How To: repair rear washer rotating nozzle

On the Golf sedan, Golf/Bora/Jetta Variant/Estate/wagon, and Passat Variant/Estate/wagon models the rear washer nozzle is supposed to be in a fixed position. If yours rotates with the wiper, or you get no washer fluid out of the nozzle, you have a problem. The latter case may be that the water tube through the wiper shaft has snapped off. Rotation indicates the water tube has seized in the wiper shaft.

Here's how to fix it. Too many pictures to post in a thread so I spent the time to make a PDF.

Tools needed:

• the repair kit 8L0 998 711
• a cross head screwdriver
• 13mm socket/wrench/adjustable wrench
• 10mm socket/wrench/nut driver
• T15 Torx screwdriver
• a strip of vinyl electrical tape

Follow the instructions in the kit, or the modified instructions in How_to_Repair_the_Rotating_Rear_Washer_Nozzle.pdf

The most difficult part is removing the hatch inner trim panel. Read the PDF. Use whatever small tool (pick tool?) you have to aid in separating the trim pieces as required.

My Golf posed for the pictures in the PDF. Allow for any differences that might exist based on the model you have.

Glen,

I love how you write like everyone just happens to have one of the T10127 Nozzle aiming tools in their back pocket.

Nice writeup. very thorough as usual.

Growler said:

Glen,

I love how you write like everyone just happens to have one of the T10127 Nozzle aiming tools in their back pocket.

Nice writeup. very thorough as usual.

Click to expand...

I don't recommend putting/keeping the T10127 in the back pocket. It is not large enough for proper aiming of any nozzle in the vicinity.

Nice writeup, Glen.

My wife always seems to skip your last step whenever she works around the house. Drives me batty.

Glen, you da man.

I stumbled across this because I have my hatch trim off due to a problem with the latch mechanism, and wanted to find info on washer fluid leaks. In the past I've had a little washer fluid dribble out the bottom of the trim, and now that I've got it apart and did a test-run now that I could see what's going on, I see that the joint where the washer fluid hose goes onto the motor's fitting isn't real tight and leaks a little.

So that's what caused me to stumble upon this great how-to. I guess mine's been stuck so long that I'd forgotten it was supposed to be static.

Just FYI, I checked www.1stvwparts.com and found that the repair kit is $67. That seemed like a lot for a repair kit, so I checked how much they charge for a whole new washer motor -- $103. So if you want to spend $36 more, you can bypass the rework, which might be worthwhile if you have to do the modifications like Glen did. But I suppose there might be a risk that there would be other differences, like wire harness connections or something.

Project finished (finally)

Long story short: Don't buy the stupid repair kit. Splurge and get the whole new motor.


O.K., so I finally got my washer/wiper situation fixed. Here is some information for those who may search on this topic later:

I went with the repair kit, but ended up with the same situation Glenn had: the repair kit was for a different motor. I did the repair as Glenn did, modifying the cover and the hole for the wiper linkage in the white plastic gear, and got it all together with the new parts (sans the teeny-tiny O-ring and one tube of lube, both of which were missing from the kit 1stvwpart.com sent me....arrgh ). But now the wiper didn't wipe all the way across. I don't know if Glenn noticed or not, but the original wiper wiped 180 degrees, completely horizontal at start and finish. The new wiper must have a gear with the linkage hole at a different radius from the center of the gear, because it wiped about 150 degrees, stopping about 30 degrees short, not wiping the whole way.

Given that I also had the problem of missing parts in my kit, I said 'screw it' and bought the $140 wiper motor from www.tdiparts.com. It's a different motor, with a fully plastic housing (see picture) instead of die-cast. And it's evident that the repair kit was made for THIS motor, not the old one, because the paper gasket fits this new motor, not the old one.

But then I encountered a new problem. After pulling the washer fluid hose off and on a few times, the thing cracked. It already leaked a little, which is common. Many people find that they get a trickle of washer fluid on the bottom of their hatch. But now that the fitting was cracked, it squirted out all over.

After ordering the hose from 1stvwparts.com, I had the second problem from them -- they sent just a hose, with no fittings, even though I specifically said I needed fittings, not just a bare hose. So 1stvwparts is off my list.

So I ended up clipping off the fitting and using a 1/4"-to-1/8" vacuum hose connection (Vacu-tite, from Advance Auto, $1.79) and a section of 1/4" plastic hose (from Menards...you can also get it at hardware stores, or snip a piece of your MityVac's hose). I don't know if the small hose clamp was absolutely necessary, but it wasn't a real tight fit, so I thought I'd add it for insurance.

And it works fine, with no dribbles. In this picture the tailgate is up, so the motor is upside-down and the fluid has drained back, leaving air in the hose.

It doesn't bother me that there is a small part of unwiped area. That area is not in the line of sight.

I have recently had the "pleasure of the rear wash wipe troubles. First the pipe came off the motor when the nozzel froze. Fixed that. Then the pipe sepparated at the elbow in the head lining and filled the boot (trunk) with water. Then fixed that and the nozzel the rotated with the wiper. Took the motor out, stripped it and managed to prize the plastic pipe connector and brass pipe free from the wiper spindle (with the aid of a vice). Cleaned up the brass pipe, greased it with castrol LM grease, and then reassembled. Bobs your uncle, all working fine and dandy!!! Not to mention cheaper than a new motor or a repair kit!! I reckon an anual strip and regrease should keep it working fine. Not too much of an onerous task, as it only takes about an hour, and that was when it was seized!!

I just posted a problem of the nozzle not squirting at all. Should I check my hose for leaks? How can I do that? Could I have another problem?

First I'd remove the little cap over the squirter/wiper arm, and using your fingers or a pair of pliers, gently try to pull out the nozzle. On my '00 it was just pressed in. Then try the washer to see if you get fluid. If you do, then it looks like the nozzle is blocked.

If there's still no fluid coming out, take off the tailgate trim, pull off the washer fluid hose connection at the motor, and making sure that you're getting fluid there. If you are, then there's something blocked in the wiper motor itself.

I wish I'd read this earlier. I just went through an hours long process of dismantling my entire washer assembly, soaking it in degreasers and solvents, only to discover that the culprit was that tiny nozzle on the end, that I hadn't even known could come off. . After hours of unnecessary work, I read this, took that little nozzle off, stuck a needle in it, and now it sprays like a horse's pee. Brilliant. Thanks, frugality.

frugality said:

First I'd remove the little cap over the squirter/wiper arm, and using your fingers or a pair of pliers, gently try to pull out the nozzle. On my '00 it was just pressed in. Then try the washer to see if you get fluid. If you do, then it looks like the nozzle is blocked.

If there's still no fluid coming out, take off the tailgate trim, pull off the washer fluid hose connection at the motor, and making sure that you're getting fluid there. If you are, then there's something blocked in the wiper motor itself.

Click to expand...

I'm have had this issue for awhile now.

Originally I wasn't getting any fluid out and after using a pin and lubricant fluid comes out but follows the wiper arm as described above. I've also noticed that when I use the fluid I get washer fluid under the lip of the rear hatch indicating that it's leaking from within.

Another thing that happens, especially when cold, is that the washer arm goes back and forth very very slowly. One time last week it wouldn't move at all.

I was wondering if I'm experiencing this much of a problem on a 11 year old vehicle should I change out the motor and all?

Any insight would be much appreciated,

Cheers,
Kato

Repair hatch window wiper/washer

2003 Golf TDI.
The first post by MOGolf has it right about failure, diagnosis and repair. If the nozzle rotates with the wiper, a fix is needed immediately. I found leakage had caused corrosion on the park switch plate and contacts, easily cleaned up with abrasive. That put the wiper back in working order. I fixed the washer tube with brass tubing salvaged from a mechanical pencil and an old telescoping antenna, the latter yeilding an internal sleeve for a solder connection. Lucky perfect fit. I could not re-attach the fluid hose to the motor assembly, even with heat. A short length of hardware store 1/4 in. polyethylene tubing was a tight, leakproof fit on both the original tube and the barbed fitting.
I am left with a problem: the wiper stops about 20 deg. short of the reverse point. There is only one way to assemble the wiper drive and no adjustments. What is out of synch? The only variable is the orientation of the motor - label facing in or out, but I cannot imagine that could reverse the rotation and give a bogus stop point.

See my "Remove hatch lower trim panel" for tips.

Does anyone know how to get the rear wiper arm off without crushing the spray nozzle?

VJeffW said:

Does anyone know how to get the rear wiper arm off without crushing the spray nozzle?

Click to expand...

Pull the spray nozzle out with a pair of pliers (note: it's typically in there very tight), THEN use the wiper puller.

The pix are linked, so just click for more info.

http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=103085&title=img-3598-with-notes&cat=6072

I was able to repair mine as well, but with a little more difficulty. I had to drill the broken bits out of the wiper shaft. The remaining tube was a little over an inch short by that time. Not having any metric sized brass tubing, I inserted a piece of 5/32 brass that I drilled out to accept the 3.5 mm brass. That way the nozzle still fits and I am back in business just in time for winter. There was only minor corrosion in the gearbox.
The photo shows the repaired tube ready to reassemble. I built it a touch long and then trimmed it to length once assembled. Luckily, the original O ring survived the dismantling.

Revisiting this thread many years later. My rear wiper developed enough of a leak to lead me to break into my wiper motor and figure out what was up. It still sprayed fine, but would leave a small puddle at the bottom of my hatch lid. Everything seemed intact and I couldn't tell where the leak was coming from. My brass tube was not even seized or that badly corroded. Portions of it still had some shine (I live in CA, so not a ton of use). I finally pulled the little tube out of the motor to have a closer look. When I hooked it up directly to the hose, voila, there were hairline invisible cracks throughout that were spraying fluid like a sprinkler!

I originally dabbled with spending lots of $$ on an Audi wiper motor like in hskrdu's nifty how-to with Q5 aero wiper with the dual spray nozzles that follow the wiper. But after obsessively scouring the nations wrecking yards for a couple of days, I got tired of trying to source all the parts at a reasonable price, and couldn't justify the cost when I knew the problem could be fixed easily (I also just recently installed a new rear aero wiper). So I'm going to the opposite extreme and trying this super cheap fix: http://www.audiaddict.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3450.

Edit: My plastic tubing didn't clear the inside of the larger tube (which is about 3.5mm). I decided to do the job right using correctly sized stainless steel tube I picked up from McMaster Carr today as this user did (I confirmed this was the best fit by ordering several different sizes; the nozzle pushed on most of the way but might need a little filing to taper the tubing to get it to seat fully). But I'll be using JB Weld like Herm TDI.

Will report back.

My nozzle's broken off, but I kinda like it. I can "pee on" tailgating people.

16vws said:

2003 Golf TDI.
I am left with a problem: the wiper stops about 20 deg. short of the reverse point. There is only one way to assemble the wiper drive and no adjustments. What is out of synch? The only variable is the orientation of the motor - label facing in or out, but I cannot imagine that could reverse the rotation and give a bogus stop point.

See my "Remove hatch lower trim panel" for tips.

Click to expand...

Frugality and the above poster both seemed to have the same problem. I also experienced this. I find it very strange because--if I understand the mechanism correctly--the plastic gear just spins in a circle causing the metal gears on the wiper mechanism to go back and forth through the full cycle. So it doesn't even seem physically possible for the angle of the wiper stop to change. Right?

EDIT: FWIW, I did not use the VW kit to complete complete my repair. I used my own tubing and the original parts. Other posters are right that care with the little plastic connector piece is critical as I almost destroyed it drilling out the old tube. I built it back up with JB Weld and I think it will hold well.

And when I went to push the connector on to reconnect the fluid line the fitting on the line exploded. So I cut it off and the injector braided line is almost a perfect fit!

I sent MoGolf's pdf to IDparts as I had a rev C. I now own a 7mm drill and I know that the sanding drum on my dremel is almost exactly 15mm.

Anyone know a good source for the rear washer spray jet only - the stealership here wants $26! The front spray jets BTW are only about $7. IDParts doesn't seem to carry them.

Its not a lot better, but you can get them on eBay for $18 with free shipping. Just google around part no 3B9-955-985-A and you might be able to do much better. In general, its a terrible price on that $.10 part.

I didn't bother trying to repair it... just ordered a new unit... $125 from http://www.roselandtech.ca/VWPartsA4.htm... less of a headache...

Yuri

Just cleaned out the clogged spray jet with fine wire - now squirts as it should. Only trouble is, it has the rotation with the wiper problem. So, I reinserted the jet pointing it just ahead of the wiper blade. Works fine but I suppose the supply tube will break off at some point...

NoSmoke said:

Just cleaned out the clogged spray jet with fine wire - now squirts as it should. Only trouble is, it has the rotation with the wiper problem. So, I reinserted the jet pointing it just ahead of the wiper blade. Works fine but I suppose the supply tube will break off at some point...

Click to expand...

Already broken, and could be leaking into the gearbox....and inside the hatch.

This thread reminds me I need to attempt to fix the old motor/pump. I replaced mine last year with a new unit because I didnt have the time to mess with it then. But now it seems I have some time here and there to tinker.

Why do you think it's already broken? I haven't seen any leakage so far.

SFHGolfTDI said:

Its not a lot better, but you can get them on eBay for $18 with free shipping. Just google around part no 3B9-955-985-A and you might be able to do much better. In general, its a terrible price on that $.10 part.

Click to expand...

Thanks but when exchange and shipping (to Canada) are added, I may as well buy it here. Agreed on the "terrible price" though.

NoSmoke said:

Why do you think it's already broken? I haven't seen any leakage so far.

Click to expand...

It is broken because their is no way for it to follow the wiper unless the brass pipe has snapped into two pieces (the brass pipe is meant to be one single piece). It is hard to picture without pulling it all apart or examining the pieces in the pictures of this fix.

If your washer is following the wiper, it is broken. End of story. If I were you, I would avoid using that washer because it is definitely leaking into your rear hatch door. It is a matter of time before it messes up electronics or rusts the inside.

If you really want to test, spray your nozzle and look at the top of your bumper under the hatch lid, or the bottom of your hatch lid. I bet you'll find at least a few drops of washer fluid which has no other way of getting there . . .

Crap, I thought the brass tube was connected to something flexible (that might eventually give). Guess I'll have to take the hatch cover off for a closer look.