My blower has been dead for nearly a year so decided to swap it out and
repair the air-recirculation box as it was frozen in a half open position.
Here's a brief right-up.
Blower removal on a 1989 928 S4 right-hand drive.
1) Park car with enough space to fully open passenger door. You'll need all the
room you can get whilst knelt down doing this work.
2) Disconnect battery.
3) Remove passenger carpet and fuse panel wooden cover.
4) Remove parcel shelf and remove it from the car.
5) Undo glove-box so you can move it in and out; you don't have to take it
completely.
6) Remove an electrical units and plugs that are in the way of access to the
bulkhead/air-recirculation box.
7) loosen the 4 bolts and 2 screws holding the fuse panel retaining brackets and
gently pull the fuse panel forwards to a near flat position. Don't put any
strain on the wires; you just want it out the way for access.
8) Move the fuse panel brackets away from the bolts that also hold the
air-recirculation box. This can be tricky and takes patience.
9) Undo all the nuts holding the air-recirculation box.
10) Remove metal strengthening bar at the bulkhead.
11) Now you need to loosen the goo/putty that seals the air-recirculation box to
the bulkhead. This where having the glove box loose helps. Start at the front
under the glove box using a small chisel and long flathead screwdriver. This
takes time and care not to damage the air-recirculation box. Keep at it and it
will slowly pull away from the goo/putty seal.
12) Now, go and open your bonnet and remove the blower. Take off plastic cover
over blower/window wiper linkage era; disconnect and remove rubber cover between
blower and HVAC box; remove blower retaining screws.
13) Go back under to the recirculation box in the car and pull it fully away
from the bulkhead and blower. It will take some jiggling as it is a tight fit.
Remember to disconnect the blue vacuum line at the back; mine was loose anyway.
14) Now you can pull the blower down through the hole left behind. Jiggle the
blower out and then disconnect the wiring to the blower.
15) Congrats; you got the blower out! Now have a break and some food/drink as it
might well be 2-3hrs you've been working!
16) Now do a clean-up behind the fuse panel and in the bulkhead/HVAC box inside
the bulkhead; there will be lots of old leaf debris/mess that is best remove. Use
a hover and screwdriver to loosen crap; go careful with that screw driver
inside the HVAC box! Finish with a warm clean rag.
17) Now get some clear wax oil and a brush and paint in behind where the blower
goes. This area is prone to damp.
18) Now, and if you have a blower replacement, reinstallation is a reverse of
the procedure. Good luck finding a new blower/impeller nowadays! Good used items
seem the only way currently. Clean blower casing etc up as best as you can.
19) This process can be arduous as you're working in a confined area and have
lots of electrical stuff exposed; be patient. If get frustrated take a break and
come back later. It will all go back together eventually!
20) If you're repairing the air-recirculation box/actuator like I did here's
some tips.
21) My flap and actuator were seized so I cut the actuator arm off where it
connectors to the metal rod which opens the recirculation gate. Removed the
circlips holding the rod in place and then using grips worked the rod out.
Replacing the actuator is easy and self-explanatory. Just remember to position
the vacuum pipe off the actuator back in the right place for the pipe in the
bulkhead upon reassembly. When reassembling apply liberal grease on the metal
rod. Clean the recirculation box up well and lubricate the gate hinges. Finally
reapply putty/seal to the recirculation box for reinstall. It's available from
Porsche.
22) When finished enjoy you improve blower/heating system!
ps: The rod that the vacuum actuator is attached too is held in place with 2
circlips; 1 at either end. They're a tight fit and fiddly to refit after
removal. Be careful not to loose one with it pinging off someone! I speak on
experience. Luckily circlips are plentiful!
Hope this helps other 928 owners as there's little info on this work.
cheers, Dave.
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Pictures say it all.....
So it looks line 3 screws are holding the lower fan body to the recirculation box, and one screw from the upper side in the airduct area, plus one at a bracket on the other side.