Protect your air con condensers!
Discussion
Recent events with my 981 2014 Cayman suggest that it is vital that you consider protection for your pair of condensers for the air con.
For those of you who may not know where they are, there the ones at each side at the front.
Recent episode of these exposed items means they are pitted with small stones, as porsche appear to think that grill protection is not required.
One of mine has leaked out and apparently this is very common. Design911 supply an original for £225 each +vat........ But due to the workload to get them out its advised that while you have the car in bits you might as well have both of them done.
Again this disgraceful situation could only be done by Porsche!
Nearly every other car in the country has grills fitted tp protect the condensers, so after 4 years and 20k miles they require replacement.
Also consider that if struck by stones and dirt, this may not be covered by the warranty.
My private warranty does not cover stone damage as this is not an item failure.
Estimate for my car even at a specialist is around £700-800. For both.
God only knows how much that would be at an OPC.
I am shattered.
One comment from a motor factor said the Porsche ones are made of cardboard!
I will report back if you are interested on the ways you can go.
Gadgit
For those of you who may not know where they are, there the ones at each side at the front.
Recent episode of these exposed items means they are pitted with small stones, as porsche appear to think that grill protection is not required.
One of mine has leaked out and apparently this is very common. Design911 supply an original for £225 each +vat........ But due to the workload to get them out its advised that while you have the car in bits you might as well have both of them done.
Again this disgraceful situation could only be done by Porsche!
Nearly every other car in the country has grills fitted tp protect the condensers, so after 4 years and 20k miles they require replacement.
Also consider that if struck by stones and dirt, this may not be covered by the warranty.
My private warranty does not cover stone damage as this is not an item failure.
Estimate for my car even at a specialist is around £700-800. For both.
God only knows how much that would be at an OPC.
I am shattered.
One comment from a motor factor said the Porsche ones are made of cardboard!
I will report back if you are interested on the ways you can go.
Gadgit
Exactly the reason why my CGTS has had Zunsport grilles from (almost) new. I think I'd done under 500 miles when I fitted them.
It's also the reason why I won't be taking out the extended warranty next year. Remove my grilles and pay £1200 for a two year warranty that won't cover stone damage and then pay another £800 to replace the condensers, or self-warranty knowing my condensers have been well protected and I'm £2000 better off.
It's also the reason why I won't be taking out the extended warranty next year. Remove my grilles and pay £1200 for a two year warranty that won't cover stone damage and then pay another £800 to replace the condensers, or self-warranty knowing my condensers have been well protected and I'm £2000 better off.
Twinfan said:
Exactly the reason why my CGTS has had Zunsport grilles from (almost) new. I think I'd done under 500 miles when I fitted them.
It's also the reason why I won't be taking out the extended warranty next year. Remove my grilles and pay £1200 for a two year warranty that won't cover stone damage and then pay another £800 to replace the condensers, or self-warranty knowing my condensers have been well protected and I'm £2000 better off.
Just had an air con condenser replaced in our 981 BGTS, a leak not caused by FOD - so thankfully replaced by the extended warranty. FYI dealer advised retail cost for this work would have been around £800 - for the one, although most of this is labour as the front of the car needs to be removed. That in itself paid for the Porsche warranty. Almost anything that fails on these cars will cost more than the warranty. Just before the standard warranty expired I had a dynamic engine mount fail - replacement cost of over £1k, and the mounts are not an uncommon failure according to the service advisor. I’ll pay for the warranty for as long as I have the car - call it peace of mind!It's also the reason why I won't be taking out the extended warranty next year. Remove my grilles and pay £1200 for a two year warranty that won't cover stone damage and then pay another £800 to replace the condensers, or self-warranty knowing my condensers have been well protected and I'm £2000 better off.
Edited by dreamcar on Friday 27th April 15:21
I have a 997.1 GT3 and when it was under warranty I had both air-con condensers replaced along with the central radiator by an OPC via the warranty.
All OPC's are different.
As a side note, its important to keep cleaning the ducts out as leafs and general road debris can accumulate there with or without the grills in place.
All OPC's are different.
As a side note, its important to keep cleaning the ducts out as leafs and general road debris can accumulate there with or without the grills in place.
out of curiosity, has any potential buyers out there challenged OPC to fit grilles otherwise they would not buy the car? I wonder what would be their response, say very high spec boxster/cayman S or even GTS potential buyer asks radiator/condenser protector grills to be fitted before the purchase?
ooid said:
out of curiosity, has any potential buyers out there challenged OPC to fit grilles otherwise they would not buy the car? I wonder what would be their response, say very high spec boxster/cayman S or even GTS potential buyer asks radiator/condenser protector grills to be fitted before the purchase?
Porsche dealers are simply not permitted by Porsche to fit anything that is not genuine OEM. Porsche don’t do protection grills and they won’t fit 3rd party parts, why would they ?
You have a simple choice, fit Zunsport grills and be prepared to argue with porsche if they ever quibble over a warranty claim due to the grills being fitted.
I have them on mine as I had a rad fan fail due to a stone stuck within 2 weeks of buying the car, warranty expires October 2019.
You have a simple choice, fit Zunsport grills and be prepared to argue with porsche if they ever quibble over a warranty claim due to the grills being fitted.
I have them on mine as I had a rad fan fail due to a stone stuck within 2 weeks of buying the car, warranty expires October 2019.
I have made the decision to do the work myself and replace the condensers.
There are several write ups on how to proceed with removal of the front.
I have experience with working on cars, and my friend is a car restoration expert, so this should not be a problem for us.
My cayman 981 is standard, so no headlight washers, parking sensors, or fog lights to disconnect.
Just the running lights connector to unplug when the front comes off.
One point of contention is the headlights, which some say need to be removed before starting. But, loads of people now say there is no need to remove the headlights at all.
I will let you know.
There are only 3 torx screws at the top front after removing the cover around the box. There are 2 metal clips to pull out as a release.
There are about 10 torxs underneath which are easy to get to.
Then you just need to undo 2 torxs each side inside the front section of the wheel arches to enable the removal of the front indicators........ Thats it.
If you are interested, I will indicate what is required for replacing the condensers when I have completed the installation.
There are just 4 o rings for both condencers, which are an easy fit.
The new condencers just fit in the carriers provided for the old ones.
Just hoping it all goes well.
Gadgit
There are several write ups on how to proceed with removal of the front.
I have experience with working on cars, and my friend is a car restoration expert, so this should not be a problem for us.
My cayman 981 is standard, so no headlight washers, parking sensors, or fog lights to disconnect.
Just the running lights connector to unplug when the front comes off.
One point of contention is the headlights, which some say need to be removed before starting. But, loads of people now say there is no need to remove the headlights at all.
I will let you know.
There are only 3 torx screws at the top front after removing the cover around the box. There are 2 metal clips to pull out as a release.
There are about 10 torxs underneath which are easy to get to.
Then you just need to undo 2 torxs each side inside the front section of the wheel arches to enable the removal of the front indicators........ Thats it.
If you are interested, I will indicate what is required for replacing the condensers when I have completed the installation.
There are just 4 o rings for both condencers, which are an easy fit.
The new condencers just fit in the carriers provided for the old ones.
Just hoping it all goes well.
Gadgit
I only went to Zunsport to have rear grilles fitted so as to hide the ugly exhaust boxes. But Peter, the MD, offered to test fit the fronts and if I didn't like them he'd remove them again. So, up with the front of the car on a hydraulic jack to around waist level where I was horrified to see what you don't really see at ground level...
...dozens of stone strikes.
He'd had someone in that week to fit grilles after forking out £1000 on a new rad due to a stone splitting the old one.
Decision made. I had them fitted all round! Includes centre front for aesthetics...
...dozens of stone strikes.
He'd had someone in that week to fit grilles after forking out £1000 on a new rad due to a stone splitting the old one.
Decision made. I had them fitted all round! Includes centre front for aesthetics...
Good pictures DJMC.
It appears they removed the plastic plate on the outer edge so they fitted the grill right across the entrance?
I am thinking that I can fit a black grill in only the open area while I have the front off which should be quite easy. As my fronts are black fitting should be ok.
Were your grills always painted the colour of your car?
Gadgit
It appears they removed the plastic plate on the outer edge so they fitted the grill right across the entrance?
I am thinking that I can fit a black grill in only the open area while I have the front off which should be quite easy. As my fronts are black fitting should be ok.
Were your grills always painted the colour of your car?
Gadgit
gadgit said:
Good pictures DJMC.
It appears they removed the plastic plate on the outer edge so they fitted the grill right across the entrance?
I am thinking that I can fit a black grill in only the open area while I have the front off which should be quite easy. As my fronts are black fitting should be ok.
Were your grills always painted the colour of your car?
Gadgit
Plastic plates to outer edge are still there.It appears they removed the plastic plate on the outer edge so they fitted the grill right across the entrance?
I am thinking that I can fit a black grill in only the open area while I have the front off which should be quite easy. As my fronts are black fitting should be ok.
Were your grills always painted the colour of your car?
Gadgit
The horizontal bars were always body coloured.
rockin said:
Is a £300 repair on a £50,000+ car really something to get excited about?
Heaven help you if you need a set of tyres!
You really don't understand how much the bill would be, do you.Heaven help you if you need a set of tyres!
You have no idea......
I'm betting you have never done an oil change on any car you have ever had.
I am just trying to help you understand how big this problem is on these cars, and most people understand where I am coming from who have had condensers changed.
Some people eh?
Gadgit
Agree that grills are a must. Bought my 987 CS with 50000 miles on it but luckily the 3 rads at the front were recently replaced and in good nick, and within 4 days of my ownership had new Zunsport grilles installed. Easy job to do yourself (although drilling into the bumper was nerve-racking) and definitely worth the money.
And it's not just Porsche, for those who follow the Youtubers, Shmee 150 had this exact issue with his Merc GTR recently.
I saw a phot somewhere of a recently deceased bird caught in a Cayman's Zunsport grille, would dread to think what it would have done to the rad had it not been there.
And it's not just Porsche, for those who follow the Youtubers, Shmee 150 had this exact issue with his Merc GTR recently.
I saw a phot somewhere of a recently deceased bird caught in a Cayman's Zunsport grille, would dread to think what it would have done to the rad had it not been there.
gadgit said:
You really don't understand how much the bill would be, do you.
You have no idea......
Thank you for that vote of confidence.You have no idea......
A Porsche can't be run for Fiesta money so there's no point whimpering that a Porsche condenser costs £300. Get over it. And as for labour cost I'm sure an expert such as yourself could DIY the task in half an hour or so.
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