Driver’s side mirror

Anth73 · November 05, 2019, 10:58:05 PM

Finally picked up the GTV from Monza Motors and found the driver's side wing mirror would fold in when travelling at high speeds, say above 80kmh. Is there a way to tighten the mirror so it holds its position at freeway speeds?

Nothing obvious I could see on the mirror housing and no luck with Dr Google.

Thanks,
Anth

bonno · November 06, 2019, 04:11:43 PM

Hi Anth73
Not sure if we are talking 116 or 932 Series mirrors. If it is a 932 series, then the following post might help as I had a similar problem on my 156 JTS. Here is the link to the post on how to rectify with pictures.
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=17791.0

Anth73 · November 06, 2019, 08:33:49 PM

Quote from: bonno on November 06, 2019, 04:11:43 PM
Hi Anth73
Not sure if we are talking 116 or 932 Series mirrors. If it is a 932 series, then the following post might help as I had a similar problem on my 156 JTS. Here is the link to the post on how to rectify with pictures.
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=17791.0

Defintely a 116 GTV.

bonno · November 06, 2019, 09:14:10 PM

Well in that case, I would suggest that the nut has come loose at the base of the attachment point and body and needs to be tightened. Remove mirror by removing the 3 mounting screws to get access to the nut and tighten sufficiently to give sufficient grip and reattach the mirror (refer to the photo OEM mirror fitted).

GTVeloce · November 08, 2019, 11:06:09 AM

Lucky you. My nut has rusted on and I can't get it off. I am hoping I could adjust the resting position of mine (passenger side) so I could angle it to be actually useful. When you tighten it, see if there is any adjustability of the rest position.

GTVeloce · November 09, 2019, 09:53:22 PM

Thanks, I will give that a try.

Anth73 · November 12, 2019, 05:58:20 PM

Thanks Bonno I will try unmounting the mirror and tightening the nut as you described.

ALFAAA · November 13, 2019, 08:43:04 PM

Does anyone know where I can get new glass mirror , my Alfetta gtv mirror is badly scratched.

bonno · November 13, 2019, 08:49:37 PM

Speak to your local glazier, who should be able to cut a mirror to match you're existing piece.

Anth73 · December 10, 2019, 08:17:40 PM

Quote from: Anth73 on November 12, 2019, 05:58:20 PM
Thanks Bonno I will try unmounting the mirror and tightening the nut as you described.

Unscrewed the door mirror and found the tightening nut wouldn't budge, though it is hard to reach it with a spanner and a socket plus driver was no good due to the electrical wires for the motor in the mirror. After several days applying WD40 I managed to thread a 17mm socket through the wires and into the nut, then wedge a small spanner into the socket and twist the nut free.

I'm thinking of adding a small spring washer to hopefully provide a little more resistance to stop the mirror turning in above 50kph.

Anth73 · December 18, 2019, 07:24:01 PM

Whilst I managed to lock the mirror in place by adding an additional spacer washer it's clear my mirror is missing a spring that allows the mirror to lock into one of three preset positions.

Attached is a photo of my hack for comparison with the additional zinc plated washer. Anyone able to show me your mirror and advise where I could source the missing spring without having to buy an entire mirror?

GTVeloce · December 19, 2019, 01:56:16 PM

Is there enough length on the threaded part to fit a spring and still attach the nut? It might be the angle of the photo but the nut seems to be towards the end of the thread. Keep in mind the spring is perhaps 8-10mm long. Maybe that is why there is no spring installed.

bonno · December 19, 2019, 03:03:22 PM

Hi Anth73
Suggest that a S/S compression spring is required of the following dimensions to fit the internal cast recess (outside diameter mm, free length, loaded length and approx. solid height) similar to the one shown at the following link. I have attached 2 x photos of the mirror base incorporating cast recess and the 3 x protrusion to provide locked rotation
https://www.accu.co.uk/en/1280-compression-springs#elasticsearch_id_feature_811008=811008_397&elasticsearch_id_feature_810791=810791_754&id_elasticsearch_category=1280&orderby=ranking&orderway=asc

Anth73 · December 21, 2019, 10:05:19 AM

Thanks bonno and sportiva for your replies. My miror has the three dog teeth that allow it to rotate to three positions and lock in. I'm definitely missing the spring though. Here is my mirror and the nut and washers that were fitted to help ascertain what I'm missing and what has been added over the years.

tpalfa · December 23, 2019, 02:09:23 PM

The problem is your base is broken. The black cyclindrical "sleeve" with the three dog teeth which goes into the mirror should be attached to the base. You should be able to see the fracture marks. Looks like someone has jerry rigged it. I had the same thing and a mechanic charged my friend $100 to put a bit of pvc tube into it that lasted about 5 minutes.

If you get a replacement base make sure you get one from a RHD car as the three bumps on top of the sleeve are different between LHD and RHD cars because the mirror positions need to be different. These are pretty hard to find and people charge way too much for them.

The missing part is a thick short spring that goes inside the cyclindrical "sleeve" to provide tension. This can't work with a broken base.