FIAT Punto (1994 - 1999) - Grating hinges and wonky doors

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 20 Sep 2007 22:47
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
Bought an old FP to get me by until the new car arrives. Both doors make an awful noise when opening - a sort of grinding noise as though the hinges are knackered. One of the doors moves so much on the hinges that it actually hits the wing upon opening! Other than this and a broken rear wiper mechanism it seems fine for £300 with tax and MOT until March to get me till Christmas when the new one lands!

Anyone know how easy this is to fix on a Punto please?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 20 Sep 2007 23:20
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Chris M
I don't know about the hinges but I stripped the rear wiper motor on ours. It was siezed solid but works perfectly now. It was a really satisfying job to do and it cost nothing!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 21 Sep 2007 00:22
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
Cheers Chris.

I can hear a click when I turn it on but nothing happens.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 21 Sep 2007 00:42
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Gromit {P}
Sounds as though the relay that reverses the wiper motor is gone. Its easily replaced apparently - my Punto had it done under warranty a week after I bought it.

A shot of WD40 to unstick the door hinges followed by some oil should do the job, but it's odd the hinge itself is bending back against the wing. See if freeing up the hinges helps first.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 21 Sep 2007 00:53
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Kevin
Don't know the Punto at all - but always check the easy and obvious first.

For the door, is it the hinge pins that are worn, the mounting bolts loose or perhaps body/door panel misaligned or flexing? How you fix it depends on what the cause is.

For the wiper, as Chris mentioned above it is probably seized and a stripdown and clean will fix it but make sure it's getting power before you go to the hassle.

Kevin...
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 21 Sep 2007 17:49
Grating hinges and wonky doors - oilrag
Check straps give trouble on Puntos, has it still got one?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 21 Sep 2007 21:07
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
Can't see a strap at all!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 22 Sep 2007 15:49
Grating hinges and wonky doors - oilrag
Thought so :)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 22 Sep 2007 15:52
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Lud
Have any of the hinges rusted out of the door pillars by any chance?

If the bottom ones have come adrift, the top ones soon will and the doors will fall out on the road.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 22 Sep 2007 22:29
Grating hinges and wonky doors - oilrag
Its not a Merc Lud, Its Galvanised ;=)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 22 Sep 2007 23:06
Grating hinges and wonky doors - bell boy
All 3 door puntos suffer door stay problems,once the door has forced past the bottom hinge stay mechanism it will always groan and hit the wing if opened and left to its own devices,the giveaway sign is a nice little dent in the dor skin and missing paint on door edge
If you undo the plastic fitted door screw off loom and the two bolts holding the door on you can have the door off in a minute and either replace the bottom support door hinge and door stay (all one its the spur thing that strains) or try smacking some sense into it with a hammer
As regards rear wiper any scrappie will sell you a new motor as they were a popular saleable item a few years ago
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 10:29
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
Excellent thanks.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 10:31
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer

tinyurl.com/yq9udf {I shortened link to ebay using the tinyurl sticky at the top of the page so as to restore the page width back to normal - DD}

Is that the part BB please?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 10:34
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
and by the way there's no strap and no rust anywhere either!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 11:24
Grating hinges and wonky doors - bell boy
looks like it halmer
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 11:33
Grating hinges and wonky doors - Halmer
Thanks BB.

Given that I'll only be keeping the car for a few months but don't wont to see it abused I'll try your hammer suggestions first!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 12:01
Grating hinges and wonky doors - bell boy
Its what i would do
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices