[any23]

Long story cut to short - So, I broke this wiper nut 4 Years back when my car was brand new and I was fiddling with wiper for some do it yourself task.


Back then it was simply glued by me with the help of araldite (industrial glue) and the wiper was working fine since then, till recently when a stone chip on highway leading to windshield crack beyond repair. As it was evident that windshield must be replaced at the earliest for safety point of view I left my car at Skoda Service Center on 09/04/2022 for windshield replacement, it completely slipped out of my mind to inform the advisor regarding the broken bolt which holds the wiper arm it was so because the wiper worked fine till then, soon I got communication from service advisor that sir the bolt & nut for driver side wiper arm is already broken with the below shared images as a proof from his end stating it was not their fault.




I politely acknowledged that this is in my knowledge and it was due to my mistake that it happened so, I enquired possible solutions to fix the issue and finally got to know that they don't repair this and the whole wiper assembly has to be replaced which will add approximately INR 19,000/- to my bill.


I asked them to make it the way it was fixed before (well elaborated by me) to which they agreed. After a hectic day at office I collected my car from the service center during late evening hours, and in a hurry burry forgot to check the functionality of the wiper arm, drove to home parked my car in the garage and took sigh of relief that a long pending windshield replacement is complete, unaware of the fact what is going to unfold in the coming few days.
Fast forward to 14/04/2022, that day we (family & friends) had a planned brunch drive to city outskirts. I was in my garage and was busy with routine dusting of the car for the drive and when I tried lifting the wiper arm for dusting windshield the wiper arm came off from the stud. It was then when I realized that I had done a thorough check of the car before delivery but skipped the wiper check, so I was left with a dangling and dancing wiper arm.
As per the advice of various threads here on this forum I tried searching for a solution for the issue with a known local FNG and they were of the same view that the nut is broken and nothing can be done to repair this, replacement of the assembly is the only way possible. But deep within I knew this can be very well repaired if someone just want to devote some time and effort to do so, took my car back to my home garage parked it and I thought of possible solutions to the issue, one way was to do it the way it was done by me first time, but I myself was not satisfied with the way it was done the first time around even though the wiper worked fine after that.
Finally, it was decided that the same size bolt and nut will be procured from local market, the bolt will be cut to similar length required and will be glued to the stud and wiper arm will be fixed with the help of nut.

The bolt and nut required for the repair


Bolt cut to required length


Attempt 1 - trying to fix bolt on the stud with help of industrial glue










The final result was satisfactory and the glued bolt has enough strength (tried fiddling with it but it held its place), but wiper arm had very tight fitting to the stud, so it was required to cut the extra glue from the sides for the wiper arm to slide in, in the process the bolt lost its strength and came off while tightening the nut, this lead to failed Attempt-1.

Attempt 2 - This time I decided to push fit the wiper arm first, then glue the bolt to the stud, and it worked, extra glue was applied around the bolt to give it added strength.
Applied glue to the nut and tightened it firmly and left it to cure


Final Result










The wiper is working fine, still I believe better attempt can be made to make the stud and bolt a better entity. Whenever time permits I have planned to drill central holes on both stud and bolt so that they can be glued with help of connecting rod, which will lead to a permanent fix to the issue.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by any23

Attempt 2 - This time I decided to push fit the wiper arm first, then glue the bolt to the stud, and it worked, extra glue was applied around the bolt to give it added strength.
Applied glue to the nut and tightened it firmly and left it to cure
...
Whenever time permits I have planned to drill central holes on both stud and bolt so that they can be glued with help of connecting rod, which will lead to a permanent fix to the issue.

You have effectively epoxy welded the wiper arm to the splined spindle, and it would not be an easy job to remove that wiper arm in future. Skoda does not sell child parts of the wiper assembly, obviously, but then, how many times does one need to remove the wiper arm in the lifetime of a car? I'd say, as long as it works, let it be.

[Kosfactor]

I would suggest getting it to a body shop and welding the broken bit in place. Why?

I have once replaced the wiper arm mostly for putting the new toolbox to work, it was all fine for some time until some cyclone in the east cost decided to make sure that I`m driving in heavy rain for about 200 Kms.

The left side wiper was not moving considering the wide roads of TN I continued, A roadside scooter mechanic tightened it for me free of cost in Chennai, had it been the right side wiper , it would have been very difficult that day.

[saket77]

I believe local lathe shops could have offered a permanent solution.
However, good work till it works.

Regards,
Saket.

[any23]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

You have effectively epoxy welded the wiper arm to the splined spindle, and it would not be an easy job to remove that wiper arm in future.

When I gave my car for windshield replacement they easily removed the wiper arm, and with my recent experience with same expoxy glue in official work related to site repair I think it can be easily removed. Last time it worked for 4 years like a breeze.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I'd say, as long as it works, let it be.

Yes as long as it works I will leave it like that, or in case time permits I will try to get it welded at a body shop as suggested by other member or will drill holes and glue both parts by inserting a rod in between so that the arm can be dissembled easily.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

I would suggest getting it to a body shop and welding the broken bit in place.

Yes, I already had a word with my service advisor at Skoda, will try to get it welded at their body shop if they agree.

[any23]

Update - although I have repaired the broken bolt successfully by fixing a stud in the centrally drilled hole and joining broken bolt part using industrial adhesive (araldite) on the stud, still as recommended by other members I procured the linkage arm from a local vendor in Hyderabad at just INR 2100/- and got it replaced at a known local garage @INR 800/- labor charges, saving INR 15100/-(18000-2900) in the process, Skoda ASS quoted INR 18000/- just for the part(wiper linkage assembly with wiper motor).

Centrally drilled hole and the central metal stud to hold the broken bolt -


Final result after repairing, the broken bolt was drilled centrally too and was fixed on the protruding central stud using adhesive -



The repaired part was satisfactory and was working fine, but I wanted to explore new ways and started searching for the linkage arm locally, luckily with minimal efforts a local motor parts supplier arranged the required part. In the process I got to know that for every minute-work we must not visit the ASS straight away, with some efforts parts can be arranged locally and only the required part replacement can be done to save money. Also, it is important to have good terms with a local FNG to maintain our rides in good shape, it is so because the Skoda ASS was of no use in my repair case as they believe in just replacing the parts - no repairs.
The locally procured wiper linkage arm, motor was not required as motor was working fine -



Now, I have the other linkage arm with me, so the next step is to get the broken bolt repaired by a vendor at my office so that it can be used later or sold to someone in need.

I thank all the members for their valuable suggestions and feedback.