Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell
FIAT 500
► Having just failed the MOT on a lower swivel, the owner of this Fiat 500 was on the phone to me asking for a quote for the job. I looked up the job time and gave a quote based on the book time of 1.2 hours which is the allowance for replacing the arm.
The time given is though quite stingy as the front bumper needs to be removed, to access the front support arm bolts. This front support arm needs to be removed as it hides the front fixing on the lower arm, making the job a lot longer than it would have been if this extra support had not been fitted.
I remember the first one of these lower arms I renewed and was in disbelief at the amount of time it took, and the need to remove the front bumper, because the front support arm bolts were fitted from the front. If the designers had just fitted captive nuts, and bolted the arm from the rear, it would have been so much easier.
But this is something I come across so often, the consideration to the stripping and repairing of vehicles once they have left the factory assembly line is not a factor, as long as they can bolt them together easily at the start.
AUDI A3
► This is a problem that I have come across countless times now, and one which I am sure will continue to be a headache. The rear wiper motor on this 2008 Audi A3 2.0 TDI had failed and needed changing.
To remove the wiper motor, the rear wiper arm needs to be removed, and this has a nasty habit of sticking on the spindle. To make the job a little trickier, the wiper spindle comes through the rear screen, and any excess effort in the wrong place, could end in the rear screen being broken.
If just replacing the arm, I have quite often made a small cut in the arm, to release the pressure on the taper where the arm secures to the spindle, but in this instance the customer was already not too happy about the cost of the motor, and so adding the cost of a new rear arm would have tipped her over the edge, possibly loosing me the job.
Removing the securing nut, then soaking in penetrating fluid before attaching the puller to remove the wiper arm, this one thankfully came off without incident.
SEAT AROSA
► I am always quite aware that even in the nicest of neighbourhoods, leaving anything in the car that may look like it is worth pinching, is not a good idea.
The owner of this 2004 SEAT Arosa 1.0 had taken her younger brother out shopping and he had left a dummy phone on the back seat, the worthless piece of plastic had attracted the attention of a less then honourable passe
