Tech Tips

61.) LED modified rear lamps.

You can always easily revert to the old lights if needed.

*** Update 2026:

Nowadays, it's also possible to experiment with various types of LED bulbs replacements for the original ones. This is also a simpler solution than the one mentioned above.
*** Whether it is legally permitted and whether the situation still complies with official regulations, I do not know. ***

Anyhow if the original bulb housings are melted or damaged, the LED replacement as mentioned above is a good and E-approved option.

62.) A squeaky clutch pedal.

This is not a real SZ / RZ problem ( also 75, Alfetta etc. ), but it is so common and annoying, that I would like to mention it anyhow in the Tech Tips.
I always have that problem resolved as follows: You start with a pair of thick papers to cover the floor and then you spray the clutch pedal mechanism and the associated spring well with WD-40. Then press several times in the clutch until it no longer squeaks.
If you're at it, you can also give the steering column slide shaft - for the lateral and axial adjustment of the steering wheel- also a spray with WD-40, so that everything there is functioning properly again as well.
Then you will leave the papers overnight to prevent pollution of the carpet.

A Dutch registry member found another solution and discribed it as follows:

It is the squeaking and creaking clutch pedal:
Really terribly irritating I found it, you felt it crunch also in the pedal. Sometimes it was just gone, but then it started again.
The problem is that the crank arm is pivoted to a shaft that is connected with a cotter pin in the bracket.
The crank has lateral play, causing it to twist in the shaft against the bracket (metal on metal). Grease does not help much.
I now have the problem resolved - and still functioning over a years period - with a plastic / teflon washer ( hardware strore, costs almost nothing) of approximately 1.5 mm thick.

By cutting a small strip of the ring, you can push it on to the shaft between the crank and the inside of the bracket. It takes some tinkering ( in the dark ), but the slack is gone.

The now sandwiched washer remains well in place if you give it some grease.

An extra advantage is that the pedal feels much smoother and tighter.

Shaft disassembly is also possible, but accessibility is bad so I prefered not to start with that option.

63.) SZ rear little leather box.

a.) At the rear bottom side from the SZ you can find a leather box to store some little things in.

This small storage box is fixed with but only two hidden screws.

It was not too firmly mounted, because it must also be able to be easily taken out again, to reach the pulse generator schould be something wrong with it.

Okee,..what did they do at ZAGATO,... you still can see it on that box:

Because they wanted to hide the screws, they made into the leather two small incisions of about 2 millimeters.

At those places were the screws (with a very small head) almost horizontally screwed through the leather of the plastic box.

If the screw was almost completely screwed into the box, they pulled the leather over the "head" from the screws and the screw got tightened the last turn with a small screwdriver to hide it completely under the leather.

People who do not know this will try to pull the box out somehow, to put it back later with the screws on another place as you can see in at the pictures below.

Screws - with a smaller head - do need to go trough the small cut in the leather at the green arrow.

b.) Another problem is that at several SZ's the little leather handle on the cover got lost. This "handle" has been mounted with a very short screw with a very wide head on it. It isn't a very secure way to mount this item. Best to check and to put also some glue between the leather handle and the cover before putting it back together again.

64.) Rheostat alternative ( little light dimmer / potentio meter ) / repair.

This ( expensive little ) part often does not function properly.

Sometimes they spontaneously fallen apart behind the Kevlar panel, and if you are lucky the both halfs can be put together again with a piece of tape, to make this item function again.
And,...sometimes they will fall apart if you need to take out the kevlar panel for another reason.

So if you need do that it will be best to put the steeringwheel in the most outer and lowest position to create some room.

Unscrew the black ringnuts from the rheostat and the dimmer knob.

Unscrew the 4 imbus bolts from the instrument panel.

If you have the four screws removed ( sometimes you also have to make more room by unscrewing also the bolts from the panels sitting the left and right side ), you can pull the panel toward you,.. wiggle it a bit to the left and right, up and down and be careful near the spot where the dimmer is mounted on the panel otherwise you will pull it apart.

To make it easier, you can remove the fuse box panel and push the instrument panel towards you from behind.

Sometimes Zagato made a mistake in wiring correctely and they swapped the function from yellow and white wire somewhere in the cable tree. Than a "repair" can be simple,.... you have to swap the connectors,...so that yellow goes to white and white goes to yellow.

Another problem is that the sliding contact on the inside no longer makes good contact with the lower contact part. The best thing is to clean everything with contact spray and bend the sliding contacts towards the lower contact plate if necessary.

Then properly attach the housing to each other and test whether everything works properly again.

As almost everything for our cars those items are since several years not available anymore, but a registermember found an alternative.

The Ferrari 348 and F355 rheostat #134406 is the same model as on ours Alfa Romeo ES30 ( REA Milano MLX-01 ).

The part with knob and connections are different, so you have to swap them with those of the original models. Nothing very difficult.

These Ferrari's parts are very expensive new, but maybe you can find a used one.

65.) Heater fan failure...... or Possibly NOT!!!

This is a problem that can occur on Alfa Romeo 75's (Milano) as well as SZ & RZ's. To replace the heater fan requires removal of the complete heater unit, which in turn means complete removal of the dashboard and centre console. ( *** Update: see techtip 83. )

What causes the failure?

The heaterbox is situated under the dash behind the centre console. If you look upwards from either footwell you can see the outlets that direct air onto the feet.

DRIVER’S SIDE

PASSENGER's side

Occasionally, one of the semi-circular flaps can fall out when altering the position control. It can then fall inside the heaterbox and become caught up in the fan. If you hear a rattling / vibrating noise from the heater fan, then switch off the fan straight away. If you are lucky you will prevent the fan from becoming jammed and burning out.

You should be able to fish out the lost plastic flap from the heater box with your fingers or long nose pliers. (After switching off the car of course!). You may well then find that the flap is damaged or bowed. This is often caused by many years of hot air flowing over them and is what causes them to become detached in the first place.

When putting the flaps back it is good practice to straighten and strengthen them. Do this by glueing a small sheet of aluminium or kevlar across them.

Be careful not to make the repair too heavy otherwise the flaps will not open properly anymore.

If you have been UNLUCKY then the flap will have jammed the fan and even when the bits are removed the fan will not work. If this is the case, you have one chance left before you have to remove the dash. ( *** Update: see techtip 83. )

This is if the heater fan resistor has burnt out instead of the fan motor. The fan speed resistor is not meant to act as a fuse, but if you are lucky it has melted and opened the circuit before the fan motor has overheated and melted internally.

The fan speed resistor is approximately the size of a matchbox and hidden in the heater box on the driver’s side. It is in fact a circuit board with wire coil resistors. It will have four wires going to it: a large red wire and smaller purple, grey and yellow.

To locate the resistor, remove the driver’s side centre console carpet panel. It is held in place with one brown plastic plug. Remove the plug and wriggle the panel out.

You will then be able to see the resistor pack. It is held in position with a metal spring clip. Prize this off with a small screwdriver, being careful to catch it as it pings off. Then inspect the circuit board.

Alfa have used a few different styles over the years, ( see the pictures below ) but they essentially all work in the same manner. If you are unable to locate a replacement, ( Not available from Alfa Romeo for many years ) then you can repair yours using a 30 Amp fuse.

You will see the metal coils that act as different resistors to control the various speeds. You will also find a metal bridge between two poles on the board (In the red box in the picture). This joins the positive feed between the resistor and the full speed output. You will likely find that this is what has melted / burned out, thus cutting off power to the fan motor.

You can repair this by soldering a 30Amp fuse across the poles as shown in the top picture and by the blue arrow in the bottom picture. After which, in the future, if the fan becomes jammed, the fuse will blow before the fan motor burns out.

Another option is to fuse the connector points on the back of the circuit board, by doubling the existing connector points.

If you will make that repair / mod., than please send me some more pictures to visualize this techtip a bit more !!!

66.) Rear Spoiler.

The spoilers came in different types. The first spoilers were moderately detailed and had a massive inside, later you got hollow ones.

A.) But there was also a difference in mounting them during production.

To take off the spoiler you need to remove the rear luggage belts, the speakershelf and the interior trim from the inside of the C-pillars.
You will find 2 big holes at each side.

I found out that there are spoilers attached by 4 long bolts going from the inside out into the spoiler.

But,...much better and easier to install are the versions wich have 4 threaded ends screwed into the spoiler.

Someone can hold the spoiler at the outside during installing. The threaded ends are on the right spot and will dive into the big outside holes. At the inside things are tightened simply by nuts. Wich can be done easier than the bolted solution, because working space in those tight corners is very limited.

This works muchs easier and prevents a lot of fiddeling around to stick in the blind bolts from the inside trough the holes into the spoiler etc.
In the past I had conversion kits with the right size of threaded ends etc. But an easy mod to get done by yourself.

B.) If the spoiler is off, than it is a good idear to spray some rustprevention stuff into those big holes. The C-pillars are "famous" because of rusting at the bottom outside above the rubber trim etc.

C.) As soon as you install the spoiler again, take care of enough sealant to be put under the spoiler to close those big holes at each side, otherwise water can easily enter the C-pillars with all the nasty consequences to go with that.

67.) Air conditioning belt tensioning pulley

A part rarely checked is the air conditioning belt tensioning pulley. This part can often have excessive play due to bearing wear.
The original part 60534564 is no longer available.
The solution is to replace the bearing using SKF bearing part number: SKF 63004 2Rs C3.
The original bearing is pressed into the pulley and swaged over from behind. To replace the bearing either you require a large press to push it out and expand the swaging, or you need to machine or grind off the swaging first and press it out with less force.

The new bearing then should be mounted using green Loctite. If any of the swaging is left, then it can be re-peened back over just to be sure, but it does not appear essential and a test for over 300Km has been carried out satisfactorily.
The swaging is on the back of the pulley and so cannot be seen once refitted to the car.

68.) Rear wheel bearings SZ / RZ.

SZ / RZ's that have not or rarely have been used often get problems with the rear wheel bearings. They will make noises.

The producer of these bearings was S.K.F. and there they were known under part number: 305988 D.

S.K.F. did not want to produce them anymore and what they still had were just bulk packs of at least 18 pieces.

After I had contact with S.K.F several times over the years, it turned out that these bearings were also used in certain Porsches (924 S?). Porsche used the Part number: 999.05302000 or 999.05302001 to sell them, but on those bearings was the S.K.F. partnumber printed as above.

So we were lucky enough to be able to get rear wheel bearings through the Porsche dealers etc.

Over time S.K.F. did let me know that there was another alternative and that was a B.M.W. bearing with the B.M.W. partnumber: 33411135549 and S.K.F. part number: BA2B309609AD

The strange thing is that S.K.F. still produces or produced wheel bearing kits with the kit code: VKBA 1319 wich include that B.M.W. bearing.
But the strangest thing was that these kits were even cheaper than the individual bearings !

One part of these kits was the necessary alternative rear wheel bearing for our cars. So you can throw away the rest of the kit and use that bearing alone.

Try your luck by finding one of the above alternatives.

Please let me know if you find another source for those rear wheel bearings. If you can't, than I might have one other option. You can ask me.

69.) Refurbishing the dashboard / Trick to camouflage a small gap.

At some SZ's the leather from the dash or between dash and glovebox schrunk over the years, pulling it away from the seams.

If the gaps are very wide than the only possible solution is to have the complete dashbord out and to have it recovered with black "leather" again.

But taking the complete dash out is not the simpelest job to do.

A simple repair to cover a small gap - preferably narrower than shown below - can be done in de following way.

To explain it by means of pictures, I used a piece of beige leather.

Ask someone who can sew leather. Fold a strip of black leather(-ette) in length and over that length sewing in a piece of rope or something like it.
This gives the middle in the length a kind of tubular form wich can be enough to cover a small gap.

The flat part you can work between the dashboard and the air strip or between the dashboard and the glove compartment.

The tubular visible part will cover up / camouflage a gap from a few mm's.

Not completely the same as original, but a nice way to prevent recovering the complete dash, without doing too much violence to the original situation.

If someone will make a repair in this way, please make some pictures so that I can upgrade this topic. Thanks !

70.) How to adjust the doors and an alternative for the SZ/RZ door hinges.

Actually very easy.

The hinge mountings on the A-post are adjustable.

The backplates that act as captive nuts are held in a cage.

So simply loosen the 3 bolts (M5 Allen key bit) and the hinge can be moved in or out.

If you need to move the whole door up or down then obviously you have to loosen both hinges together.

The skill is to loosen them enough so that they move, but stay tight enough to stay in position so that once moved you can tighten them again.

Maybe the backplates in the A pillars have fly rusted to the metal of the A pillars inside or anti corrosion material "glued" them, giving the impression that it is a fixed plate.

Maybe loosen the bolts a bit more and than rattling the door a bit up and down to see what's happening, maybe the use of WD-40 can help, but sometimes more extreme measures will be needed !

The mountings inside the door itself are not adjustable.

The SZ / RZ doorhinges are the same as the door hinges used on the "Alfasud SPRINT" as shown at the picture below. ( so not the ones on a normal SUD ).

The partnumber for the upper hinges is: 60536212 and for the lower ones: 60536214.

But also at the Lancia Hyena doors those hinges have been used !

71.) Glovebox lock SZ & RZ.

Back to the..... PAST.

The glovebox lock for the SZ / RZ is since several years not for sale anymore, but a solution can be found in the PAST.

This lock is the same as has been used on the Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1968, the Spider Duetto 1968 etc. and aftersales often to get at some Italian part traders.

The old partnumber is: 105486301000.

So if the key from your SZ / RZ glove box got lost, you can order a new lock plus keys by using that old partnumber.

72.)!!** Mistake in the 1200 pages thick SZ workshopmanual. Front wheel alignment !

As CAMBER has been mentioned 2 degrees ecc.

!!** !!! It has to be MINUS 2 ( -2 ) !!! ***

In the RZ supplement workshop manual that mistake has been corrected.

73.) Solenoids RZ.

The central hood cover solenoid and the boot solenoid have a typical RZ partnumber: 60598218.

But they are the same as used as a 164 boot release solenoid. Only difference was the connector on the end of the wire.

The 164 also used the same solenoid for the fuel flap release but with an extra bracket, wich can be removed.

The hood cover side release solenoids are of the door central locking type ( M.E.S. ).

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74.) RZ soft top deployment.

Over the years, several RZ owners have asked me how to open the soft top. If you do not have the instruction book, it is difficult, because there is a certain order to be followed when opening or closing the soft top and the lid.

That is why I will copy the pages from the RZ instruction booklet below. If someone wants to take pictures of those actions, near the car than they are welcome, because they may explain things better than the pictures in the instruction booklet.

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75.) Replace non-functional "gas struts" RZ hood-cover.

The original strut is not available for several years anymore via Alfa Romeo, but we found a perfect and even better replacement

How to take the old ones off:

a.) Ask someone to help you keep open the cover while removing the struts.

b.) The original strut is held in position with a metal spring clip. Prize this off with a small screwdriver.

c.) Than the strut can be pulled off easlily from the cars brackets.

d.) The new struts can be easily put back by pressing the end fixings onto the cars brackets firmly till you feel / hear the "click".

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76.) Bonnet opening during driving.

Taken from our archife, bonnet opened at 80 km/h. This happened at some SZ/RZ's over the years.
You do not want that to happen at high speeds ! So check before driving ALWAYS if the bonnet is sitting tight in its first catch.

More time related....

This can happen also due to severe rusting of the front panel where the bonnet catch is fixed, and can pull the whole catch out if it breaks. It is difficult to see from above but if the front grill is removed it can be inspected from below with a mirror.

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77.) Jack extension.

An original SZ or RZ jack is almost impossible to find and that is why some registry members have modified a standard Alfa Romeo jack, so that it fits in the wide sills of the SZ/RZ.

Whether that is as sturdy as the original SZ / RZ jack I don't know, but it seems to work

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78.) Cleaning injectors.

Engine running irregularly, backfiring into the exhaust, grey smoke etc.

To begin with: if you have an SZ / RZ wich has not been used over a long period it is wise to put fresh petrol in the tank and to change the petrol filter inmediately.

Do not put too much petrol in the tank 1/3 full and add a bottle of injectorcleaner to the petrol. Use the car for some time and repeat the above if neccesary.

If the problem is not cured in that way, than probably the injectors need to be cleaned or renewed.

The situation at the moment is that they are out of stock at Alfa Romeo for several years now and totally not available anymore via Bosch or other sources.
So if one of those injectors is "dead", than you have a problem !
Partnumbers: Alfa no. 60547115, Bosch no. 0280 150 257

Disassembly is not that difficult, but loosening the rubber tubing between injector and fuel tube is a bit of a fiddling job to do.

Tools wich can be used to make the job easier is the toolkit from Midlock PSP-4

In particular, the rings above and below the fuel hose must not be distorted. These provide for clamping the fuel hose to the connector. It can take some time to get this job done. Be very carefull !

It will be neccesary to have the injectors ultrasonically cleaned and tested by a specialized company.

Mounting the new fuel hose is very easy with standard 8mm fuel hose from Gates. This has the same outside diameter as the original hose. This is important for the clamping or the clamping rings. A little bit of lubricant around the connection does wonders during assembly.

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79.) Alternative SZ / RZ Key

The Silca GT16AP comes closest to the original key in terms of originality

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80.) Fuse hydraulic pump.

In 2022 we got a message from an SZ owner with a burned hydraulic pump. The strip fuse in the Fusebox from that car was a 40 amp. We do not know if this had been replaced later or a fault during production.

This strip fuse needs to be one from 30 amp. . So the pump was "over-fused" and because of that the armature on the motor has burnt out !

It's a good idea to check that !

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If you have any TechTips that can be used for Alfa Romeo SZ or RZ, I am interested to know about that.
Please email me if you have a special Tip or solution for a problem,..thanks,...Ed.

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