Rodent Story Mod

[Funracer]

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

[budge96]

Got one better , picked up a 993 from a friend that wasn’t running presumed it was the fuel pump or crank sensor or both turned out once I got a good look the entire engine harness had been used as a s’more gas board for mice and every exposed piece of plastic sheathing had either fallen offf or been consumed by very small mice , they may even get between your mesh 1/4 inch looks better but that’s not where they concentrate , more like injector lines , alternator lines , and injection components …Bert

[Funracer]

Ive had wire damage before from squirrels on my wife's 2018 Macan. Expensive to repair.

Yes mice might still be able to get in. Still half the size of the factory rubber grid. Having a rodent ground up in the heater fan and then distributed throughout the ductwork is something to be avoided.

[BR-549]

Nice idea. Thanks for posting. I have not had rodents in the garage either but I've sure had them in my shed and they reek havoc with my little yard tractor. I started using a botanical pest control in the shed and it seems to work so I added a couple to the garage. But I also had some gutter guard sitting around and use your idea to put a screen in the heater air intake. I chose to leave the original rubber grid in place.
(How do I make these photos a little smaller?)