2ndof2

While visiting the dealer to reconnect a damaged hanging heat exchanger last week they found my front AC radiator fan is only running in the high speed mode.

I've removed the bumper cover in the past to replace a headlight washer fluid Y-valve in the past but never messed with the AC system.

How hard is replacing this resistor? What would I need to do the job besides the resistor? Is this just a plug and play job?

I'm thinking it might make sense to do the resistor for the oil cooler fan also while I'm in there, assuming there is such a thing for the oil radiator fan. Same dealio?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

Rick Lee

They're easy, a bit of a contortionist act, but not bad. Just remove the front wheel liners and have at it. Before you start, buy new hardware, as the old allen bolts and nuts will be rusted.

2ndof2

I'm liking the sound of this...no front bumper removal!

911Dave

I need to do this too, and the many threads I've read on it are kind of all over the place - some say it's much easier to remove the bumper, others say it can be done through the headlight opening, others say it's better to go in through the wheel well and mount the replacement resistor in a more accessible location. Some say the bumper remove/replace is simple, others say it's a bitch. I really don't know what to think. It's not a job I'm looking forward to.

2ndof2

If I knew where the resistors for the oil / A-C fans WERE I might be able to answer that Dave.

I have a pdf of the repair manual but don't see any resistors on any of the pages I've looked at.

The bumper cover is a bit of a bitch and somewhat time consuming. I far prefer the wheel well idea.

Okay, so who's done this? Need some direction. If I can remove and re-install all my brake calipers then I can handle this one.

Rick Lee

The thought of removing the bumper never entered my mind. Totally unnecessary. There must be a tech article on this somewhere. I haven't done this job since I first got my car over 8 yrs. ago. But I did help Noah with his about 4 yrs. ago. Maybe he'll chime in. In fact, IIRC, on his car we only removed the passenger headlight to get to the oil cooler fan one. Removing the bumper is nuts. Just pull the wheel liners and feel around up there. You'll find them.

ASH.PALIN

Hi

It really is no big deal, jack up the front after loosening the front wheel nuts, remove the road wheels and the wheelarch plastic liners.

From memory I think I loosened the Oil cooler to give better access (RHS) then took a big screwdriver and hammer and shattered the old resistor which gave far better access to the old and sometimes rusty allen key and away you go.

Even easier on the aircon (LHS) as the resistor sits on top of the condenser, used the same technique broke the old resistor a bit more carefully on this side due to its position, took about 40mins all in.

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...hotos-etc.html

Good luck

Ash

csertich

I don't know why but I thought the bumper cover had to come off. Good news. My next project- both of 'em.

tommyg

I did both of mine when I removed the stock bumper in favor of a euro turbo in 2010. The AC resistor is a complete PIA to reach if you don't remove the condenser as you have a very little radius to turn allen head as well as hand room to work in. After a couple attempts, I hammered mine out and used Garth's method for relocation: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...edesigned.html. The oil cooler resistor you can access from the front when the bumper cap is off, as it sits on a tin tray. I just bent it down a bit to remove. Both resistors were relocated to fender wall with access via headlight cavity.

AC Resistor (#23): http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/993/813-45.php (under "Body" in PDF)
Oil Cooler Resistor (#27): http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/993/104-05.php (under "Engine" in PDF)

BobbyT

I relocated mine same as tommyg in September 2004. I just inspected them and they still appear as new, no cracking or rust discoloration, and they function correctly.

The original location was for ease of assembly, not for ease of service.

earossi

I just did this job two weeks ago and elected to remove the front bumper. Removing the bumper is very easy and R&R of the bumper took about an hour; but, most of that time is spent putting the car up in the air to get the wheels off. Do a search on my name and you will get the DIY article I wrote about my experience.

With the bumper pulled, you simply remove (4) bolts that hold the A/C condenser in place which then allow you to tilt the condenser and its attached fan out and away from the car body. I did this with my left hand, and with the assembly tilted out, you have plenty of room for both your right hand and a ratchet to get the single socket head cap screw that holds the resister to the back side of the condenser housing. To give you some idea......it took less than 5 minutes to remove the (4) bolts holding the condenser in place and all the bolts are right out there to get to......no mirrors or contortions needed.

It then took about 2 minutes to remove the cap screw and reassembly was just the reverse of that. You could probably do this job without pulling the bumper, but it would then be termed a PITA since you will have trouble getting at every one of the bolts I just described.

The only tricky part is balancing the bumper while re-installing it so that you don't scratch the paint on the bumper or the car. The bumper is light, but because it is large and flexible, it wants to move around on you while you are trying to hold it in place. It probably took me about 5 minutes to get it situated correctly on the car body. And, then it took about another 5 to 10 minutes to run all the bolts on the part (about a dozen bolts and screws, if my memory holds true).

To answer your other questions, all you need is the replacment resister and its aluminum heat shield which comes with the resister. Other than that, it is pretty much plug and play.

Replacing the resister on the oil cooler is equally as easy except that the resister is mounted on an alumiinum shelf bolted to the body sitting just above the oil cooler. There are (3) bolts that hold that shelf to the body and they have to be removed to get the shelf out so that you can unbolt the resister from the top of the shelf. That shelf is made of aluminum and serves as a large heat sink.

Priceless

i did both last year and placed a post:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...resistors.html

i don't know if this is the best way or right/wrong way but it worked for me and was a fairly benign process. i also tagged several other's previous posts on mine to make it easier for others to decide which way they would do it. I DIDN'T TAKE OFF BUMPER.

good luck.

cgfen

it's a bitch, but easy once you've done one.
don't have to remove the front bumper cover
DO have to lift the car, remove the wheel, wheel liner and i strongly recommend you remove the headlight and figure out which fastener helps hold the heat exchanger frame to the sheetmetal. (I think the fastener in question is a 10mm SHCS that points straight down into a bracket.)
Once removed you can take out a few more fasteners that hold the EX to the sheetmetal (sit down facing the brake rotor and look for likely fasteners / rubber friction bushings that hold the frame in place) , pull the heat EX out and down a few inches and you then have MUCH easier access to the resistor.

then you have to figure out how the resistor is attached to the frame.
One side, (oil cooler of AC heat EX) is a 6 or 8mm SHCS, the other side is a Phillips head screw................. I think.

i don't see how it would be possible to do this through the headlight opening.


have fun
Craig

k722070

yeh...the reason the threads are all over the place on removing the bumper cover is cause of the different bumpers.
my cab has the normal carrera front bumper with splitters. in that case just drop the splitter, loosen the bracket holding the ac fan or oil fan, lower it and you can access the resistor. you still need to remove the wheel and liner to handle everything.
my coupe is an s with the turbo bumper, no way I could get to the resistors without removing the bumper cover. as others have posted, bumper cover removal and replace is a pretty easy process.

2ndof2

All great info guys...thanks!