jakfrost

Did a search and see that a couple of others have walked into their garage and OMG...fluid under the car! In my case it looked like water and tasted like water, so guess what, it was water! Water is always better than oil but still, needs to be fixed.

So I removed the drivers headlight and shone a light into the cavity, and sure enough there is water pooling and dripping in between what looks to be a couple of small pumps, side by side. One for the headlights and one for the windshield I assume. Impossible to tell which one ( if either...) of the units is leaking, so I wondering if anyone has seen this before and if so what their solution might have been.

Otherwise is there a known procedure to remove and or repair the pumps? It doesn't look like I can go in thru the wheel well unless to remove the complete reservoir and then access entire assembly...?

Thanks guys,

Jim

Stealth 993

Remove the light again. Then twist both pumps L&R, they can become unseated & leak. You might also play with the tubes, make sure they are tight.

Removing the pumps & tank is going to be a PITA.

jakfrost

THanks Mike, the PITA part is what I was afraid of...I'll give it the 'twist and shout' treatment and see how that goes..

Jim

tbil

Had the same issue, couldn't tell which pump was leaking but leaked badly so the ! indicator flashes in the car just because I'm low on washer fluid. There is a rubber grommet around the shaft of each pump that makes the seal, bigger black one and smaller brown one. I bought replacement gromets, installed through the headlight cavity and they still leaked, new grommits didn't make much of a difference. Noticed that the shaft of the pumps where the grommit makes contact had become polished. Gently roughed it up with a 3M pad, perpindicular to the shaft, and that solved the probelm. no leaks for the past couple of years. Suggest you try Stealth 993's advise and twist a bit to see if that makes a difference and Good luck!

jakfrost

Well bit the bullet and removed the entire reservoir. Neither of the pumps would come up out of their holes working thru the headlight opening and I wasn't really sure where the leak was coming from so figured might as well take it out and see what the heck I was doing.

Its not that bad a job, just a little annoying trying to work the inner fender liners out...and the 'fill pipe' for the reservoir was pretty stiff and hard to get off! But out it came, and after cleaning it all up it seems like there might be something missing since the 'left' pump, ( I believe the windshield pump ), the one with the 'brown' grommet, just sits loosely in position. And I can confirm it is the one doing the leaking. The 'right' pump with the bigger black grommet fits really snug in the opening and when the pump shaft is inserted and the pump fully seated it is very secure. Not like the 'left' one which wobbles/flops around pretty loosely.

Here are some pics in case anyone can comment on something amiss...oh, and if I wanted a new 'brown' grommet and/or pump where would a good place to order parts be? Any suggestions?

Jim

This is the 'left' pump, the leaker...you can just see the 'brown' grommet.


'left' pump without the 'grommet'...


'left' pump with the brown 'grommet on the shaft. Doesn't seem like it is really 'wide' enough...? The 'right' pump black grommet is much bigger.


the 'left' pump going down into position...

jakfrost

Think I found the answer to my leaking...I'll know after I get the part I ordered from one of our sponsors, Steve at 'Ians Euro Parts' in Pompano Beach Fl.
Seems the good part #, ( in case anyone else has this issue ) is now 92862819300, which is in fact a large black grommet, as opposed to the small 'brown' grommet which is there now.

It would appear the original brown grommet has been superseded with the same grommet as the one for the headlight washer pump. Which in fact fits much better anyway!

Big $4.00 part, plus $12.00 shipping, and all should be well...I'll keep you posted!

Jim

2Many Cars

Been there, done that on both my 993 and 300D. You defo want to replace both grommets while you're in there. A couple tips on the install - pull the pumps out first then the grommets (but you probably know this already). Throughly clean around the holes in the tank and the shafts on the pumps so the new grommets don't leak. Warm the new grommets a little in your hands so they'll be pliable for install. Grommets in the tank holes first, then the pumps and wiggle them a bit to make sure everything is seated. If you want, smear a little silicone seal around the outside of the tank hole before you put in the new grommet (but make sure it's completely dry) - although I found that wasn't necessary.

By the way, if you ever need to replace a pump you'll need to redo the grommets and the female plug on the wiring harness as the old pumps are NLA. Not hard but frustrating when the car is all apart and you find you don't have all the parts you need - ask me how I know.

jakfrost

THanks, that is a good idea to do both grommets, they are only 4.00 after all...I'll make sure to update my order!

Jim

dbf73

are the pumps accessible in place if the bumper cover is off?

jakfrost

No Doug, they are not. The pumps are 'visible' thru the left (drivers) headlight opening, but in my case since the pressure line to the windshield nozzles was tight around the side of the reservoir there wasn't enough slack to lift the pump up out of the reservoir. Otherwise I think you could actually replace either pump accessing thru the headlight opening. The only caveat is that the pumps are located very low in the reservoir so once you lift the pump up out of its grommet the remaining fluid is going to 'gush' out of the reservoir.

The pumps are on the front of the reservoir and so they are on the opposite side from what you see inside the wheel well with the wheel well liners out.

In my case there was so much fluid all over the place I couldn't really see where my leak was and so decided to remove the reservoir and see how it all worked anyway. I'm hoping the new grommet ( updated from the original 'brown' one to the 'new' black version ) will solve the leaking issue.

I'll take some more pictures when I get the parts in the mail, hopefully early next week...

Jim

dbf73

Jim - any followup? even if you don't have pix?

jakfrost

Doug, just got the new grommets 2 days ago...not what I expected, I thought I was getting 2 of the larger black type like the headlight pump has under it, having been told that Germany had updated the headlight washer pump grommet to the same type as the windshield...but I received the original 'brown' small grommet for the windshield ( same as the original leaking one ), and a new large black grommet for the headlight pump, ( same as the 'non-leaking' one in there now...), so tomorrow I'll try the 'new' brown one and see what happens.
If it leaks still I'll try the 'new' black one they sent...

Oh, and just as an aside, my spoiler gear box repair 'blew up', i.e. came apart...so I cleaned it up and re-glued it with 2 stage epoxy, I'll put that back in tomorrow and see what happens. In the meantime I ordered an OE from Sunset as I don't have any faith in the 'cut open, replace the bearing, re-glue' repair. I assume it will fail again sooner or later and might as well have a backup plan. There is quite a bit of torque in that little black plastic case.

Jim

jakfrost

Well...miracle of miracles...the 'new' little brown grommet seems to have done the job. No leaking, although I almost don't dare speak(write) the words for fear of jinxing the fix.

I used the new one first to see how it would work and it seemed to be leaking but now 2 days later it is dry as a bone! Got pretty wet in there since after installing the new grommet and plugging everything in, I decided to 'test' the new installation, and poured about 4 liters of windshield washer fluid into the refill opening by the fuel filler...and it was POURING OUT...all over my feet! I can now attest to the fact that working into the night beyond the normal fatigue point, fighting mosquitoes on my back while trying to 're-install' the inner fender liners...is not a good idea. In my haste to finish up I forgot to 'reconnect' the filler line to the reservoir. Crap.
Now I had to jack up the front left, remove the wheel, peel open the rear fender liner, and try to get a 8" stiff clear plastic tube into a 4" opening. A lot of blue air later and all was as it should have been in the first place.
So...next project? See how long my 're-glue' of the spoiler gear box last this time, ha,ha.

These are the 2 grommets, OEM parts. The smaller brown one is for the windshield washer motor, the larger black one is for the headlight washer.




View looking into the drivers side headlight opening...


A little closer up...


Windshield pump on the left, headlight on the right...they just lift up out of the reservoir, be prepared for lots of fluid on the floor unless your tank is almost empty


You can see the brown washer ( grommet ) under the windshield pump on the left. Larger black grommet under the headlight washer pump on the right...


Jim

jakfrost

Update...still freaking leaking!! Pulled the windshield pump out of the reservoir this evening and laid the bathroom silicone to it...only other possibility is the reservoir has a fatigue crack under the pump mounting point.

I'm going to fix this ***** if I have to take the whole damn fender off!!!!

Oh, did I mention the spoiler gearbox housing blew up again on the drive home this evening...and guess what, if you drive into a 80mph headwind at 80mph without the spoiler extended the vacuum created below the rear window will suck the freaking rubber seal right out of the lower rear window, beating itself against the window to let you know its about to leave the vehicle...in pieces. But not before making some nice black marks on the spoiler valance, grrrrrr. Not a good day in the P-car.

Jim

2Many Cars

These things can be frustrating. When I've had leaks it's been between the tank and the grommet (as opposed to between the pump and the grommet) as that has the least surface area to seal. Try removing the leaking pump and grommet and put silicone seal around the tank/grommet contact point - on the outside of the tank. Insert the pump into the grommet before it all dries so you don't break the seal later putting the pump in. Two vital items: first, before you put silicone seal on everything must be 100% dry, not almost dry, 100% dry - and resist the urge to refill the tank until at least 24 hours so everything can cure. The second point is to warm up the grommet (warm, not hot) so it's more pliable. It sounds stupid but I found it really helps. Don't over do it with the sealant, just a light coat will do. I just smeared sealant around the hole in the tank and inserted the grommet, then carefully inserted the pump. Also, as mentioned earlier, be sure it's all clean as some crust on the pump and/or tank will pretty much guarantee a compromised seal.