Looking for a volunteer, for a little project I'm undertaking.

On the 9n/9n3 platform there is the following arrangement at the A-pillar to keep water out of the door loom connections (there being some plug/socket connectors under there, to be able to completely detach door loom):

To waterproof it well, that arrowed area needs to be snug-fitting up against the paintwork.

If never touched since built, or if the rubber has been removed and very carefully fitted back, it should do a great job of keeping wet stuff out of there.

There's a plastic fitting at each end of the rubber bellows that the rubber fits onto, and then that fitting snaps into place in the A-pillar.

Here's an image of a bellows where the plastic frame has broken whilst being removed. It will no longer hold the bellows up against the paintwork. This is the A-pillar end, the fitting at the door end is different in shape and colour (blue).

If such breakage has happened, or the rubber has been poorly fitted back on the frame that has stayed complete and in position, leaks will happen, and the non-waterproof connectors under there will suffer corrosion damage.

Once upon a time, you could buy that white plastic frame on its own, as part number 6Q0959550Q.

Then you couldn't, but you could buy the whole rubber bellows including both end fittings pre-fitted, part number 6Q0959843M for around a tenner, which wasn't bad value.

Until they discontinued it last November (2024).

So now you're a bit stuck if you have a broken plastic frame.

Has anyone near Swindon or Oxford got a 9n/9n3 with this problem? I'm looking for a car with a damaged plastic frame, and consequently a vulnerability to water damage, on which to test-fit a 3D-printed replacement part.

No cost to the first volunteer.

Pics of the printed prototype in the next post.

This may do the trick.

I've got a 2003 Ibiza spares car, not sure if that's any use to you? If you want to experiment a bit with it, I'll quite happily chop the section out of the pillar and send it to you?

@Yeti that's an amazing offer.

I just had a look at the Ibiza equivalent of the bellows fitting at that end, and it looks similar but not identical.

I might buy an Ibiza bellows (still available allegedly) for direct comparison and get back to you if they do appear to be compatible fitment-wise.

I know that the Skoda Fabia mk1 version is a little different, although it seems very likely that the hole in the body steelwork is the same across all platform sisters.

Cheers!

Edited 29 August, 20251 yr by Pete1

Well deutscheparts did their usual delivery magic via Ebay and got me an Ibiza bellows by yesterday morning.

Part number is 6L0959843, and is allegedly still available from Seat at only £6-£7 territory. Might order a few.

So the three sister cars have three different interpretations of this white clip part.

Edited 31 August, 20251 yr by Pete1

There are some dimensional differences, the Fabia being the obvious odd one out, with different clip widths top and bottom.

Shown against Ibiza one here.

The connector holder that sits in the A-pillar hole has reliefs for these projections/clips. The same connector holder is used in Fabia and Ibiza, but the Polo one is different (connectors are different that fit into it).

I think from looking at the three varieties, the Ibiza one will fit in a Polo, and looks to be the most robust of them all, in terms of being removable without breakage.

I will try to get the Ibiza one drawn up and printed, while awaiting someone with a Polo needing a replacement to test it, and my existing printed ones on. 😁

Here's the Ibiza one fitting fine in the Fabia.

Edited 31 August, 20251 yr by Pete1

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share an updated version of the connector holder based on Pete’s original model.

It took me a few test prints, but I managed to improve the design by slightly enlarging the clips. This makes them more flexible and much less prone to breaking compared to the original part.
I printed it in PETG with a 0.16 mm layer height, and it fits well in my VW Polo.

Huge thanks to Pete without the original model this wouldn’t have been possible.
Hopefully this helps other Polo owners who are dealing with the same issue.

Files attached below.

Cable_Clip.rar