dkraige

I think headlight washers are stupid, with the possible exception of a car that's going to get driven long-distance in high-salt winter conditions. Even then I think you can stop and wipe the lights off every couple hundred miles when you take a break for food or fuel. It's just not worth having them for the ugliness and potential leaks.

I decided to delete the headlight washers on my 2001 996. Here's what you need:

1) Left Side Non-Washer Lens Part Number: 99663104500
2) Right Side Non-Washer Lens Part Number: 99663104600

You can get these as a pair on eBay for ~$70. I got the ones that are listed as the brand "Automotive Lighting", not OE Porsche parts. They came in packaging that said Magneti Marelli and I can't tell any difference between those and OE parts. Quality looks great.

3) Plugs to terminate the washer fluid hoses in place of the washers, so washer fluid doesn't drool out. I used a small dowel of aluminum, about 3/8" in diameter, to clamp down on using the original hose clamps.

Steps to remove are as follows (I didn't take photos but this is pretty idiot-proof):

1) Remove the fuse for the headlight washer pump. This will prevent accidentally actuating the pump, meaning that your plugs only need to resist the head pressure, not pump pressure. Look up your fuse diagram since different years/configurations probably have it in a different location.
2) Remove the headlights using the tool in the toolkit or a 5mm socket.
3) Unbolt the headlight washers; each is held in place by a single nut.
4) Disconnect the hoses from the headlight washers.
5) Plug the hoses with the plug of your choice.
6) Secure the hoses with zip ties, etc. so they don't rattle around.
7) Carefully snap the lenses with holes out of your headlights.
8) Carefully snap your new non-hole lenses in place.
9) Reinstall headlights.
10) Enjoy!

I personally think the car looks significantly better. The weight reduction is meaningless as these parts are very lightweight, but conceptually this reduces weight and drag. To do a true delete, you could remove all the hoses and pump, but that requires a lot more disassembly and would only save a few more grams, so I don't see the point unless you have the car apart for other reasons. The real happiness comes when washing and drying the car; what used to be a place for the wash mitt and drying towel to get stuck is now a beautiful smooth surface for it to glide over.

gnat

Nice work. One of our washers breaks every winter so I've been planning to do this whenever I finally get it in to repaint the car.

That is the actual MFG of the headlight housings, so not surprising that you couldn't tell a difference

NE1N-11

I know this is an old thread but.. I did this mod yesterday and I'm kicking myself for not realizing I could have done it sooner. I think it's absurd what Porsche charges for the corner replacement lenses but still totally worth it.

Following the steps above took me about an hour to do and most of that was getting the pumps off the supply hose. Those fkers didn't want to budge.

abossana

Did the same thing a while back. Makes for a better headlight look.

GarrettSR5

I bought my Litronics from 2 different junkyards and both came with the delete ones installed lmao

rmikebaker

Doing my headlight washer delete project, and decided to make some 3D-printable plugs to put in the end of the hoses. They fit perfectly. I clamped the hose on the plug with a couple of zip-ties. Just thought I would share the STL file in case anybody wants it. I printed mine in TPU (flexible filament). Enjoy!

RG Najarian

I am in the process of installing the Variel headlight covers and need to address the headlight washers which will interfere with the fit of the cover.

Thanks for posting these instructions, they are very helpful.



Headlights before. . .

Headlight with unfinished cover resting on top of headlight. The headlight cover is preventing a snug fit.