Seatbelts need help...

[Adam Connell]

Well I just cant take it any more... My Non-retracting seat belts are just too annoying to ignore now. The belts are in great shape, but the retracting mechanism in both of them stick and you have to mess with them to get them to retract most of the time.

Is there a rebuild kit for these things or any tips/tricks out there to make them work like new again?

 

[slow305]

Yeah, for some reason mine only retract when you open the door. That's not all that bad though.

 

[aminga]

Yeah, for some reason mine only retract when you open the door. That's not all that bad though.

Do they not retract if you pull the belt out a little and let it go?

 

[slow305]

They do a little, but if you want them to go all the way, you have to open the door. I like to think it's a high tech feature of the car.

 

[Adam Connell]

Yeah I have to mess with mine some to get them to retract usually.

 

[aminga]

That sounds kind of normal. I would have to see it to be sure. Mine are in reasonably good working condition if you pull them forward 3-6 inches and let them go they will retract.

 

[turbobuick1]

Yeah, for some reason mine only retract when you open the door. That's not all that bad though.

This is the way it is supposed to work. I was also frustrated by the non retracting seat belts, So I pulled the interior trim panel out, and discovered that that is the way it is designed to work; works off of the little lever you see in the door jam. I bought some NOS seat belt retractors (the lever deal) before I even knew how it worked. So I went ahead and replaced 'em anyway, and they retract great when I open the door now.

My advice, carefully take out the back seat cushion, interior lower quarter trim, and figure out what is not working properly. I'm not saying the replacing the lever deal will fix it, but decide for yourself what needs to be done.

 

[slow305]

Really? I just thought that the jarring of the door was somehow causing the belt retracting thing to move (kind of like an earthquake).

 

[Heg87t]

Do you have the little plastic lever below the striker in the door jamb? Does it work freely? This tells the retractor that the door is closed. The other end of the lever goes into the seat belt reel and interacts with the lever that turbobuick1 was talking about. I just had to change mine since the mice chewed it up in storage!