Old Codger

Wotcha and Merry Christmas!!

Great thread, thanks guys. Yesterday I heard a bang just short of home, while I was working out what it was the engine stalled, totally confused! The bang was the offside wiper ball joint coming apart and the stalling was me not dipping the clutch! The plastic female part of the ball joint had lost the domed cap section and didn't look too happy, clipped it together again but that lasted for two wiper sweeps! Following the instructions here I had no problem removing the link arm and (surprisingly) the wiper spindle, just fell out. Thought I would share a photo and description of how I fixed it. I've heard about using a bolt but couldn't see how that would work. I trimmed off the broken plastic down to the main part of the ball joint, drilled a 1/16" (1.8 mm) hole through the short cylindrical part of the metal ball joint (in a pillar drill) and assembled the joint using a thin washer and a split pin. Quite chuffed that this worked and should be a permanent fix, ought to look at the other spindle as I didn't know this was a common problem. It's a mystery why it failed. Cheers http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z224/Nimbus227/PC207303_zps36d7239b.jpg

Hi folks, Been visiting here for a few years but had to sign up today to see the photos of the wiper link repair! I'm glad I joined. I've owned a '97 Mk.I Galaxy 2.8 Ghia manual since 2006 and have done 50,000 miles with it. Love it to bits, the petrol consumption is silly (but probably not as bad as the auto version) and it's starting to to show its age. Have so far fixed the sunroof drain pipes, offside front ABS sensor, brake pedal switch, lower rear engine isolastic mount, and yesterday the offside wiper link ball joint came apart (fixed today). Getting to the stage where I have to decide to spend money on it or get a newer one (possibly a diesel) for the meantime though I'll keep enjoying the engine sound!! Cheers