3 undercarriage grommets between the AC grille and the gas tank??

[sugarwood]

This is a pic I just saw on the for sale section.

You see the 3 round rubber grommets between the AC grille and the gas tank?
The middle and right one are partially blocked by the mesh grille.

The one on the left seems to have a little rust.
I think my car also has a little surface rust discoloration at the grommets.
I think this is from a leaky washer pump draining towards the front of the tank.

What is the best way to address that rust?
What's on the other side of those 3 grommets?
I tried to pull one out, but it seemed like it was going to tear, so I left it alone.

[faverymi]

In my car the leak came from the battery through the battery tray that communicates with that cavity that exits in those 3 grommets.

It is basically a space between the front tank support and the suspension pan.

Everything was solid, just orange slurry coming out.

At the shop everything was washed, blasted with air,

They taped the holes, filled the space with rust converter and it dried after drained

Filled the space with sealer and same thing.

Put new sealed AGM battery and done. ( I had a midyear with a hole in the suspension pan because of the same problem. The metal had to be replaced in that case)

[sugarwood]

So, do I need to remove the tank and then I will see the channel from above?
Then I can just try to clean up the area and paint/seal it?

Should I remove the 3 rubber plugs? What is the point of them? Isn't it better to have 3 holes that can drain?

[sugarwood]

Anyone know the part number for these things??

[javadog]

Removing the tank would not gain anything. Pry the rubber plugs out, clean up any rust you find on the outside, look inside the cavity to see what it looks like in there.

Download a copy of PET from Porsche, so you can look up part numbers for things like this.

The plugs are there to keep out water from driving in rain. There's not supposed to be anything to drain out. You should be able to catch leaks from washer pumps before they leak badly.

JR

[sugarwood]

I was looking in the PET catalog, but was unable to find the part.

This summer, when I had my gas tank out, I was looking for the top side of these 3 holes, and was not able to find them.
There were no 3 holes I could see from within the frunk. That gas tank support thing did not have them.

[javadog]

There is more than one panel in that area, with a void between them. That's why you don't see the holes from above. There are several grommets and "stoppers" listed in the PET. You might have to order one example each of several part numbers to figure out which one is which.

JR

[azhodge]

this has been discussed in another thread. those are one way valves that open down to let water out. they are still sold by VW. part number on other thread. if yours are solid plugs then they have been replaced with incorrect part...

[azhodge]

111801177 rubber plug/valve for chassis. $9.50 EACH outrageous !!!
111801177 Rubber Valve $3.95 from airheadparts.com (vw)
interesting pelican has it listed as a Porsche part when it first comes up but next level in it shows as a VW/Audi part.

[azhodge]

SEE "rubber plugs for bottom side" thread

[azhodge]

Factory view