Vectra Wiper Linkages Gone

Inner_Zone

I did it myself.

As above parts from £32 (now) to £100 dealer.
Labour probably about one hour at say £50 per hour.
So £80 to £130 + parts mark up at a guess.

The pushrods with the white ball joints can be fitted with the scuttle panel still in place but it just makes the job akward, a 'G' cramp helps to locate the ball joints correctly.


Correction to my post above the text below was for the actual wiper motor which failed separately:

"But a pig to fit and the plastic grill (scuttle panel) and wiper arms have to come off completely. Will take about 1 to 2 hours to set the timing correctly."

colino

This is an incredibly common fault and the cure that most owners, rather than VX garages, takes about 5 minutes and is virtually free.
After you lift off the rubber seal over the scuttle panel at the O/S bulkhead, you pop the ball end on to the socket, you might need waterpump pliers or a G Clamp, but not usually if it is worn enough to have popped off. You then use a strip of material, ideally about a foot of one inch wide cut from a pair of old denims, and tie fairly tightly the two long arms together. The material is robust enough to last a long time, but it will allow a degree of slip under movement and the purpose is to keep the ball and socket in roughly correct alignment, it isn't a job needing much finesse or accuracy.

pennypincher3562

Hi Colino

Thanks for the advice. I'm afraid however most of the car jargon went over my head. Apologies but I'm not familiar with terms like 'bulkhead' and 'ball end.'

I am however very keen to try the self fix method - as cash is in short supply here.

I found a video where a guy fixes an old model Vectra with some elastic cable. He appears to have just tied it around the upper and lower rods. Do you think I can do this? Is it as simple as it looks?

The main difference I've spotted between my Vectra and his, is that the upper and lower rods are different angles - no idea why.

The video can be seen at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0dzwiMNg_E

If I can spend £3 on this as opposed to £150, of course I will be very happy.

Screen capture from the youtube vid below, where you can see his upper and lower rods are at different angles from mine:



Cheers
PennyPincher3562

tedted

if both wipers are flying about manually put them in there proper place,remove the plastic caps from the spindles and tighten the 13 mm nut up on both of them

pennypincher3562

Hi TedTed

So does that mean that the linkage hasn't gone, and binding things together with zip tie, or elastic cable isn't required?

Cheers
PennyPincher3562

tedted

yes it could mean that as these nuts do loosen sometimes in the frost so i would check this first

pennypincher3562

Ok thanks, and is there any 'tell-tale' sign that the rods would need binding together?

Cheers
PennyPincher3562

Spicy_McHaggis

The linkage on your car looks to have gone.

pennypincher3562

Thanks for that observation Spicy Mchaggis. It would really be appreciated if someone could chip an confirm that using the elasticated rope fix show in the youtube vid would be appropriate in my situation.

The guy in the video doesn't go into the details, all I can see is that he has tied to the 2 rods together. Is it as simple as that?

My main concern is I might screw things up, and the wipers will scratch the windscreen - then I will have an even bigger problem.

Cheers
PennyPincher3562

Spicy_McHaggis

Until the linkage is back together I dint think anything wil work.