Window winder cable

[Michael Findlay]

I assume others have done this job in the past as this system was designed to fail. Flavia Coupe windows will not go up and down due to snapped and frayed winder cables. I have removed all the twisted remains and pulled them straight to use as a guide to cut the next length of cable and I am guessing that they pass around the capstan for two complete turns per side, more or less meeting in the middle. Can anyone confirm this before I fix the two halves of the winder mechanism in place?

Cheers

Michael Findlay
Port Chalmers NZ

Lancia Flavia Pininfarina 1800 Coupe (going back together slowly before repaint)

[flavia1800]

I have no experience in replacing the cable, but I assume your guess should be right.
But wouldn't it be more easy if you look for new ones? Fiat at the time used almost the same winders. Have a look at ebay.it and look after 'meccansimo alzocristalli fiat' and you will find some. The only thing you might have to change are the studs which might have a slight different position.

regards
Gunther
Belgium

[Michael Findlay]

Thanks for the advice. I wondered if they were common fittings as my Alfa GTV has a similar set up. They were marked for left and right side door fitting as I guess they are mirrored rather than being reversible.In the end they were not difficult to rewind. I used a 1.5mm soft stainless steel cable that you can buy from a marine shop. Mine had been replaced before as the cables were knotted at the winder end rather than crimped. The only tricky part was getting the finished length right. I wound one end twice around the drum and left the other end loose and marked the cable where it contacted the drum having passed around the various pulleys. Add two turns round the drum, pass the loose end through the holes and cut and crimp. But I understand why people hate them.

[brian long]

My cable came off the drum and got tangled around the drum shaft.
The window was then wedged in the closed position using a small hose clip and an Allen key in the Bailey channel . I then undid the three nuts holding the winder mechanism and withdrew it from the door.Cut off one of the crimps and unravel the cable. If it is frayed, buy some more. Then loosen off the cable clamps on the window, wind the cable tension adjuster fully in and liftthe cable off the other lower pulley.
With the drum 'empty' I wound the cable three times around the drum using the winder handle (and with the winder assembly still out of the door. To secure the other end, I threaded it back in through the two holes in the drum and then used half of a screwed terminal strip connector to secure it.Use the illustration in the parts manual to get cable direction correct.
Making sure that the cable was still over the top two pulleys, I gradually pulled the slack cable back over the lower pulleys whilst at the same time feeding the winder mechanism back through the door opening and into place.
Bolt it into position and then adjust the cable tensioner. With about a turn taken up in the winding down direction of rotation, retighten the window clamps.

Good luck.

Brian Long.