Alfa Pages

[Ian M]

33 went for MOT today and failed on the rear seatbelts.
They have been locking and refusing to unwind on and off for some time now, but today of all days they refused to move at all and so I have to replace them.
Anyone got any lying around for sale??? ALEX???
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Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[lee16v]

My drivers one did the same. I removed it, put the mech upright in a vice and oiled the mechanism from the sides and then kept pulling it out and releasing. It started to work correctly and has been fine since.

[Ian M]

I have taken the belts out now and lubricated them and they work perfectly sitting in a vice (workmate) but as soon as I put them back in the car they just lock and wont wind out
Does anyone know what the ball bearing in a little plastic cage is for in the mechanism ??
Because when I removed it the belts work and still lock when required.
But it must be there for a reason
_________________
Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[john 33_16v]

Hi,

I've heared the ball bearing thing may be some sort of device to basically render a seatbelt useless if removed from the car in case it's crash damaged etc etc

If it all works for the mot with the ball removed then i'd be happy, but would think twice or at least carry out serious research if there are to be rear seat passengers.

John
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If it aint broke, fiddle with it until it is!
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93 33 16v Mirtle Met
08 Fiat Grande Punto Exotica Red
90 Yamaha FZR600 Genesis- Silky white/red/blue

[RFlower]

The ball bearing moving out of its socket (e.g. during a collision) will cause the belt to lock almost immediately it is moved.

This will not be the case if the ball is removed. Although the belt will still lock if pulled out rapidly with the ball removed, it will have unspooled by a significant amount in an actual accident, so that the person wearing it will already be moving forward rapidly when it eventually locks, and will be hurt more seriously than if it had worked correctly and locked sooner.

Not recommended to remove the ball, although the belt may still pass a test where it is simply jerked out. Not fair to your passengers to mess with it, and also could cause big problems if it were discovered that you had done so if there were an accident.

For the belt to work properly the spool must be mounted in exactly the correct position, not tilted even slightly. There are usually keys on the mounting and mechanism to ensure correct position.

To test it, mount it in a vice with the cover removed so you can see how the (usually plastic) tilt mechanism works. It is quite simple to figure out what could be sticking. If they were not mounted correctly you can find the correct position by making sure the ball is in its socket. Possibly you could have displaced the ball when you were handling them before installing.
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)

[Ian M]

I wasnt planning on using them without the ball in place but may get it through the mot and then sort it out properly.
I want to drive it to goodwood on the 1st and need to tax it first.
There isnt much scope to change the mounting angle due to the way it locates into the car when mounted, there is a piece of metal on the back that goes into a hole above the mounting bolt.
So not sure where to go next with it.
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Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[RFlower]

It should work properly if mounted at the correct angle, which is set by the piece of metal fitting into the hole as you describe.

I think the plastic cage the ball sits in may be sticking or damaged. It is quite a fragile piece, which moves a cam which operates the locking mechanism.

If you remove the plastic cover and fix it in a vice in approximately the correct position you shoud be able to pull the belt gently out without the mechanism locking. If you pull it too fast it will lock anyway.

If it locks with the ball in position in the middle of the plastic cage, then the cage is probably stuck in the wrong position, or damaged in some way.
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)

[33bits]

Sorry for not replying, ive been so busy with work lately. I havn't got any seat belts at the mo, someone bought all the spare ones i had for a series of Dash kit cars he is building. But try John at Just Suds, 01257 794823. I'm sure he currently has a spare set available.
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155 sportpack
33 16v Sportwagon
33 Permanent 4
33 16v (for sale)
156 JTS sportwagon
contact me for any 33 parts. Alex, 07896-327708

[Ian M]

Ive now sussed the problem, they are handed.
Having looked carefully at the plastic cages i found them to be slightly different so I changed them over and all is working fine.
I fitted these belts myself as the car came to me unfinished, the interior having been stripped out for trackday use and then
partially replaced by the previous owner with just a few bits left for me to finish.
I have looked at both rear seatbelts and nowhere on them can I find anything to say they are handed.
Still it turned out to be a better way to spend my sunday afternoon than watching our footballers humiliated by the bloody germans.
Thanks everyone for your input, always gratefully received.
_________________
Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[RFlower]

Hi Ian,
Glad you suissed them out, and you've addded a little to the knowledge pool
It never occurred to me they were handed, although with hindsight the mountings are slightly angled forwards to make the belt lead straight towards the guide.
I wasted a lot of time trying to fit 33 rear seat belts on the Sprint until I realised that because the Sprint ones are mounted on the parcel shelf, horizontally, that vertical mount ones won't work
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)

[Ian M]

And it was an easy fix in the end because the plastic cages are just clipped on the side of the seatbelt so I just swapped them over without the need to remove the whole seatbelts and swap around.
_________________
Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[Ian M]

MOT now passed and all i had to do was give the horn relay a wack and swap my little seatbelt balls over.
Not bad for a 22 year old eh???
_________________
Presntly own
Red Abarth 500c

[33bits]

well done sir, always a good feeling when our 33's get given another years of legal use. My sw passed last month after just a set of brake pads were needed.
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155 sportpack
33 16v Sportwagon
33 Permanent 4
33 16v (for sale)
156 JTS sportwagon
contact me for any 33 parts. Alex, 07896-327708