Hi,

The grommets around the windshield wiper spindle (that attach to the windshield cowl water drain panel) are completely deteriorated.
I thought I could just order new ones as they are available for many other models.
However, for the GL, they only come with the whole wiper linkage/ transmission (166 820 07 41) for over $200....
That is a bit steep for a new grommet, so wanted to see whether anybody knows of a different grommet that might fit.
It looks similar to the one below (obviously, this is a grommet for another chassis).

Thanks!

 

I looked into the option of trying out the 170 824 00 98 grommets. Even these are really hard to come by and not always available.
First, here is a quick look at the how the damage actually looks (two of the three grommets were affected, the third one was actually in good shape):



When I removed the damaged grommet, I realized these are actually welded together with the water drain panel (166 830 00 28), so I doubt the parts expert at the dealership gave me the correct information.
It appears to get these grommets replaced, you would have to replace the whole front rain panel (which is somewhere between $150 and $200 - still a lot for some grommets).


Rain panel (not my picture)


Looking at the dimensions, these actually look very similar:

front

back

However, if you want to use these as real grommets, the diameter is not enough (ca. 2 inch).
So, I decided to 'weld' them in by using some Ultra black gasket maker.
Here is a picture of how they look squeezed into place (with no sealant yet):


compared to the original, not so bad:


But obviously, there is not much material to glue it to.
I spare the picture with the Ultra Black applied (on both sides - and dried for 24 h) as this is definitively not the most beautiful repair I have ever done.

I think, this can only be a temporary solution, and hopefully I'll find/ or somebody knows of a better grommet repair.
Still don't want to spend $200 on a new rain panel for this....

 

I had same problem... rubber boot for wiper spindle broke and water was protruding inside engine compartment... no good.
I've used your idea of using 170 824 00 98 grommets but just like you mentioned they are smaller in diameter than existing opening hole in plastic of 166 830 00 28 after removing rubber.
I came with idea of combining 170 824 00 98 grommets with 50mm wire rubber grommets and glue them together with cyanoacrylate glue.
I've tested pouring water and everything underneath was dry, no more leakage
Problem fixed.


50mm Wire Grommet

50mm Wire Grommet flange with groove cut out from cone.

170 824 00 98 grommet glued with 50mm grooved flange cut-off

Side Profile

Bottom View: New glued boot inserted and glued with 166 830 00 28

Top View, good to go

 

Wow, that is pretty impressive. Great idea!!!

So far my RTV holds pretty well, but in case it fails, I'll try this method.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks, no problem hopefully will stay that way

 

Hello, I am a new member to this useful forum.
I have looked at the comments on this thread as the owner of a 13 year old RHD w204 C220 estate that has recently suffered major SAM water ingress due to the RHS wiper spindle seals disintegrating and letting in lots of water into the SAM which in a LHD car does not happen This caused the battery to go flat overnight (10A drain with nothing on) and basically fried all the circuits in the SAM. Symptoms are car will not start and nothing works up front with various warning messages and lights. I got a replacement SAM for £300 delivered inc tax (UK respected breaker) and my local Mercedes Specialist installed it for £200 (two hours labour), he commented that it was the worse SAM damage he had seen in this generation of Mercedes. The SAM was not chassis number specific.

I tried to do a temporary repair to the seal with limited success, the seals are not available separately so I got a good condition scuttle panel from a breakers yard (Ebay) for £25 delivered, it took about and hour to fit mostly because I snapped a washer jet nozzle but the old scuttle was a willing donor. The scuttle pushes into a groove on the bottom on the windscreen which I cleaned out and applied Vaseline as a lubricant and it pushed in easily.

I hope no-one will need this information ...... best wishes, Tony

So £500 out of pocket and an hour of my labour and that panel is as good as new. One more tip, if you are seeing this, (water on the SAM lid) slide a sheet of thick rubber in on top of the SAM as a temporary measure, it will save lots of money.

Moral of this story .... keep an eye on the scuttle drain vents and if for whatever reason the SAM lid is removed (mine was to fix a horn problem) make doubly sure that the seal is seated alright and the clips close easily, if they don't then the rear of the lid is not seated properly.

 

I wonder whether this is valuable information for the W204 owners. I believe the GL's SAM is at a different location.

 

tI agree it could be useful for w204 owners, it is just that I picked up on the rotten wiper seals here, best wishes

 

W203 C55 owner watching with interest. Good work OP.

 

Thanks for the helpful information. I have a 164 that has the same issue and the water drain panel (164-830-02-28) is discontinued even if I wanted to order the whole piece. I have tried to measure the size of the grommet that is currently there and it seems larger than the 50mm. Tough to get a measurement without taking everything apart and it seems like there is quiet a bit of rubber that is flat before it turns to the hard plastic. I am assuming you removed all the old rubber, as it seem the original was fused to the solid plastic so was flush. So if anyone has the sizing for the 164 and can let me know if is is the same as the 166 that would be appreciated.

 

I do not know where you are in the world, but a search for mercedes 164 scuttle panel in the UK brought up a selection of used ones supposedly in good condition from £30. They are relatively easy to fit after removing the wiper arms and would save a lot of effort rebuilding the old one. Mine was as you described.

 

Thanks Tony. I am in the states. I did see a few on some foreign sites, but wondered how long the rubber on them would really last. I was hoping I could actually replace it with the panel in place as it looks like a seamless fit between the water panel and the windshield. Of which, I can imagine I will not be able to get that perfect fit once I take it out. I was thinking I could take the wiper arm nut and arm off and slide it down and pop it into place. I was going to use a silicone sealant vs. the crazy glue as it would set up too fast and not be easy to clean up any excess. Do you have any advise on taking the wiper arm off. As I hate wrenching on these types of items because something always gets knocked out of alignment and they don't seat properly when reassembling. Does the wiper arm have teeth that are keyed into the shaft and the nut just holds it down?
I found a compass and was able to use it to measure the grommet diameter with everything in place and it is 50mm like the 166, which makes sense.
Thanks again.

 

Hello, I used a wiper arm removal tool and 'wobbled' the arm until it popped off and yes the wiper arm has slots to key into the mechanism, put a bit of masking tape on the screen to align to. I tried repairing the origin seal unsuccessfully. The rubber on my replacement panel was in good condition as were the drain holes and drain tube.I now make sure I keep these clear. As you are in the US and have LHD the SAM module is not at risk so that is a bonus. The scuttle panel simply fits into a slot in the windscreen and looks untouched when replaced, really quick job once the wiper arms are removed.

Good luck.

 

Thanks again. Appreciate the explanations and the tape trick to get the alignment correct.

 

Same issue, did you find a solution?
jrs

 

My temporary fix is surpisingly holding pretty strong.
So no, I never looked for a different solution than what is described above.