Seat Reclining Mechanism

[peterp]

I'm looking for help with the seat recliners on my 330 GT after removing them to do some work on the seat. I put the reclining mechanism brackets back on, and I have the cross bar connecting them, but when I pull on the recline lever, it doesn't release the seat and the connecting bar doesn't rotate at all.

When I was taking everything apart at the start of the project, I found a single large (about 1/2" diameter) ball bearing on the ground in the garage. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was something that came out of the seat mechanism as I disassembled it or if it was just a stray bearing.

Now, with the seat recliner not working, I'm wondering if that ball bearing came from the seat recliner bracket or if something else is wrong. I'm hoping somebody can help help me see the light.

[Jumprun]

I have no comments about the recliner mechanism, and my experince is with a gtc, but when I took my seats apart to clean and lubricate the sliders, I seem to remember the sliders used some larger ball bearing that could indeed get loose.

[peterp]

I figured out the reclining problem. I needed to preload the seat recliners backwards far enough to engage the ratchet mechanism (it is completely disengaged from the ratchet in the forward position). I don't think I would have had trouble figuring that out if I didn't have that ball bearing question lurking in the back of my mind.

I have no comments about the recliner mechanism, and my experince is with a gtc, but when I took my seats apart to clean and lubricate the sliders, I seem to remember the sliders used some larger ball bearing that could indeed get loose.

Thanks -- even though I have the recliners working, I'm still wondering about this ball bearing. I don't think I would have 1/2" ball bearing just lying around on the floor, so it seems like it must have come from somewhere in the seat mechanism. Everything seems to be working fine though now, so I have no idea where the ball bearing would go.

[Jumprun]

I recall there were several ball bearings in both channels, so it is possible it could work with one out.

[peterp]

I recall there were several ball bearings in both channels, so it is possible it could work with one out.

I don't see any ball bearings in the sliders -- only the one from the floor. I haven't tried mounting the seat yet to see how it slides with weight, but it slid really well before I took it apart (and it seems like it had at most 1 bearing before). I tried looking in the body parts manual, but there isn't a lot of detail. It's possible part 15 is the bearing. It specifies a quantity of 8 and is labeled "Tassello per appoggio estremità guida sedile" (Google translates to "Piece to support end driving seat" - its difficult to tell what the part is from the translation).

[peterp]

I'm happy to report that the ball bearing is back in place thanks to the feedback of jumprun and a PM from Cory. For the 330 GT, there are 4 per seat, 2 per slider. The ball bearings could be seen looking down the rail of the sliders once the seat bolts had been removed, which made it easy to see which one was missing. Installing it wasn't too bad -- just had to put it on the end of the rail and use a long socket extension to tap it in -- it requires two taps, once to get it into the channel, and a second time to get it past the bolt access hole.

I measured the diameter of the ball bearing for posterity just in case one is ever lost (since it seems the bearings only come out when you don't want them to). It measured to a very odd size -- 13.55mm.

Thanks for the help -- I don't think I would have figured it out without the advice.

[cory]

Great news.
Cory