Technical Plastic Windscreen-Bonnet Panel

[Dr Zhivago]

I need to remove a front suspension strut (spring broken after only 20,000 miles!). To remove the nut at the top of the strut it seems I need to remove the full-width plastic exterior panel that goes between the windscreen and the bonnet on my Panda 4x4 319 model. Youtube has some videos (eg by Autodoc) showing strut removal on the previous Panda model (169), but that does not have this panel.

Has anyone removed this panel? After removing a few plastic fir-tree clips, it seems to be strongly glued along its top edge to where it runs along under the windscreen glass. It could even extend under the bottom edge of the windscreen, it is hard to tell. I am reluctant to heave too hard on it because if it breaks I expect it would cost a fortune to replace, "trim" always does even if it is obtainable.

You can see the stud and nut (19mm AF) at the centre of this photo. Things are more restricted than they look here. I can just about get a socket or spanner on it, but at the same time you need to stop the stud turning with an Allen key in the end of it, and there just isn't room for that. The panel is along the top right of the picture and the rectangular "porthole" is to access a wiper blade spindle and does not give access to the strut. I thought of cutting a hole in the panel, but it would be exposed to the outside even with the bonnet shut.

Any help, to avoid me taking it to a main agent?

 

[A3jeroen]

Impactwrench might work without the need for 2 spanners.

gr J

 

[JayAre]

so the car’s not driveable until a new coil’s fitted, which means:
- DIY where it is with all the tools plus safe working area plus axle stands (safe+fit for purpose, and definitely NOT a car jack) you’ll need plus, ideally, knowledgeable help…
- have it transported to a local+trusted independent able to work on this car model
- last resort main dealer
WARNING
1. Both sides should be done (eg you wouldn’t replace just 1 brake disc)
2. Assuming you could DIY the FO yourself, the problem would then be with the NS assembly - compressed coil spring assemblies can and do kill /seriously injure because of the enormous potential energy stored in the compressed coil:

How dangerous is a compressed spring on an automobile?

Answer (1 of 13): Automobile springs are very powerful, and if you lose control of them, they can actually kill you. A skilled mechanic knows how to use the proper tools to compress and release springs as necessary……. but an unskilled individual with or without the right tools is at high risk of...

www.quora.com

3. Also other parts of the suspension may need to (or should) be replaced at the same time, and this may only become apparent when the car front assemblies are being removed - at that point you realise the job is much bigger…
Good luck with all this

 

[lunchbeers]

I removed mine and it wasn't glued, just the plastic screw rivets at either end, anf ai think a acrew in the centre.

I think the windscreen-most edge clicked into place - either way it wasn't a difficult job... I suspect someone has been tinkering with yours perhaps?

 

[Dr Zhivago]

Good luck with all this

Thanks. I am experienced in car mechanics, was deputy workshop foreman at one time. You are right though, this sort of job is not for a beginner.

I think the windscreen-most edge clicked into place - either way it wasn't a difficult job... I suspect someone has been tinkering with yours perhaps?

No-one has tinkered because I (or rather Mrs Z) have had it from new.

The panel's top edge seeme very firmly fixed, but I will poke around again tomorrow. On further thought, it seems very unlikely it would project under the windscreen glass. There is a very thin strip of rubber visible between the windscreen glass and the plastic of the panel, which are otherwise flush with each other. Perhaps I will try prising the plastic upwards starting at one end.No-one has tinkered because I (or rather Mrs Z) have had it from new.

It is poor that the road spring failed after such a low mileage, 90% of it on a rural country road with no speed humps. The break is very close to the lower end, perhaps only an inch or two has broken off, and it's hard to see that anything has happened. The MoT mechanic who spotted it said that modern car springs are always failing - true or not I don't know, but I have never seen a coil spring fail before, even as a garage mechanic some years ago, although I've seen failed leaf springs.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

I’ll find a post from some time ago that shows how to remove it - taken out to access the clogged drains there…

Edit: see here
Post in thread 'Scuttle Panel removal'
https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/scuttle-panel-removal.431064/post-4529477

 

[Dr Zhivago]

Thanks for the advice. I have done the job now, and the attachment of the plastic scuttle panel to the bottom edge of the windscreen was not such a challenge as I had thought. The upper (or rear) edge of the panel has a small square rib on its underside, no more than 2x2 mm in size, and this fits in a corresponding groove in the windscreen rubber just below the bottom edge of the glass. No glue involved.

It was tedious to release the upper edge of the panel from the rubber and I did it by working from one end with a flat lever (one I also use for opening paint tins) levering against the glass with a square of wood as a load spreader. It did not come out particularly easily and there is no way it could all have come out just by pulling the whole thing in one go as Herts Hillhopper seemed to have managed in the post above. I guess the fits vary.

However, getting it back in place at the end of the job turned out to be easy. Having positioned the panel correctly, the rib just clicked into the rubber groove by pressing it in with my thumb, working my way along it.

As far as reaching the top ends of the suspension struts was concerned, I did not need to remove washer tubing or anything else. I just pushed the panel a little way up the windscreen and propped it there with more timber offcuts.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Impactwrench might work without the need for 2 spanners.

gr J

Thats how I do these, I cant see how you would do it without. Impact gun with suitable extension should loosen it with relative ease. Re torqing is more difficult. An impact wrench bought for this has been the best tool I have ever bought bar none. It will also deal with drop links and caliper bolts so money well spent. Clarkes (Tool MArt) are chewap and seem to work. I bought a Ryobi battery tool which is still going well after 10 years. I use it a lot.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Thanks for the advice. I have done the job now, and the attachment of the plastic scuttle panel to the bottom edge of the windscreen was not such a challenge as I had thought. The upper (or rear) edge of the panel has a small square rib on its underside, no more than 2x2 mm in size, and this fits in a corresponding groove in the windscreen rubber just below the bottom edge of the glass. No glue involved.

It was tedious to release the upper edge of the panel from the rubber and I did it by working from one end with a flat lever (one I also use for opening paint tins) levering against the glass with a square of wood as a load spreader. It did not come out particularly easily and there is no way it could all have come out just by pulling the whole thing in one go as Herts Hillhopper seemed to have managed in the post above. I guess the fits vary.

However, getting it back in place at the end of the job turned out to be easy. Having positioned the panel correctly, the rib just clicked into the rubber groove by pressing it in with my thumb, working my way along it.

As far as reaching the top ends of the suspension struts was concerned, I did not need to remove washer tubing or anything else. I just pushed the panel a little way up the windscreen and propped it there with more timber offcuts.

Thanks for the rundown. Some useful points there.

 

[WitleyPanda]

Can recommend a Bahco S140T 14 Pce Pass-Through / Go Thru Multi Drive Metric Ratchet Socket Set, other brands available. You can then put an Allen key in the top. Also useful for the suspension link nut. Fill the Allen hex on the top with grease or wax when you finish!
Whilst can understand the logic of replacing both, if they all from same source, manufacturer, batch, I am less inclined, given the rate of replacement in rural Herefordshire! ( nb shop4parts now using a better supplier, so hope the incident rate decreases.)