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
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
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
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
Twinfan said:
My guess - there's no technical reason. Cost saving or they don't see a need on road cars, which is obviously rubbish.
The 981 list of fitting also includes the 991 and many other cars in the range.I assume that the real reason is, porsche make money on repairs, so this is a nice little earner. We all know that nearly every other manufacturers fits covers to protect the internals but this careless attitude from Porsche will lead me possibly in other motoring directions if other areas of neglect are found that cost dearly.
Don't get me wrong, I still love the car at the moment and will complete the work on the condensers, and fit the covers.....
Gadgit
If you don't like the grills it is of course posible to fit grills to the front of the condensers.
As shown in some of the pictures they do get hammered.
If you don't fit grills you can expect to have to replace the condensers every 15 to 20k miles.
My car is in mint condition, with only about 6 stone chips on the paint of any consequence which I have repaied.
Rotting condensers is also a concern, as the porsche specialist said to keep the inside front as clean as you can because a build up of leaves and muck Has been shown to rot the aluminium so they leak.
The roads around Cambridge are unbelievably bad so there are stones flying around everywhere.
My condencers have just turned up!
Gadgit
As shown in some of the pictures they do get hammered.
If you don't fit grills you can expect to have to replace the condensers every 15 to 20k miles.
My car is in mint condition, with only about 6 stone chips on the paint of any consequence which I have repaied.
Rotting condensers is also a concern, as the porsche specialist said to keep the inside front as clean as you can because a build up of leaves and muck Has been shown to rot the aluminium so they leak.
The roads around Cambridge are unbelievably bad so there are stones flying around everywhere.
My condencers have just turned up!
Gadgit
SkinnyPete said:
Not sure how you came to that conclusion. My car has done over 50k, including track driving, lots of stone chips, but guess what, condensers are fine...
Well some people are going to be lucky, and some will not be.I bet you don't live near cambridge!!
Nice to hear some happy stories.
Good luck
Gadgit
Just in case anyone is considering replacing there own condensers, I have completed the job today. Rather than right a large story concerning how to do the job, just fire away if you are interested, many on here will not be, and I understand that.
Briefly, total time including tea, and lunch 4 hours.
This also included fitting grills on the front, with very good air flow, as the engine radiators are right behind the condensers..
Gadgit.
Briefly, total time including tea, and lunch 4 hours.
This also included fitting grills on the front, with very good air flow, as the engine radiators are right behind the condensers..
Gadgit.
gwsinc said:
The answer seems quite simple to me. It's all a matter of risk.
There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
+1 more to all the above........There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
And thanks for that.
Gadgit.
rockin said:
Seems to me everybody seems to expect to buy a car and then run it for free. That's not the way the game works. If you can't afford to run the car, don't buy it.
Rockin, either you are just joking or you totally do not understand what this thread is about.Yes, it is partly about the money, but the whole point of this situation is the shame of Porsche allowing their cars to be built in this way.
There are plenty of other sports cars out there that do not have this problem, and there is absolutely no reason why Porsche could not have sorted this out.
I feel sorry for the main dealers as they must have a lot of angry customers turning up with busted up condensers, and they cannot get money from Porsche for a repair bill on the warranty.
Moving on to someone else's comment about his radiator leaking coolant, this is unusual as the air con condensers should protect the engine radiators which are behind the air con rads. If you lost engine coolant you should get a warning light I suspect. But I did not get a low pressure warning of the air con system failure.
Gadgit
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