As everyone knows, a seat belt should work like a window shade. You should be able to pull it, and then it should catch so the belt fits you loosely. My front passenger belt continuously pulls, so it's uncomfortable for my passenger. I've pulled the recoil mechanism out from behind the panel, but I'm not sure how to fix it. In addition, I see on the side plastic cover the wording "Caution, Do Not Remove". Does anyone know if the mechanism can be fixed, and how? Or am I better off trying to get a used replacement?
Seat Belt Recoil
- Thread starter Ken Bak
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It usually is the lever that sticks out on the door jam. If it breaks it will not lock up your belt!
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It's not the lever. I took that off, lubed it up to make sure it's good, and put it back in. I should be able to hold the lever in (like the door is closed) and the belt should act like a window shade. It almost catches, but it seems to skip over the teeth in the mechanism. The part on the mechanism is also free and springs back ok.
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Here is a picture of a good one I have. As long as the actuator goes inside the hole and the metal bracket has a torsion spring it should be working.
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Below are some pictures of mine. The lever on the door jam works ok, but as the belt goes back into the mechanism, I can feel something like it's almost catching, but slipping over teeth. I really don't want to take the mechanism apart and have springs flying or something like that. As I'm writing this, all I can think to do is add some light oil (like WD40), put it back together, and try it again.
Update:
Today I decided to take the mechanism apart. Only the side which I could see the gear teeth. The other side says "Caution, Do Not Remove". I think it's because that's the side with the spring which winds up the belt. I could see that the sheet metal cover has a tab which holds the plastic cover on. See in the following picture.
So I started by removing the black plastic guide for the belt. It came off easily by putting a small screwdriver under the center and prying up. I had to hold the belt from recoiling back inside at the same time. See below.
Then I grabbed the shaft which the belts winds around with needle nose vise grips. There's a slot in the shaft, which I put the vise grips into. This stops the shaft from recoiling the belt and made it easier to work on. See below.
Then I used the small screwdriver to pry the sheet metal cover off. I pried next to the two tabs (left and right) at the bottom of the cover. The mechanism is upside down in the picture below. The sheet metal cover pops right off. Then you swing the cover up and off the housing.
Looking at the inside, I could see three places where the plastic cover goes into holes of the metal housing. It almost looks like a plastic screw, but it's not. I found out after getting the cover off that the slot allows the plastic to squeeze together and pop out of the hole. The slot in the plastic, in the hole, is shown below.
I carefully slid my small screwdriver between the plastic cover and the metal housing. I only had to push it in between. I didn't have to pry on the plastic. The screwdriver is very thin, and it wedged the plastic cover off the metal housing.
I had to repeat this in two more locations to get the cover off. I kept my hand around the housing and cover, and it's a good thing that I did. There's a spring under the cover, so you have to take the cover off slowly so you don't lose the spring. It's a light spring, so it's safe to take off. You just don't want to lose the spring.
I can't upload any more pictures, so I'll post and continue with another post.
Today I decided to take the mechanism apart. Only the side which I could see the gear teeth. The other side says "Caution, Do Not Remove". I think it's because that's the side with the spring which winds up the belt. I could see that the sheet metal cover has a tab which holds the plastic cover on. See in the following picture.
So I started by removing the black plastic guide for the belt. It came off easily by putting a small screwdriver under the center and prying up. I had to hold the belt from recoiling back inside at the same time. See below.
Then I grabbed the shaft which the belts winds around with needle nose vise grips. There's a slot in the shaft, which I put the vise grips into. This stops the shaft from recoiling the belt and made it easier to work on. See below.
Then I used the small screwdriver to pry the sheet metal cover off. I pried next to the two tabs (left and right) at the bottom of the cover. The mechanism is upside down in the picture below. The sheet metal cover pops right off. Then you swing the cover up and off the housing.
Looking at the inside, I could see three places where the plastic cover goes into holes of the metal housing. It almost looks like a plastic screw, but it's not. I found out after getting the cover off that the slot allows the plastic to squeeze together and pop out of the hole. The slot in the plastic, in the hole, is shown below.
I carefully slid my small screwdriver between the plastic cover and the metal housing. I only had to push it in between. I didn't have to pry on the plastic. The screwdriver is very thin, and it wedged the plastic cover off the metal housing.
I had to repeat this in two more locations to get the cover off. I kept my hand around the housing and cover, and it's a good thing that I did. There's a spring under the cover, so you have to take the cover off slowly so you don't lose the spring. It's a light spring, so it's safe to take off. You just don't want to lose the spring.
I can't upload any more pictures, so I'll post and continue with another post.
Below is another location to pry the cover off, and then a picture of the cover off and the spring exposed.
The parts under the cover some off easily. See below.
After taking off the yellow sprocket, I found the problem. The hole of the plastic sprocket is stripped. It's supposed to have a pentagon shape to match the shaft, but it was almost completely round. I put it back on and it would skip over the flats of the shaft. In the picture below, you can see black in the hole where the flats of the pentagon should be.
So off to the junkyard. I could not find the exact seat belt assembly, but I found one which I could take apart and pull out the sprocket and install it into my assembly. After putting everything back together, the seat belt works just like it should. Problem solved.
The parts under the cover some off easily. See below.
After taking off the yellow sprocket, I found the problem. The hole of the plastic sprocket is stripped. It's supposed to have a pentagon shape to match the shaft, but it was almost completely round. I put it back on and it would skip over the flats of the shaft. In the picture below, you can see black in the hole where the flats of the pentagon should be.
So off to the junkyard. I could not find the exact seat belt assembly, but I found one which I could take apart and pull out the sprocket and install it into my assembly. After putting everything back together, the seat belt works just like it should. Problem solved.
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Bruce Urie
The Ventures,CCR forever!
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Excellent write up and your mechanical dexterity is admirable! Good job! Will help a lot of people.
Me, I can take apart a safety pin with no problem!
Bruce '87 Grand National
Me, I can take apart a safety pin with no problem!
Bruce '87 Grand National
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