seat belt repair

[esty]

i have the typical problem with my seat belts not always pulling out and retracting...

has anyone fix'd this problem... if so, how do you remove the cover to access the spring, etc without screwing things up

[eastsidebimmer]

PS, don't take the belt retractor apart---KABLAMO!!

Ben

[eastsidebimmer]

PS, don't take the belt retractor apart---KABLAMO!!

Ben

[esty]

PS, don't take the belt retractor apart---KABLAMO!!

Ben

i've watch'd that video before...funny stuff...unless it's you

is there no way to fix the problem short of buying new belts?

[Zenon]

Temperamental seatbelts can be indeed tweaked back to normal - the inertia reel mech is actually very simple.

Unfortunately, I fixed mine so long ago that I don't remember exactly what I did - IIRC, there is a little spring thingy on the center shaft that can be moved/rotated to make the reel's latching action more or less sensitive and maybe also adjusts for the installed angle of the reel. I just carefully tweaked it by trial and error until I could pull the belt out at a normal speed but any faster would cause it to lock.

I think it will be pretty obvious once you are in there. The reel mech is under the plastic cover on the side opposite the big coil spring that you absolutely must not screw with . Unfortunately, I dont remember if that is the thick or thin cover. I wanna say open the thin side but the brain cells in charge of that memory have apparently retired.

Since this is about safety equipment, here are the obligatory admonishments:

WARNING: This information is to be used AT YOUR OWN RISK. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR REQUIRED. NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION. This Message Contains Free Advice. Free Advice may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Free Advice inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added.

[esty]

I wanna say open the thin side

thanks i don't see how to open either side without breaking the covers...they don't appear to just snap off and on...do i have to drill out the rivet like things that are holding them in place?..if so, how do i re-attach them

sorry to be such a pest..i can usually figure this stuff out but i don't want to screw up a pair of belts that may be good with a bit of tweaking, cleaning & lube

[AlCanuck]

I'm sure you've got a pair of belts from some old Ford kicking around, no? Perhaps convert it over to simple lap belts?

"Can't fix the problem, put something sub-standard in it, isn't that your motto"?

In all seriousness, please don't piss about with seatbelts. Someone posted a link to some generic ones on Ebay, which seem to work fine. Esty, as much as I hate you, I wouldn't want to see you ejected from a car because of a faulty belt. The mental trauma that would cause the other driver would be awful.

Please, replace the belts.

Al

[Zenon]

I wanna say open the thin side

thanks i don't see how to open either side without breaking the covers...they don't appear to just snap off and on...do i have to drill out the rivet like things that are holding them in place?..if so, how do i re-attach them

sorry to be such a pest..i can usually figure this stuff out but i don't want to screw up a pair of belts that may be good with a bit of tweaking, cleaning & lube

May be different for different years - I have only opened my '73 versions. They have one (maybe two) screw(s) per side that held the cover (and also secured a crossbar). With the screw(s) removed, the cover could be angled away to unhook some little moulded-in tabs and then it came right off.

Good luck, be careful with the entropy-seeking return springs - they are probably stronger and more dangerous than the ones in tape measures.

regards,

Zenon

[Zenon]

I'm sure you've got a pair of belts from some old Ford kicking around, no? Perhaps convert it over to simple lap belts?

"Can't fix the problem, put something sub-standard in it, isn't that your motto"?

In all seriousness, please don't piss about with seatbelts. Someone posted a link to some generic ones on Ebay, which seem to work fine. Esty, as much as I hate you, I wouldn't want to see you ejected from a car because of a faulty belt. The mental trauma that would cause the other driver would be awful.

Please, replace the belts.

Al

What-everrr, Al. Spare us the content-free sanctimonious faux-concern. I'm sure Noam Chomsky would agree that, given the history, your above comments are so obvious, predictable, and biased that they contain essentially zero information. Of course we should all speak out for safety if we spot something that could be dangerous but, we all know that ensuring safety was not your true motivation here.

But I guess you, yet again, simply could not help yourself and had to jump in. This thread must have looked especially juicy since you could take a shot at "two birds with one stone", as they say.

With reference to more than this thread:

I must say I am in constant awe of how you (and your sycophants) shadow esty around the board, post crude ad-hominem attacks in her perfectly innocent (and very often interesting and useful) on-topic threads, and then somehow manage to get people to blame esty for not lying down and accepting your disgusting name calling and BS. This thread is a mild example and probably won't "blossom" but is still illustrative of your method.

And yes, her blog is a constant affront, no doubt, but the most damning things in it are ultimately your own words. Esty may be a catalyst but you, Al, have been doing real violence to this forum - as a supposed grown-up, you have nobody to blame but yourself.

regards,

Loam Zomsky

[AlCanuck]

Happy New Year to you too, Zenon. Hope 2007 is a happy, prosperous one for you and yours.

And if you must know, I was not killing two birds with 1 stone, not at all. In fact, I would trust you to muck about with seat belts, I know you have skill, talent, and smarts. Esty, on the other hand, I am genuinely concerned about her lack of proper skill, and her likely inability to perform these repairs properly. Read what I wrote, and notice where I was more concerned about the OTHER driver's mental anguish, after seeing her ejected from her 02. Honestly, couldn't care if she is safe or not, just don't want her stupidity to harm someone else.

I also wanted to point out that mucking with seatbelts is dangerous, so other people who read this thread, won't make the same potential mistakes.

Seriously, seatbelts are practically free when you compare them to the potential cost of failure. These aren't door seals, and LED signals we're talking about.

Al

[esty]

These aren't door seals, and LED signals we're talking about.

Al

off topic in my own thread but so the carpetbagger knows...i've had at least a dozen people write for more detailed info on my LED signal lights and twice that many ask for help with door seals...i recently joked with blunt about putting an LED in the tip of an antenna and 2 wrote asking how i achieved that...i guess i have to actually look at doing it...

seems others are interested in some of my off rocker ideas and are looking for alternatives too...what was it albert said...knowledge is limited...imagination encircles the world...or something to that effect

the caps on either side of the belt don't seem to be removable without drilling the "rod ends", that seem to be flatten'd to hold the caps on...

[Zenon]

Al, there you go again providing another great example of what I have already deconstructed. More disingenuous clucking about safety and "geniune" concern and goodwill from the guy that regularly throws around mean-spirited insults like "cum sponge". Only rank newbies to the forum would buy your treacly tripe at this point.

I also wanted to point out that mucking with seatbelts is dangerous, so other people who read this thread, won't make the same potential mistakes.

What, specifically, would those potential mistakes be, in this specific context? Were there some incorrect step by step instructions given? What were they? If you get the belts working properly, then, by definition, they would be working properly and maybe even safer than before. I didn't say anyone should disable some critical functionality or advise anyone to use non-locking or torn or frayed belts, did I? Did esty even imply that her belts were otherwise unserviceable? Was that even a part of this discussion?

I'd say that when all previous posts mention danger and my own post made a big show of a warning (though done with what I hope was readily apparent humour), then your oh-so-earnest yet non-specific and redundant warning merits a "Duh!" if taken at face value. Normal people would have got the idea well before you so gallantly rode in on your high horse to save them. The ones that wouldn't get it probably don't wear their seatbelts and are into ghost riding, anyway.

Sure, you can argue that some people may not have the competence to do some work. But then why not run around to all the other threads in this DIY-oriented forum and spread more dire warnings, perhaps with the advice to just get a new car.

Extending your reasoning (as you would have us believe it), almost every thread should contain warnings against working on our cars. Brakes, suspension, fuel systems, ignitions, fan belts, wiper blades - almost everything can be dangerous, either directly or if it puts the occupants in a dangerous situation when it fails (including stalling in a bad neighborhood or remote back road in winter). Geeze, maybe we should not drive at all.

But I'm pretty sure this isn't about your concern for safety, Homer.

[Zenon]

the caps on either side of the belt don't seem to be removable without drilling the "rod ends", that seem to be flatten'd to hold the caps on...

Sounds like a show-stopper to me. Must have switched from screws to staked ends as a cost-cutting measure. Or maybe they saw you coming and made 'em tamper proof for your own good. ;-)

[AlCanuck]

Maybe I'm getting old, or maybe buying a Volvo has done something odd to me, but I really like original, non tampered with seatbelts.

I'll concede though, you're both right, and I'm wrong. Have fun mucking about with seatbelts, hope they work in the event of a crash. I know my brand new, OEM ones will.

Al

[esty]

Or maybe they saw you coming and made 'em tamper proof for your own good. ;-)

it's amusing you said that...my husband says the same thing often, about a lot of things i try to alter or estyize...

i might just buy new belts...i really want burgundy ones anyway