987 Drain Plug and Grommet (near battery) part numbers?

Hey gang, Having exhaustively gone through the 987 parts fiche, I'm buttoning up the final remaining parts I need to include in a parts order. Underneath my 987 battery , there's a large hole that I believe is either supposed to be for a rubber plug -- either a solid plug or a one-way valved drain plug . I don't know what's supposed to be there, as mine came missing. For completeness' sake, I'd like to plug it up (although one could argue to just leave it open). Does anyone have any info as to what exactly should be there, the size, and the part number? I can't find any valved plugs in the 987 fiche for the life of me. Cheers and thanks.

For what it is worth...and I assume you have both the service manual and the parts catalog (if not send me a DM). The pictures below are from Service Manual "front.pdf" page 28 (of 349), and Service Catalog page 152 (of 429). Hope this helps as I couldn't scrutinize.

A huge thanks -- that's a major help, @Hoster987 -- I didn't think to look at the AllData info! I definitely have stared at that "bung/grommet" page a million times in the fiche, and the fact that it's apparently NOT a draining plug may be the part of the answer. If it's 20mm, I'm guessing it's #4 or #5 in the fiche? Regardless, I never found a "valved" grommet in the fiche...

Sounds good and keep us updated....and you probably have this but just in case. Not sure this drain hole locations help you or confuse you more On a side note, just took the hard top off last weekend ;-)

I've seen that diagram, but I think I'm going to go in there with my calipers and take some measurements...double checking sizes and what's where. It's a help! Thanks.

Thank you for your help in the past!!

Aw, shucks, @Hoster987 !

Well, the plot thickens... I went back in, and here's the scoop. I'm pretty sure that I'm missing one standard deep valved drain plug (not a grommet - I still have no idea what the part number is) and two smaller grommets. PHOTOS : The first photo is on the passenger side, immediately flanking the battery and facing the back of the car. I'm pretty sure that the arrow is pointing to where there should be a vented drain grommet. It is squarely larger than 20mm, which appears to be the size of the smaller holes. (Gosh, it's dirty in there! Time for some detailing...) The next photo is still on the passenger side, but in the corner opposite the above. The drain plug is there (facing downwards), but there's an open hole in the wall (see arrow). Is that supposed to be plugged? I borrowed a 20mm plug from under the car rail, which I believe is 99970319640. (I believe the VAG (VW) part is N10124501 and is identical and slightly cheaper). That seemed to fit just fine, but I'm curious as to what's exactly there. Same 20mm hole in the next photo (driver's side wall -- on the opposite side as above). Again, there's a hole that's unplugged (again, see arrow).; I may just buy two of these, plug those two openings, and call it a day. I'm guessing it calls for 803803583A (19mm), but that's like $10 a plug for something that nobody is going to see ever or notice. Anyhow, I'm very curious if anyone with a 987.2 can take a quick peek to see what they've got. Just the two vented plastic panels need to be removed, along with plastic battery cover in the middle. Should take no more than 5 minutes to peek. @deilenberger and @schwinn - do you guys mind taking a peek and seeing if I'm actually missing anything? Finally, I'm all ears per the drain hole plug and what I need to order. Cheers and thanks, everyone.

I'll try to get to this tomorrow.. remind me if you don't hear anything by 3PM..

Althought 987.1 , I quickly checked: Picture 1 - I have it Picture 2 - both missing Picture 3 - missing

Thanks for checking, @Hoster987 - That's really interesting! So it looks like they didn't plug those other holes... but I am missing a drain plug -- assuming the 987.2 is the same as the 987.1. I just pinged @deilenberger and will wait to see what he says. Key thing is finding that stupid part number for the drain plug! Still can't find it for love or money; I may just plug up the other non-drain holes while I'm at it with 20mm plugs.

Keep us updated....the worse case may be drilling a few holes

Looked, took pics - Rotated so the same as your picture: Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18 Show Content Real close up... So there's your answer. From what I can see that hole goes into the fender somewhere outside the body cavity. The one I marked in RED in the top photo is the drain for that area. That birds-mouth design drain is imfamous for plugging up with whirigigs (off oak trees) and pollen and sticking closed, causing flooding in big rains or a car wash. It might be there to keep bugs (wasps?) from getting into the frunk area (and building a nest?) or it might be just because Hans thought it was a "gute Idee". Whatever - I think, based on flooding on every Porsche I've owned due to those drains not draining that they are a " schlechte Idee" (say it out loud - it makes sense and you're speaking German..) Anything else?

So there's your answer. From what I can see that hole goes into the fender somewhere outside the body cavity. The one I marked in RED in the top photo is the drain for that area. That birds-mouth design drain is imfamous for plugging up with whirigigs (off oak trees) and pollen and sticking closed, causing flooding in big rains or a car wash. It might be there to keep bugs (wasps?) from getting into the frunk area (and building a nest?) or it might be just because Hans thought it was a "gute Idee". Whatever - I think, based on flooding on every Porsche I've owned due to those drains not draining that they are a " schlechte Idee" (say it out loud - it makes sense and you're speaking German..) Anything else? [/QUOTE] Don, thanks for the info. Does that Rubber Birds-Mouth drain actually do anything? Mine is missing and do I need to get one / re-install? I don't really drive the car in the rain so not a big deal but even without the drain plug , will the water drain (e.g.,, these plugs are directly connected to the drain hose below)?

I would have taken out the bird's mouth plugs if they'd been there when I got the car. Someone beat me to it - I'm guessing it was the last (before me) owners son who is a Porsche tech. He serviced the car - and I'm sure he knew about them plugging up and taking out electrical components due to flooding. There is no drain hose below - these just empty into the area between the fender and wheel liner.

Hi guys - Sorry for the delayed reply. Thanks to you both for taking the time out to check! A couple of take-aways: 1) Wall Holes : Very interesting (albeit not surprising) that the vertical side-wall 20mm holes were punched out, but never used. My guess is that this further supports the fact that the front of the 987 shares the same components as the 997 ( @jjrichar - you did a great video on this) and these were simply unused holes that might have seen use in a 997. Although they could be plugged, I'm guessing they never were. For $4 in my next parts order, I may just plug them up while I'm at it, given how dirty that compartment was in my car when I got it and if dirt / dust / sand is getting in through those openings. In short, I bet Porsche didn't bother to plug them due to cost, excess weight, and most importantly - labor and logistics involved during production. Clearly, plugging those is unnecessary and simplicity is key. 2) Bird-beak drain plugs -- I've thought about them these past few days. As they're mounted in there very solidly, I'm guessing that one had to intentionally go through the trouble of removing mine at some point in time -- and I wouldn't be surprised if Porsche dealership techs proactively removed at least one knowing the trouble they cause (just as your aforementioned P-car tech may have done, Don). As for procuring replacements, I personally would likely still put one back in to satisfy my OCD "completeness" and would clean them out periodically as I do with the other drains. Again, these are spots that hardly anyone ever accesses (think those wall holes -- which are hardly visible) and leaving those holes open isn't going to hurt anything and may indeed help in the case of a flood -- which is surely more important in the long run. My key issue (again, for my OCD) is that I cannot find the part number for these mysterious bird-beak drain plugs. There's that fiche page that @Hoster987 posted -- that list the grommets. Meanwhile, Porsche issues a part number for every little item (things get more complicated with individual steering wheel components, but that's another story). The fact that I've been able to find every other part for the car to date -- and I can't figure this out -- bugs me. Again, clearly a first-world problem here and maybe some answers will remain unanswered! Thanks, gents.

Sorry I didn't dig into pictures for you... let me know if you still need me to. I had a crazy work-week, so I wasn't able to spend much time here, or go out and dig into the car. I don't think you do, but I can look if necessary... I do recall seeing some open holes in and around the car, and I don't think they matter. I certainly won't bother to put in replacement grommets unless there's a specific need/call to do so.

I'm throwing in the towel I think per my time, my OCD, and my wallet! The closest thing I could find was this: 99656182500 -- which seems close to what was originally put in, but the head of the grommet seems a bit high (not what you want for a water drain). These cost about $30 each. Pass. One thread on a UK website suggested these might have been designed to keep mice out, which is sort of interesting. In the future, if someone finds the correct and exact part, please report back, as I'd be curious. I'm more stumped as to not being able to find the part in the fiche, and I pride myself in being able to solve such riddles! Regardless, I'm not going to plug any of the aforementioned three holes. Two apparently were never plugged from you checking, and the third -- I'd rather let the water easily seep through -- and let's hope water doesn't even get into the battery compartment in the first place. Nobody will see these anyway. Thanks to all who chimed in.

Now I am curious....maybe something like this, drill holes into these plugs if needed....cheap enough if this doesn't work out....who knows Just found this amazing item on AliExpress . Check it out! $1.19 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPWND9s

I think the key thing is that I do like to replace with stock items if I can. I'm not a purist, but this is definitely one of those things that either it needs to be done exactly right or not done at all, IMHO. Anything with the wrong ridges (that isn't flush) per the water level will keep the water in. If I found an exact drain plug for...say...$5, I'd throw it in my online shopping car. But in this case, it arguably makes sense to just leave it out at this point. The risk of keeping rodents out is much lower than ensuring the drain plug isn't clogged -- and more expensive water damage. What's bugging me more than anything, is usually I have a small sense of satisfaction that German cars --each part is carefully numbered and cataloged -- and this one stumped me!

Hahaha..I hear yah..that s why I suggested drilling (or cutting) to replicate the "original" and no pressure in cutting or drilling a $2 piece.