Fiat Punto - Wiper Linkage

anishboi

Anyone else drive a Punto?

I know that the wiper linkage on these cars is known to be problematic, and I was a victim of it's fault yesterday.

As I came home from work, the wiper on the passenger side stopped. I popped open the bonnet, to find that the push rod that joins the driver's wiper to the passenger wiper had come off.

In Puntos, the motor that actually moves the wipers is on the passenger side, and the driver's wiper is just moved and controlled by the movement of the passenger wiper. I don't know why they don't do it the other way, but so it is anyway.

Anyway, the push rods and the joints on the linkage in the Punto are known to cause issues, so now that I need to fix my own, I might as well do some research.

I was looking on the Internet for help on the matter, and apparently, Fiat sells the linkage and the motor in one part, rather than separately. In other words, if you want to fix one push rod, you have to take out the full motor and install a new one, and that whole new part comes at no cheaper than 140 euro.

So I'm trying something different. A company called Wipex manufactures special snap-on wiper push rods designed specifically for the Punto, which are sturdier, longer lasting, easier to install and cost only 30 euro.

I found some on eBay...Here they are...

They are made from an alloy which is stronger than the original Punto one, and are said to last 2 years longer. They don't require the whole motor to be removed, and they are said to 'snap-on', rather than screw on, which makes them easier to install. The ring washers on the ends of the rods are good and sturdy, which stops the rods from coming off the socket and getting abraded by the friction of the wiper movement.

This seems like a better bet to me rather than buying the full Fiat mechanism, but before I go ahead and try them I just wanted to post here to ask:
Are there any Fiat car-experts who can give me some advice on whether I should do this? Has any other Punto owner tried this out?

Thanks in advance.

dahamster

Yep, i used them myself. They do the job alright.

andrew163

Funny you should ask this today, I just changed mine for Wipex ones yesterday after the exact same happened (the original link bar thing on the passenger side had fallen off). It's an Mk2 (2003) Punto.

Short answer: Yep, they seem worth getting. It'll take about an hour (maybe a bit longer depending on how awkward your wipers are) of prodding to get them fitted.

Long answer:
Wipex delivered them fairly quickly. The new parts (specifically the plastic rings around the holes where the Fiat ones have rubber rings) feel fairly sturdy, and the wipers are a lot more solid with them on (they judder less while moving).

Getting them on was a bit of fun though. Taking the wiper arms off was the most difficult part. They seemed to be fairly solidly wedged in on mine - after removing the nut that holds them on, I needed to use a big flat headed screwdriver to try to lever the wiper off by placing it under the wiper arm (along the direction of the arm), holding the tip against the top of the stalk (there's a sort of lip thing it can rest on) and lifting the handle up. Trying it any other way just seemed like it was going to bend the wiper or damage something, took a while to get right. In theory, just pulling should work too, but it felt like it was going to take my hand off. Be mindful of your windscreen, a guy on fiat forums managed to crack his while trying to get the arms off.

Once you manage to get the wiper arms off it's all fairly easy. Unscrew the three screws holding on the black plastic panel and slip it off (a bit awkward with the bonnet in the way but it'll cooperate eventually), take off the cover on the wiper motor (just slips off), disconnect the power supply, unscrew the two bolt shaped screws holding the motor/linkage assembly to the body and slip the whole thing out.

Once you get that out, just take the old link bars off (might need some more convincing with a screwdriver), smooth off any rough bits on the old ball bearings (fiat forums suggest very fine grain sandpaper), make sure all of the ball joints are covered in a lubricant (make sure it's something that won't destroy plastic - fiat forums seems to suggest Vaseline, that's what I went with), slip the Wipex ones on (read the leaflet that comes with the new bars to tell which bar goes on which ball joint), then put some more lubricant on for good measure, to keep dirt out.

Then just reassemble everything (which is easier then disassembling everything).

I'd go through the fiat forums threads on them for some other techniques on getting the wiper arms off, they're a pain in the head to take off. Took me a while to figure out the right approach. After that though it's straightforward. A Haynes manual is useful for reassurance that you're not doing anything horribly wrong, but it's not going to tell you anything that you won't figure out on your own either.

Good luck!

anishboi

andrew163 wrote: »

Funny you should ask this today, I just changed mine for Wipex ones yesterday after the exact same happened (the original link bar thing on the passenger side had fallen off). It's an Mk2 (2003) Punto.

Short answer: Yep, they seem worth getting. It'll take about an hour (maybe a bit longer depending on how awkward your wipers are) of prodding to get them fitted.

Long answer:
Wipex delivered them fairly quickly. The new parts (specifically the plastic rings around the holes where the Fiat ones have rubber rings) feel fairly sturdy, and the wipers are a lot more solid with them on (they judder less while moving).

Getting them on was a bit of fun though. Taking the wiper arms off was the most difficult part. They seemed to be fairly solidly wedged in on mine - after removing the nut that holds them on, I needed to use a big flat headed screwdriver to try to lever the wiper off by placing it under the wiper arm (along the direction of the arm), holding the tip against the top of the stalk (there's a sort of lip thing it can rest on) and lifting the handle up. Trying it any other way just seemed like it was going to bend the wiper or damage something, took a while to get right. In theory, just pulling should work too, but it felt like it was going to take my hand off. Be mindful of your windscreen, a guy on fiat forums managed to crack his while trying to get the arms off.

Once you manage to get the wiper arms off it's all fairly easy. Unscrew the three screws holding on the black plastic panel and slip it off (a bit awkward with the bonnet in the way but it'll cooperate eventually), take off the cover on the wiper motor (just slips off), disconnect the power supply, unscrew the two bolt shaped screws holding the motor/linkage assembly to the body and slip the whole thing out.

Once you get that out, just take the old link bars off (might need some more convincing with a screwdriver), smooth off any rough bits on the old ball bearings (fiat forums suggest very fine grain sandpaper), make sure all of the ball joints are covered in a lubricant (make sure it's something that won't destroy plastic - fiat forums seems to suggest Vaseline, that's what I went with), slip the Wipex ones on (read the leaflet that comes with the new bars to tell which bar goes on which ball joint), then put some more lubricant on for good measure, to keep dirt out.

Then just reassemble everything (which is easier then disassembling everything).

I'd go through the fiat forums threads on them for some other techniques on getting the wiper arms off, they're a pain in the head to take off. Took me a while to figure out the right approach. After that though it's straightforward. A Haynes manual is useful for reassurance that you're not doing anything horribly wrong, but it's not going to tell you anything that you won't figure out on your own either.

Good luck!

Cheers for your advice dude...since you've already been through this process and seem to know a lot about it...I might as well take this chance to ask you a few things...

What sort of tools did you require to remove the original arms? Did you need any tools to reassemble the Wipex arms onto the motor? Would a simple lubricant like WD40 do the job or is there a specific one to be used? I know I have some teflon in the shed as well...

Cheers, sorry if I'm putting you on the spot haha

anishboi

Oh and one more thing, the Wipex rods for sale in that eBay listing that I posted in the first post...are they the correct ones? My Punto also happens to be 2003

delly

I got that set as well for my '01 Punto and it was easy enough to fit. The only tools you'll need are a phillps screwdriver and a wrench to take the wiper arms off. Whilst Wd40 might do the job, I would imagine it would dry out quick enough compared to some other brands of lubricants.

I had mine for 11k miles or so before they dropped off again, so they aren't perfect. After this happened though, I ended up wrapping some elasticated rubber around the link to the top bar. This stopped giving the link any room to drop as the rubber kept the tension to help keep it in place.

baldshin

Had those wipex bars for a while and they too fell off in no time, as well as being quite difficult to put on! Instead I opted for these

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/FIAT-PUNTO-WINDSCREEN-WIPER-LINKAGE-REPAIR-CLIP-NEW-IMPROVED-VERSION-/260938458875?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cc124e6fb#ht_2112wt_1188

FAR cheaper and extremely effective so far. Buy 3, stick on on each link and you're sorted.

anishboi

delly wrote: »

I got that set as well for my '01 Punto and it was easy enough to fit. The only tools you'll need are a phillps screwdriver and a wrench to take the wiper arms off. Whilst Wd40 might do the job, I would imagine it would dry out quick enough compared to some other brands of lubricants.

I had mine for 11k miles or so before they dropped off again, so they aren't perfect. After this happened though, I ended up wrapping some elasticated rubber around the link to the top bar. This stopped giving the link any room to drop as the rubber kept the tension to help keep it in place.

So what lubricant would you use?

anishboi

baldshin wrote: »

Had those wipex bars for a while and they too fell off in no time, as well as being quite difficult to put on! Instead I opted for these

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/FIAT-PUNTO-WINDSCREEN-WIPER-LINKAGE-REPAIR-CLIP-NEW-IMPROVED-VERSION-/260938458875?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cc124e6fb#ht_2112wt_1188

FAR cheaper and extremely effective so far. Buy 3, stick on on each link and you're sorted.

That actually looks fairly handy...seeing as it's only a fiver I might buy one of them as well.

Maybe I could try using that clip on the new Wipex rods?

Wossack

had the same issue on ours

took the wiper assembly out, drilled a hole through the outer side of ball joint (theres plenty of material). Put on a washer, and then held it there with a splitpin through the new hole. Took about an hour, and did both sides while I had the assembly out.

At least 3 years later, and no issue. Cost me nothing too

zinzan

Wossack wrote: »

had the same issue on ours

took the wiper assembly out, drilled a hole through the outer side of ball joint (theres plenty of material). Put on a washer, and then held it there with a splitpin through the new hole. Took about an hour, and did both sides while I had the assembly out.

At least 3 years later, and no issue. Cost me nothing too

Did exactly this on our '01 too, solves the problem and is way more durable than just the original plastic fittings!

Wossack

zinzan wrote: »

Did exactly this on our '01 too, solves the problem and is way more durable than just the original plastic fittings!

Think that there was just enough material on the outer side of the ball joint, its supposed to be like that.. cost cutting at the factory perhaps

colm_mcm

zinzan wrote: »

Did exactly this on our '01 too, solves the problem and is way more durable than just the original plastic fittings!

I did at about a decade ago, only down side is there was more play in the drivers side arm.

flogen

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but does anyone know if either of those solutions (the snap-on rods or the clips) are available in Dublin? Or are they all online-only?

Having wiper trouble and need it asap for the NCT.

Toyotafanboi

Wossack wrote: »

had the same issue on ours

took the wiper assembly out, drilled a hole through the outer side of ball joint (theres plenty of material). Put on a washer, and then held it there with a splitpin through the new hole. Took about an hour, and did both sides while I had the assembly out.

At least 3 years later, and no issue. Cost me nothing too

another vote for this.

i done it several years ago and it's still holding up lovely.

shamwari

I tried the repalcement linkages before and they were an unmittigated disaster. Despite being fitted correctly and in accordance with the instructions provided, they detached on the motorway in a heavy rain shower, fouled up the entire mechanism and blew the wiper circuit fuse :mad:

Best fix was a brand new mechanism and motor deliver down from Traynors for around €70. Problem sorted permanently thereafter :cool:

flogen

Sounds like a disaster.

I'd prefer to get a new mechanism but not sure if I'll have time to get and fit it before Thursday afternoon... might have no choice!