windscreen clamp bolts

[daugs]

so having resolved my brakes issue I moved on to fixing my windscreen washer motor cover which had cracked. So undid the 2 screws on right hand side ok, but ran into problems with the bolt on left hand side. Most of the cover came away when the screws were undone just leaving a small piece and the clamp. It should glue back together ok BUT can't get bolts undone.

The issue is the lower bolt the main function of which seems to be the windscreen clamp also has the fitting for the cover. After a bit of initial resistance, it now turns freely but does not come out, ie something has broken. But really without much force being applied. Is there a captive nut or something similar in the vent panel/upper bulkhead. In starting to investigate I carefully started on the top bolt but after initially undoing, this has done the same thing, and now turns freely. I cannot see any way to access the other side and no way to remove the clamp. It's looking like the whole top bulkhead may need to come off but beforehand I have been trying to establish exactly what the arrangements are out of view.

Any insights gratefully received or photos from someone who has had to restore their top bulkhead.

Below shows the remains of the cover with the wiper motor to the right and the windscreen clamp to the left. The very top nut is the back of the hinge post, with the two bolts below, being the bolts in question

[AR4412]

Hi David,

The bolts go into captive nuts so removing them will be a pain if they have come adrift. You could cut the bolt heads off, tack weld the captive nuts back in place, (Assuming they don't fall into the void that is), and with the captive nuts held by the tack welds, heat the remnants of the bolts so you can twist them out with a stud remover or a pair of Molegrips. Once out, flatten the welds back so that the hinge plate will sit flush when bolted back on. If they do fall into the void, or you can't get the bolts remnants out, you can replace them with rivnuts.

A pic of the captive nuts for you, so you can see what should be there.

IMG_20220724_201007.jpg (2.18 MiB) Viewed 494 times

Regards,

[daugs]

thanks for that Neil, rivnuts seems to be the way to go, at least one of the loose nuts is bound to fall into oblivion I have no doubt and the lack of welding equipment or a garage with power doesn't help. There are many pluses to being in London, but maintaining an older vehicle seems to be so much harder. Fantastic outing this morning though with my daughter for her karate lesson makes worthwhile.

To be honest, rivnuts had not occurred to me, I have had to fix a loose one previously in a bike frame but other than that not really used them. Quite easy from what I recall.

[Loulou]

Hello,

We can also add that the plastic-synthetic material of the wiper motor cover (identical to the 2 half covers of the steering column) is not easy to repair; maybe some kind of phenolic resin…?

I used a two-component glue (adhesive + hardener) and an interior reinforcement in fiberglass fabric; patience, nimble finger and respect for drying or setting times but it remains fragile.

Good luck

Regards.
Looloo