General 2010 Fiat Panda - Parts recommendation

[koalar]

Update on the car:
Replaced the coils and everything is running as it should.

And then the handbrake cable dropped, caught on a big rock or something, and snapped when I was parking up in a farmyard - haha!

It's only on the passenger side, but do people recommend replacing both sides?

That's a difficult one to answer

I have done it both ways, I bought two cheap cables from euro car parts there lengths weren't exact so the balance bar at back of the handbrake was alway at more of an angle than I would like

I have also replaced just one supplies by CES no longer in Crewe with no problem and that lasted for several years

I assume yous car is drums and shoes
The drum has to come off to fit the cable, it's a good time to assess the condition of the Adjuster, springs, cylinders, drum and shoes. It's pointless to fit the cable only to revisit the job shortly afterwards, has anything already been done here as there was mention at the begining of the thread

If it's only the cable and the drums aren't badly worn. It's a very easy job, Although you do have to have the car in the air,

Anyone know of a good garage in Edinburgh that'd do this with either supplied parts, or one that's not too expensive?

Sorry I only know local garages to me

You can zoom in on this map

Garages

www.fiatforum.com

But unfortunately out of the 19 garages none are very close

 

[JoleePando]

That's a difficult one to answer

I have done it both ways, I bought two cheap cables from euro car parts there lengths went exact so the balance bar at back of the handbrake was alway at more of an angle than I would like

I have also replaced just one supplies by CES no longer in Crewe with no problem and that lasted for several years

I assume yous car is drums and shoes
The drum has to come off to fit the cable, it's a good time to assess the condition of the Adjuster, springs, cylinders, drum and shoes. It's pointless to fit the cable only to revisit the job shortly afterwards, has this already been done there was mention at the begining of the thread

If it's only the cable and the drums aren't badly worn. It's a very easy job, Although you do have to have the car in the air,

Hey, thanks for the info.

It was previously done (kind of). Turns out it wasn't connected at all last time so when it was previously done, the garage was just attaching it rather than replacing anything. This time it would have to be replaced, at least on the passenger side.

The rear springs have recently been changed, and everything else was okayed by the garage when I previously spoke with them a couple of months ago.

The only reason I'm asking about garages currently is that my pervious one may not have space for a little bit, and I'm needing to use the car at the weekend for a drive up north. I could always take it to a garage up there, I suppose, though I don't want to be driving the car long without a working handbrake.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Update on the car:
Replaced the coils and everything is running as it should.

And then the handbrake cable dropped, caught on a big rock or something, and snapped when I was parking up in a farmyard - haha!

It's only on the passenger side, but do people recommend replacing both sides?

Anyone know of a good garage in Edinburgh that'd do this with either supplied parts, or one that's not too expensive?

Replace both? Depends on how old they are I suppose? If not in their first flush of youth I'd probably do both - but I wouldn't have to factor in the labour. Probably wouldn't save much in labour, per cable, doing just one or two as the drums need to come off and the old cables and new cables then "fiddled" out of and back into the arms on the shoes. Only "common" bit is at the hand brake lever.

Regarding Garages, I've found Harrisons in Leith (74 Jane Street, 0131 555 4443 to be very good, they specialize in Fiat/Italian cars. I get our cars MOT'd there and they've done a couple of clutches and sorted out other stuff when I've not had the time. Another would be Bonnington Mill: https://www.bonningtonmillgarage.com/ Who are Honda specialists, but, being a small family concern, I'm sure wouldn't turn away a nice simple job like this. Again I can personally vouch for their quality as they've helped me out in the past. If you don't want to come into the town, another I've heard very good reports of is Mclennans who are Alfa/Fiat/Italian car specialists: https://www.mclennansgarage.com/. If I think of any others I'll get back on here. If the weather was better I might have offered to supervise you myself if you'd wanted to have a go but, at 77 years young, I'm a fair weather mechanic these days.

 

[jrkitching]

Replace both? Depends on how old they are I suppose?

It also depends on why you need to replace one.

If it's down to wear, then the other won't be far behind, and it makes good sense to replace both.

But if it's the result of damage to one of the cables, the other one will likely be just fine, and I'd just replace the damaged one.

Replacing both is essentially twice the work of replacing one.

A large part of running an older car economically is about not replacing what isn't actually broken.

 

[JoleePando]

Replace both? Depends on how old they are I suppose? If not in their first flush of youth I'd probably do both - but I wouldn't have to factor in the labour. Probably wouldn't save much in labour, per cable, doing just one or two as the drums need to come off and the old cables and new cables then "fiddled" out of and back into the arms on the shoes. Only "common" bit is at the hand brake lever.

Regarding Garages, I've found Harrisons in Leith (74 Jane Street, 0131 555 4443 to be very good, they specialize in Fiat/Italian cars. I get our cars MOT'd there and they've done a couple of clutches and sorted out other stuff when I've not had the time. Another would be Bonnington Mill: https://www.bonningtonmillgarage.com/ Who are Honda specialists, but, being a small family concern, I'm sure wouldn't turn away a nice simple job like this. Again I can personally vouch for their quality as they've helped me out in the past. If you don't want to come into the town, another I've heard very good reports of is Mclennans who are Alfa/Fiat/Italian car specialists: https://www.mclennansgarage.com/. If I think of any others I'll get back on here. If the weather was better I might have offered to supervise you myself if you'd wanted to have a go but, at 77 years young, I'm a fair weather mechanic these days.

Gave Bonnington a call. Great price, but unfortunately no space until 2nd November.

I remember you previously mentioned Harrison Motors, so I'm going to give them a go next.

That offer is extremely nice, though I don't know, even with help, if I'd be the man for the job - haha!

NOTE:
When I'm heading up north, if it was safe enough (I imagine it is) I could take the car back home as I've got a bunch of tools there and someone on hand to help. If there's simple instructions for changing the cable, I could give it a go at the weekend.

 

[JoleePando]

I should have posted this earlier. Here's the damage. It looks like it's snapped at the bracket, possibly due to rust.

 

[portland_bill]

Not easy to see the detail, but the broken end looks quite rusty. Broke because it seized? The other side could be similar.
As the drum has to come off, the lever inside should be checked to ensure not sezied. I'm sure the garage will do this as a matter of course. Probably worth doing both sides, for peace of mind.

 

[JoleePando]

No getting round it now, I need a new bumper for the beast.

I've went round the scrappys but not found anything suitable. I've found a few on eBay but getting in touch with people has been a nightmare to doublecheck it'd fit. Does anyone know if the link(s) below will be fine for my 59 plate? It looks like it'll do as long as I get the right clips as well.

Pardon our interruption...

Second one

 

[jrkitching]

Does anyone know if the link(s) below will be fine for my 59 plate?

Hard to say, given that most of the fitting information in that link is clearly rubbish - there's no way this would fit a 2023 Panda!

The ECP website lists pattern bumpers for the 169 Panda for similar prices; the big advantage is that you could go collect it and check if it fits before buying it. Any of the factors supplying aftermarket panels to the refinishing trade should also be able to help you out.

As to whether a cheap pattern part is a better option than a genuine used part from a breaker, I don't care to say. But I've had problems in the past with the fit of aftermarket bumpers on other cars.

 

[koalar]

There's quite few bumper types

Black
Coloured
Fog lights
Air con
Climate control yes they are different
Some 4x4
100hp
Other special editions
And combinations such as fog lights but no aircon

I have no idea if the bumpers changed from 2009 like a lot of the interior, I suspect not

On other cars I have found third party bumpers to be of very poor quality but have no experience of the one in the advert

The part number should be molded on the inside be nice to confirm the number before ordering anything

 

[irc]

On other cars I have found third party bumpers to be of very poor quality but have no experience of the one in the advert

Absolutely.
Apart from the physical fit usually being pretty bad, I have seen quite a few which have paint flaking problems, despite having been fitted by an insurance approved repairer (who should know enough to use the right sort of flexible primer).
Worse still, some (especially for the 100hp) are made out of part-recycled plastic which is fundamentally unrepairable if damaged (plastic welding, staples, etc.), while still fitting badly and flaking paint.

By choice I would always now get a second hand genuine one and respray it if needed.

 

[JoleePando]

Absolutely.
Apart from the physical fit usually being pretty bad, I have seen quite a few which have paint flaking problems, despite having been fitted by an insurance approved repairer (who should know enough to use the right sort of flexible primer).
Worse still, some (especially for the 100hp) are made out of part-recycled plastic which is fundamentally unrepairable if damaged (plastic welding, staples, etc.), while still fitting badly and flaking paint.

By choice I would always now get a second hand genuine one and respray it if needed.

I did think of respraying, but thought this is another cost on top as I'm assuming the paint used is pricey. Perhaps I'm wrong and if so, great If you know of paint that'll do the job on a budget, I'm all ears.

 

[portland_bill]

@typecastboy is the expert on replacement bumpers. Hopefully he has some words of wisdom for this query.

 

[porta]

I did think of respraying, but thought this is another cost on top as I'm assuming the paint used is pricey. Perhaps I'm wrong and if so, great If you know of paint that'll do the job on a budget, I'm all ears.

I’ve used this company for different paints, aerosols, abrasives etc
I have to say that the colour match was great and have used the ‘straight to metal’ and their plastics sprays…better finish than I got with my compressor and paint guns, but then, I’m not an expert.
I have only used flat colours, Red, White and Grey, so cannot comment on metallics

Advanced Aerosols Home - Advanced Paints

www.advancedpaints.co.uk

 

[irc]

I did think of respraying, but thought this is another cost on top as I'm assuming the paint used is pricey. Perhaps I'm wrong and if so, great If you know of paint that'll do the job on a budget, I'm all ears.

Where possible, I try to get the exact colour second hand bumper, and just do touch-ups if necessary. Except flat reds - they rarely seem to match despite the colour codes, even when they weren'thorribly faded. (Metallic reds have usually been OK).
Used to take a few phone calls to people breaking cars on Ebay etc. but usually I have been able to match colour codes with a bit of effort.

If an exact match wasn't available I would look for something in a similar colour and paint it.

I used to have a convenient paint booth nearby, but it's gone the way of many good small businesses hereabouts, so I haven't had one painted in a while.
It used to cost about the same to get a second hand bumper, (mostly) prep it myself, and get it painted by them, as it did to buy an Unpainted good quality bumper, which would still need paint (and it would also need primer, which the second hand one didn't, as it just needed "scuffing").

I always stayed away from the "budget" reproduction ones because they were more trouble than the money they saved. And the paint guys hated them. Same with front wings and bonnets.

 

[jrkitching]

Except flat reds - they rarely seem to match despite the colour codes, even when they weren'thorribly faded. (Metallic reds have usually been OK).

That.

And flat red is just about the worst colour there is for clearcoat delamination. Look at any >10yr Pasodoble Fiat in a car park and you'll likely see at least the first signs of this. Worse, it's usually the bumpers which are the most badly affected part of the car. (It's not just Fiats; I've seen this on other marques also).

And yes, in the OP's position, a decent used OEM bumper, properly prepared and repainted, would be the way I'd go too.

Just be sure that the used bumper didn't come from a car that'd previously had an aftermarket replacement!

 

[irc]

Oops

Just be sure that the used bumper didn't come from a car that'd previously had an aftermarket replacement!

Forgot to mention that bit.
Only got caught out once, but that was enough to make me careful.

 

[typecastboy]

I use paints4u all the time for rattle cans. Their paint and the customer service is second to none. They do next day delivery which always comes next day. The paint is brilliant and I recommend the Pro XL 1K clearcoat to go with it. You can find them on eBay but for a better service call them and speak to Alison on 01472 488386. Come highly recommended.

 

[JoleePando]

Thanks for all the info, folks. Getting it sorted this week.

One thing I'm a little unsure about, the clips for the bumper, are these generic or are there specific ones? I was going to just buy a joblot on Amazon so I don't have to worry about breaking the olds ones.

 

[koalar]

70726/00 - FRONT BUMPER - FIAT NUOVA PANDA (2003-2009) | FIAT ePER - Online spare parts catalogue

Click on the photo and it brings up the parts


Yes most of the fitting clips and u nuts aren't panda specific

However there are lots of slight variations

If I take something off at the breakers I take all the clips but you never need them all when refitting so end up with spares. I always manged to find something to do the job even if it's not identical.