If they don't crack I don't know what they do, but the new seals don't always fix them. I rebuilt mine twice. Once with a cheap Ebay kit then with a good kit from a vendor. Still leaked. It was out of the plunger just like yours. I cleaned the crap out of it and looked for cracks never found one. I gave up and got a new head with a filter for $100 should of done that to start. I think the fuel was getting past the apposing seals. Maybe the primer housing swells....