screw that secures the corner of the cowling below the windshield to the fender and then loosen the hood hinge. At that point you can pull the blower out. It's quicker than taking the hood off and you have less to adjust hood-wise when you put everything back together.

You still need to mark the hinge etc - as Alan above writes - but you'll spend less time getting the hood gaps aligned if you've only messed with one hinge.

Mrmerlin

to remove the blower box now, you need to remove the 2 screws on the top that hold the blower,( 8 mm heads) one is in the air duct then there is also a long 8mm headed screw that goes in from under the dash through the blower box assembly, this also holds the blower motor.
DONT remove any hood bolts just the 2 blower screws on the top of the blower.
The blower motor will stay right where it is.
Also disconnect the blue air line from about the center of the cowl well just in front of the expansion valve and feed this down with the bottom of the blower box. Claen out the inner well with a vacuum cleaner and put a towel over the CE panel before you remove the blower box so all the trash doesnt fall into your CE panel. To remove the vacuum pod there is a black plastic coupler that goes from the metal push rod to the bottom of the vacuum pot this part snaps onto the rod , to remove it just undo the 4 plastic pod clips then you will see the plstic snap clip

chamilka

I was able to take the Recirculation Vent box is out – what pain it was. I have ordered a new Actuator which I will replace but I got a question about the Flap itself.
Looks there had been a thin padded line around the four edges of the Flap (both sides), I think purpose of this must have been to seal it and make it air tight sort of when the Flap is opened and closed. Has anybody done any creative work to restore it? or do I have to buy a new flap?

BW I had to take the hood out, I tried loosing the cowling below the windshield but still it was bit tight I didn’t want to break something
thanks
Chamilka