Wiper linkage cable ties fix with photos

[richardn]

OK, yesterday my passenger side wiper stopped working. I remembered the wife's car having the same problem fixed under warranty, but mine is a 55 plate and hence well out of it.

Having looked around the forums I've seen a few mentions of fixing the problem with cable ties / tie wraps but couldn't find any photos. So I thought I'd try to take some pics while I had a go at fixing the linkage.

Attachment 44591

On opening the bonnet I could just see through the plastic grill covering the linkage that one of the arms had come off.

Attachment 44592

Pull the rubber sealing strip off up to about half way across the engine bay. Lift up the corner of the plastic cover over the linkage (you'll have to peel back the sticky foam block at the outside end to do this)

Attachment 44594

Then wedge the cover up with something. Luckily I had a block of scrap wood just the right size.

Attachment 44593

Now I could see the bottom arm hanging off. Low and behold, pre facelift brown ball and socket joints.

Attachment 44595

Sprayed some grease into the socket for good measure.

Attachment 44602
Attachment 44603

I'd read in another post that there's not much room in there, so I used a special tool (wire coat hanger modified) to lift up the lower arm.

Attachment 44597
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A bit of finger pressure and it clicked back into position. Be careful of the metal edge where the rubber sealing strip was, it's sharp enough to cut.

Attachment 44599

I had some 200mm x 2.5mm wire ties in the garage, so I bent them a bit to get them over the top of the linkage and come back towards me underneath. The special tool was handy again to coax the ends up to where I could grab them.

Attachment 44600

I put two cable ties on because this had been mentioned in other posts. I suppose you might get away with one wider one, but it might be more difficult to fit if it isn't very flexible.

I tightened the cables up, but nut really tight. They need to hold the bottom arm on, but also need to be slightly slack to allow for movement of the link arms.

If you start the wipers at this point you'll be able to see the amount of movement there is. I was a bit worried that the wiper arms might catch on the bonnet when it was raised, but they don't.

Attachment 44601

I just tightened the ties to where they looked as if they weren't under any strain, but they were holding the joint together, then clipped the excess off.

Put the cover and foam block back, refit the sealing strip, and job done. I think it took half an hour including time to take the pics.

I understand there are new link arms available on eBay, but being tight I thought I'd try this quick fix first and see how long it lasts.

Hope this is helpful for someone.

[big jon]

good job rich good photo,s as well always helpful

[Kev_G]

cracking work going to look at mine later

[dh.dti]

That's exactly what i did on my old preface, the temp fix lasted the whole 2 years while i owned the motor & is probably still holding the linkage in place now 4 years down the line

[lee gsi]

Is it just the arm sockets that wear as you can get new arms for £26: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIGNUM-VECTRA-...item5ae1867cb6

[triple595]

i do like homemade repairs, cable ties are great

[Rob12]

my passenger side wiper, judders a bit and doesnt always park back fully quite often a good few inches up the windscreen. Is my wiper linkage thing on the way out and would the cable ties help ?

[Ste]

A top tip is to add another cable tie on the upper arm ONLY and pull quite tight just to the right of the 2 tie wraps (as shown in the last picture, about where the second crimp is located). this stops the tie wraps slipping along the arm and as there is more relative movement the further you go along the arm can snap the tie wraps.

I did this temporary repair to mine about 4 years ago, and it's still working as a temporary repair.

[tubby]

Ive almost done the samething but i used an old football boot lace!

[kentish_bloke]

I had this problem a few years ago & solved it in a similar way by putting a cable tie each on the arms & linking them with a 3rd tie, so its a bit like a chain, giving a bit more flexibility. Had no problems since.