Hi, my 96 B has just failed its MOT on a rear wheel bearing and "excessive play in rear radius arm".

I've had a shop around for parts and I'm struggling to find the required rear radius arms with ABS (I want to replace both sides). Some places have the arms for a Punto MK 1 but I'm unsure if this is the same part. Please can anyone enlighten me as to whether or not it is, or when I can an ABS version for the B. I know that there are re-bush kits available but I do not want to go down this road.

The rear bearing is a simpler issue; Shop4parts offers 2 versions of the ABS rear hub, pre and post 99. Although the pre-99 toothed version is the one that fits my car, I was wondering if I could 'upgrade' to the post 99 magnetic versions or if I'd also need to change the wheel sensor.

Any advice on the above gratefully received.

thanks

Hi
You need the ABS wheel bearing from Fiat and the swing arm bush kit. The bearing is easy to replace but the swing arm bush can be a pain.

You dont need to replace the full arm !!

Doc Orange Peel

my barchetta failed on a swinging arm, I bought a kit from GGB's in bradford.
I think it was about the £30 mark

GGB
Rutland St, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD4 7EA
Tel: 01274 733727
I think it is generic with the punto, a local garage fitted it for me, it went through the mot no problem then, a fiat dealer quoted me a ridiculous £200, dont get conned.

Doc - thanks for the reply. I think that I've read somewhere you upgraded your ABS hub from pre-99 toothed to the post-99 magnetic version which is something that I'd also like to do. Is it a straight replacement or do I need to change any other parts/sensors to accomodate it?

Also, are there any special tools needed to re-bush the swing arm (e.g. what do I need to drift out the old bush). My usual garage doesn't want to do the job if it's not a straight replacemnt so I thought I'd have a go myself. Are there any step-by-step guides available? I've read the one from Barchetta-Lexikon but as I don't speak German I've had to rely on the nonsensical translation.

Thanks

Bonian - thanks for the reply. How much did you r local garage charge to re-bush the swing arm? My usual garage doesn't want to do the job if it's not a straight swap and it's not overly complex I thought I'd have a go at doing it myself.

they charged me £110 labour, BUT that was to fit new rear brake discsand pads, and fit the new rear swinging arm bush kit. The guy at the garage told me its basically like working on a fiat punto, so in theory it should be a cheap car to run, service and repair as long as you stay away from the main dealers.

Hi
When you place your order with Fiat for the rear bearings you will have no chioce but to get the new style ABS bearing so its a simple part upgrade and swap. Make sure fiat order you the ABS bearing as the bearing now looks almost the same as the non ABS one. I had the wrong set given to me and had to fit them twice. Fiat at first would not take them back as I had fitted them !!! After a few words the problem went away.

When changing the bearings you will need to order four wheel alignment spikes as removing them for the first time to get at the bearing can be a pain and you will stuff them up. You are only looking at a few pound so its no big deal but can be a pain if you have stuffed the originals and have no replacments.



Hope this helps.

The swing arm bush kit is a pain to do as the old bush can be stuck in and a pig to get out, but no real special tools are needed apart from a big hammer ;-)

Thanks for the advice guys. I've ordered my parts today and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the jobs this weekend.