Drove my 95 to Porsche Parade in OKC this year. I parked in the Corral display (asphalt parking lot out back). Inside at the Concours met a guy with a silver 97(?) targa that he picked up new from the factory. Lots of miles every one driven by the original owner.
Looking it over I noticed this and asked him about it:
He relayed a grisly story about turning on the heat one winter and hearing lots of terrible noises and smelling bad things. Turns out a rat had chewed through the factory rubber grid and got into the heater fan. The rest involved a five figure insurance claim required to removed the entire heat ducting system and components for cleaning.
His mechanic replaced the rubber grid with the SS one pictured. I decided to do the same to mine as a precaution and because I think it looks cool. Bought a single sheet of 1/2 inch SS hardware cloth (this is what its called). I believe his was 1/4 inch for comparison:
The factory rubber duct lip has a groove in it that is perfect for the new metal grid. I clipped out the rubber grid with scissors and trimmed out a section 6 squares x 7 squares with a dremel.
Installed:
Through the grill:
Never seen a rat in my garage but hey one less thing to worry about.
Regards