Eddy555 Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 So the driver's side headlamp washer has been leaking from the body since I've had it, and I've finally got a replacement (2nd hand from eBay). However that one just spits a bit of foam at the light (it pops up and down OK). While testing it, the passenger side popped one of the nozzles out 😞 On closer inspection the nozzles are just balls popped into a socket on the nozzle head, and the head had split. So I'm going to try and Araldite that back in if I can. It does look like the body is leaking on that one too though 😞 Looking at the old driver's one that's also split around each nozzle too. But that did squirt the headlamp OK. Replacement washer units are around £190 each from Design911, a little cheaper elsewhere, but it still seems a lot for what it is. Has anyone else managed to repair these or source cheaper ones from somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 IIRC someone on here found a fix using (cheaper) BMW parts. Unfortunately I can't remember who! Try a search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 Cheers, that's a helpful pointer, I'll see if I can find anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipsqueak Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 BMW part number: 616 742 908 68Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Cheers, the nozzles are one thing and it's good to have the availability to replace them at a cheaper price. However both of mine appear to be leaking through the body below where the washer pops up and down. I think this writes them off as they don't appear to be repairable. I can see from my searches so far that people have taken them off and replaced the headlamp corners with ones without holes, but they aren't cheap and that was maybe before recent MOT rules being tightened. It could depend on you MOT test centre and how strict they are on the rule that Xenons should have headlamp washes, but I suspect if they're not fitted then they may just ignore it. I can't see these washers doing much apart from making the headlamp wet, and it's probably cheaper to get rid and go for the gamble of the MOT. At the moment I've put some sealant around the body and glued in the nozzles and will give them a go tonight. If they don't work, I'll get rid and get some light corners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Could you put up a few photos, ideally with arrows? I'm optimistic this could turn into a How To. Assuming it's correct, we shouldn't lose pipsqueak's part number! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Yeah definitely. I'm also planning on taking one apart somehow to work out how it all works. I'm sure there's a check valve in there too that stops water flowing out of the nozzles until the washer has hit it's top point. I think that's clogged/sticky on the one I got from eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 I spent a bit of time tonight replacing the washers to see if sealing them up helps. Below is a pic of the units sealed up (I know the finish is very messy, but you won't see this anyway, and it's more to see if it'll help) The white silicone sealant at the bottom now prevents the bottom part twisting in the body, however that's not an issue as they're pointing in the right direction. There's also some Araldite sealing up some holes front and back above this join where water was getting out too. The pics below show the top of the jet with and without a nozzle fitted. This ball nozzle is part of the BMW solution from 61674290868 as well. Sorry the photos aren't that clear of the sockets, I'll try again later when I take one apart, but you can just make out the side of one has split in the shot with only one nozzle fitted. This is where they typically split sometimes in multiple places, meaning the ball can pop out when given a bit of water pressure. I refitted the passenger side, and that worked well with good spray, however the second hand unit on the drivers side still wasn't doing much more than a feeble spit. I put the original driver's side unit which I've now sealed up back in and that's working very well, however that seems to be taking all the pressure and the passenger side is just doing a little dribble instead. 😕 The system seems quite sensitive to both washer units having equal flow and for whatever reason they aren't balanced anymore. Also I don't believe these will be completely sealed as I think water can still get out from where the washer slides up out of the body. I'll be able to tell more when I get the spare one apart properly. I'm still tempted to pull them out and blank them off at this stage. Time is against me though as I have the MOT due early next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxey11 Posted November 16, 2018 Report Share Posted November 16, 2018 I took mine out, blanked off the pipework and replaced the corners many years ago. There has never been even a mention on the mot that they are missing and the last mot was under the new rules. It could be one of those things that is tested if fitted but not a fail if not fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2018 Yeah, I can get a set of corners for £50 off eBay which is way cheaper than trying to get even one of these washer. Will make life so much simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicGun Posted November 16, 2018 Report Share Posted November 16, 2018 While no help in your quest to get them working  @Eddy555 having read your post thought I ought to check again if mine work. I've had my 986S with standard headlights but with washers since April and had erroneously assumed they work when washing the windscreen, or at least every 6 time etc, so had deduced mine we're not working as my lights we're always dry. On properly checking the owners manual to discover they work by pushing the stalk not pulling, I tried them last night with headlamps on in stop start traffic, they not only clean, or rather drench the headlights, but the overspray also goes up onto each front wing and even onto windscreen. I'm relieved they actually work but don't think I'll be using them too often, the happy by product of having them is the washer fluid capacity is much increased (from the manual its 2.5 litres without washers and 7 litres with), hence my low level light only just coming on after over 7months. Hope you get them sorted and as you say it might be cheaper/easier just to remove, blank them off and replace with light corners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2018 Cheers, yeah I spent a good while trying to work out why they weren't spraying initially, only to spot the icon on the stalk when I was rooting around under the dash. The one that does work basically covers the front of the car, I got a face full when I was testing too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted November 17, 2018 Report Share Posted November 17, 2018 Useful info in this tread as I though mine were u/s until I used the stalk switch correctly i.e. push away and got two nice showers and a lot of other spray out of the front of the car. I thought they were supposed to work with the screen washers if the lights were on... One of the nozzles popped out which I was able to find after a bit of grovelling around a refit. Mine basically spray both lights generously and have some small side jets where there may be cracks in the nozzle housings. Might see if some strategically placed sealant/glue will patche them up a bit more but either way as they wash the lights so should be OK for MOT purposes; £350 saved. Don't hear that often as a Porsche owner.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 Got around to tearing down the "spare" headlamp washer So I had to cut around the base with a hacksaw to take it apart In the close up below you can see the bottom of the plunger with a grey seal and in the middle is a check valve. What should happen is water is supplied to the washer and it pushes up the plunger (Shown in the second picture) and then when it reaches the top the check valve should open which allow water to flow through into the plunger and up the tube to the nozzles. What appears to fail is the grey seal which was hard on this one. This not sealing will allow water to seep past and out of the body of the washer. The second failure seems to be that the check valve will also leak (possibly due to reduced spring pressure and possibly due to worn rubber seal) and this then allow water to trickle past and up and out of the nozzles - as is happening on one of mine at the moment. I took the plunger apart so you can see what's inside it And the check valve also comes apart as shown They really are very difficult to repair the seals, if not impossible. It's so hard to get them apart without destroying them, maybe you could cut cleanly and then use some strong adhesive to put them back together but the only real alternative seems to be remove them and replace with the blanking light corners, or stump up and buy some new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 Give the relationship between Porsche, Audi and VW it's surprising that this incidental part cannot be found in another parts bin or at least a part that would provide a workaround. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 It is odd, the only thing I've found is the ball nozzles from a BMW. I'm wondering if there's a way to fit a fixed set of nozzles that don't pop up. With the amount of water that comes out I'm sure they'd clean the headlights just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 27 minutes ago, Eddy555 said:  I'm wondering if there's a way to fit a fixed set of nozzles that don't pop up. With the amount of water that comes out I'm sure they'd clean the headlights just as well. Probabably worth experimenting with some low cost parts. I suspect there'd be some interest in a cheap working fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I tried googling pics for VW headlight washers. Looked at 2002 Passat (comes out of the front of the bumper, points up) and there's a later Touareg (2009) that looks similar. It would have to be Eddy that does that, I can't really judge between unalike photos. Not sure if the mounting brackets make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Well it didn't fail the MOT on these being absent. Just headlamps too high and lambda too high. Now to see how to fix those ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 1 minute ago, Eddy555 said: Just headlamps too high Ah that old chestnut! Good luck adjusting xenons with that one! (A load of bricks in the frunk might help?!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Cheers, it seems they all fail on these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 I get the impression it’s the testing station rather than the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy555 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 The lights is a pain, but I can probably sort it, the lambda is more worrying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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