Could do this

The front wiper linkage on my Prestigeo packed up, i got in touch with the local dealer in St Helens and was told that i could not buy the linkage on its own as it came as a kit with the motor included. About £220.
But guess what, i could buy the motor on its own. :bang:

Have a look on e-bay several firms sell new linkage arms as a rule.

contact http://www.wipex.co.uk/ if one has gone all the rest of us will probably be in the same boat soon.

tell him dave from fiat forum suggested you contact them if you are the first and offer to do a good write up on here the kit is often free

My mate used Wipex when his Stilo linkage fell apart, no problems with the kit and a fraction of what Fiat wanted for the whole assembly.

blueh2steve said:

Could do this

The front wiper linkage on my Prestigeo packed up, i got in touch with the local dealer in St Helens and was told that i could not buy the linkage on its own as it came as a kit with the motor included. About £220.
But guess what, i could buy the motor on its own. :bang:

Click to expand...

Well there's a suprise. I have a theory - Because FIAT could have made little money selling RH drive Cromas in the UK, are they trying to make some back by ripping us off on the parts?

Radlet6 said:

Well there's a suprise. I have a theory - Because FIAT could have made little money selling RH drive Cromas in the UK, are they trying to make some back by ripping us off on the parts?

Click to expand...

Heee heee ....

However I don't think people really understand manufacturing and parts supply.

EVERY part number costs any concern a large amount of money to:
(a) have that unique number
(b) store that part number (physical space, stock control)
(c) make that part externally available to customers (order & shipment)
(d) etc. etc.

Now I'm not defending Fiat but they and all other car manufacturers will have to make a cost judgement on what bits to stock and supply. Ten to twenty sub-parts or a complete assembly. In this wiper case they have chosen to split the product into two parts/nos. Motor on its own and motor plus linkages. Why they didn't list motor and linkages I don't know.

I remember in my early engineering career back in the 70's going on an "Understanding Manufacturing Course" held at a real manufacturing plant. Here we were politely told that the most cost effect and ideal solution for a manufacturer/supplier was to have but just one part number.

Example: P/N = 00000001 a simple stick on label/badge with the words FIAT

Now WHAT IS CRIMINAL in Fiats parts system is the number of parts that are annually dumped and removed from availabilty. In many cases the European 10 year rule after production is followed. If you are lucky your older than 10 year old car with have parts that are used in models much later than yours (pistons, rings, nuts, bolts, .........) If it is body trim then you can be in realy difficulty LONG before the 10 year time.

Less than a year after we bought our Strada Abarth in 1988 many body parts and trim were not available. Even the track control arms with wearable ball joints were no longer available from Fiat.

If you are lucky when Fiat clear parts out they will try to find an indepedant supplier that they 'cut price bulk sell' the parts to. Otherwise they will be just scrapped for scrap value.

Who said "A Car If For Life". Only make I know this is valid for is Ferarri where I gather for every production car ever made you can still get original Ferarri supplied parts. Very comforting if you can afford to buy and maintain a Prancing Horse in your stable of vehicles

Well I suspect they're bundling the high-margin part (the motor, probably made by an affiliated company) with a low-margin bit of metal to make more money. There can't be any other reason, as they have two part numbers either way.

It does seem to be a Fiat trick, from numerous threads here.

I wonder how a car maker's profits from parts compare with profits from new cars? Which is the dog and which the tail - i.e. do they just sell cars at a slim profit so they can profit from parts later?

I'd love to know how much a brand new Croma would cost if built from Fiat parts bought from a main dealer. My guess would be about £200k.

I am lucky as i have an AA warranty on the car so all i had to pay was the 1st £25,you are allowed 5 claims per year up to £500 per claim.
Cost of the warranty is about £80 per year.

wipex linkage kits are normally cheaper than £25 and once you have one its for life

dave said:

contact http://www.wipex.co.uk/ if one has gone all the rest of us will probably be in the same boat soon.

Click to expand...

You were spot on. My wipers have stopped today, stuck in the up position. Motor still whirring.

I'm going to have a look and see what the problem is. Will then get in touch with Wipex and see if they're interested in making a kit for it.

Photos of linkage included, showing broken joint and Bosch part no. Googling for the part no doesn't show anything. Will ring Wipex, see if they can help...

Doofer said:

Photos of linkage included, showing broken joint and Bosch part no. Googling for the part no doesn't show anything. Will ring Wipex, see if they can help...

Click to expand...

Eper doesn't show a part number for it either.

Thanks to Dave for the link, and thanks very very much to Wipex.

I've spoken to a very helpful chap there, who's offered me a free set of rods if I measure the originals and let him know they fit.

I've made some very accurate measurements now. After I've confirmed they fit there should be a set to buy on www.wipex.co.uk for everyone else whose rods are no doubt about to go the same way.

I've also asked a mod to change the thread title to something less useless for others to find.

Came across these on ebay which would work as a temp fix

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WINDSCREE...arParts_SM&hash=item3cbd41c816#ht_2043wt_1185


Whilst on subject of wipers - having devils own job trying to find a refill for the rear wiper until I discovered it is the same one used on the Stilo, Multipla, Alfa 156, 159 and 147.

Now everyone has one.

All fitted, working and super!

I cleaned the balls with cotton buds soaked in white spirit, squirted balls and sockets with white grease and assembled. They just clip on - you just need to give them a squeeze on with grips.

The wipers now work better than ever before. They no longer judder like they have done ever since I got the car.

Pictures attached. These should now be available from www.wipex.co.uk.

Thanks again to Ken at Wipex (and Dave).

Radlet6 said:

Came across these on ebay which would work as a temp fix

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WINDSCREE...arParts_SM&hash=item3cbd41c816#ht_2043wt_1185


Whilst on subject of wipers - having devils own job trying to find a refill for the rear wiper until I discovered it is the same one used on the Stilo, Multipla, Alfa 156, 159 and 147.

Now everyone has one.

Click to expand...

That would have been useful as an emergency measure a few days ago, but it wouldn't eradicate the judder. There's no need for them now we have a proper fix. My Wipex rods arrived the day after ordering, so you may as well just fix it properly. 90% of the time is in removing the wiper arms and plastic gubbins to get to it.

For my rear wiper I got a blade of the right length from Wilkinsons for a couple of quid and transferred the rubber only to the old blade frame.

they look great,

Doofer said:

All fitted, working and super!

I cleaned the balls with cotton buds soaked in white spirit, squirted balls and sockets with white grease and ....

Click to expand...

Yes but what about the wiper linkage???

Sorry but I'm such a sucker for a double entendre.

Ohhhh matron.

Radlet6 said:

Yes but what about the wiper linkage???

Sorry but I'm such a sucker for a double entendre.

Ohhhh matron.

Click to expand...

Wiper balls? Don't fancy yours much

Just off the phone to Wipex and 5 minutes later my replacements rods are on their way, thanks for the link...