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IVC434

Inertia reel seatbelt repair?

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Hello all. 

 

Just randomly inspecting items on my XC restoration car today and noticed that the front passenger side seatbelt reels in and out just fine, but when pulled rapidly, it doesn't lock. 

 

Can this be repaired, or will I have to go and source a replacement for it?

 

Thanks. 

 

Andrew. 😊👍

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if the belts themselves are stiff from sitting/dirt etc it may pay to wash them. 

i've done it in the past by just undoing the top bolt on the B pillar(shoulder height bolt) you might want to remove the pillar trim, there's sometimes a rubbery patch thing that falls in the path of the belt behind there(think it's meant to stop dust getting in the pillar where the reel lives)

if you do remove the reel also, they are very fiddly to get back unlocked if you let it reel all the way in. they need to be perfectly level horizontally and vertically. made much harder when it's reeled ALL the belt in.. need to slowly jiggle the belt to unlock it.. ah fun times.

 

and bringing a bucket of warm water and 2 towels you don't care about anymore(they'll get filthy and may not come clean) with some of your favourite clothes washing powder (Aldi Almat, or omo etc) put a table spoon of washing power in your bucket of water, reel out the belt as long as you can, and wash it in the bucket, sometimes they are really gunky and may need a scrub with scourer/brush also. basically wash the belt as best you can.. wipe it with one towel till it's not transferring grime.. then you can get some clean water to rinse it.. and dry off with the other towel. 
don't wear a white T shirt for a while lol .. they'll probably still be dirty and a little damp, 

lucky in this weather they should dry fairly fast when extended out (remaining bolted to to the pillar at the bottom is your best chance to be able to have them unlock again. 
reason it's not locking now is it can't react quick enough due to being stiff belts in my opinion. 

they can be rewebbed/reconditioned but it's expensive. normally isn't needed. 

 

some people lubricate the belts with silicon spray, i don't.. 

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17 minutes ago, deankdx said:

if the belts themselves are stiff from sitting/dirt etc it may pay to wash them. 

i've done it in the past by just undoing the top bolt on the B pillar(shoulder height bolt) you might want to remove the pillar trim, there's sometimes a rubbery patch thing that falls in the path of the belt behind there(think it's meant to stop dust getting in the pillar where the reel lives)

if you do remove the reel also, they are very fiddly to get back unlocked if you let it reel all the way in. they need to be perfectly level horizontally and vertically. made much harder when it's reeled ALL the belt in.. need to slowly jiggle the belt to unlock it.. ah fun times.

 

and bringing a bucket of warm water and 2 towels you don't care about anymore(they'll get filthy and may not come clean) with some of your favourite clothes washing powder (Aldi Almat, or omo etc) put a table spoon of washing power in your bucket of water, reel out the belt as long as you can, and wash it in the bucket, sometimes they are really gunky and may need a scrub with scourer/brush also. basically wash the belt as best you can.. wipe it with one towel till it's not transferring grime.. then you can get some clean water to rinse it.. and dry off with the other towel. 
don't wear a white T shirt for a while lol .. they'll probably still be dirty and a little damp, 

lucky in this weather they should dry fairly fast when extended out (remaining bolted to to the pillar at the bottom is your best chance to be able to have them unlock again. 
reason it's not locking now is it can't react quick enough due to being stiff belts in my opinion. 

they can be rewebbed/reconditioned but it's expensive. normally isn't needed. 

 

some people lubricate the belts with silicon spray, i don't.. 

Thank you for your help. As always, you're a life saver Dean. 

 

I'll give it a go. Still have a few more exterior mechanical tasks to complete first, but it sounds like something that I can do... 

 

Much appreciated. 😊👍🙏

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if the belts themselves are stiff from sitting/dirt etc it may pay to wash them. 
i've done it in the past by just undoing the top bolt on the B pillar(shoulder height bolt) you might want to remove the pillar trim, there's sometimes a rubbery patch thing that falls in the path of the belt behind there(think it's meant to stop dust getting in the pillar where the reel lives)
if you do remove the reel also, they are very fiddly to get back unlocked if you let it reel all the way in. they need to be perfectly level horizontally and vertically. made much harder when it's reeled ALL the belt in.. need to slowly jiggle the belt to unlock it.. ah fun times.
 
and bringing a bucket of warm water and 2 towels you don't care about anymore(they'll get filthy and may not come clean) with some of your favourite clothes washing powder (Aldi Almat, or omo etc) put a table spoon of washing power in your bucket of water, reel out the belt as long as you can, and wash it in the bucket, sometimes they are really gunky and may need a scrub with scourer/brush also. basically wash the belt as best you can.. wipe it with one towel till it's not transferring grime.. then you can get some clean water to rinse it.. and dry off with the other towel. 
don't wear a white T shirt for a while lol .. they'll probably still be dirty and a little damp, 

lucky in this weather they should dry fairly fast when extended out (remaining bolted to to the pillar at the bottom is your best chance to be able to have them unlock again. 
reason it's not locking now is it can't react quick enough due to being stiff belts in my opinion. 

they can be rewebbed/reconditioned but it's expensive. normally isn't needed. 
 
some people lubricate the belts with silicon spray, i don't.. 
I was going to suggest silicone spray, as it's fairly inert once the solvent evaporates and is invisible. I have successfully freed up BA Falcon belts where they gum up with skin oil (especially with smokers) in the top eye and don't retract.

I'm not 100% sure about the older mechanisms, but the newer ones have a little ball bearing on a cam that wedge together when the belt is pulled quickly. If there's gummy crap or dried/dusty residue in there, it could be why it has no locking action. My suggestion is the same as yours, wash in warm, soapy water but lightly lube the mechanism with said silicone.

Sent from my CPH1920 using Tapatalk

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30 minutes ago, gerg said:

I was going to suggest silicone spray, as it's fairly inert once the solvent evaporates and is invisible. I have successfully freed up BA Falcon belts where they gum up with skin oil (especially with smokers) in the top eye and don't retract.

I'm not 100% sure about the older mechanisms, but the newer ones have a little ball bearing on a cam that wedge together when the belt is pulled quickly. If there's gummy crap or dried/dusty residue in there, it could be why it has no locking action. My suggestion is the same as yours, wash in warm, soapy water but lightly lube the mechanism with said silicone.

Sent from my CPH1920 using Tapatalk
 

 

yeah the old belts like BGDAVs F100(XC era) needed this clean with proper soap, silicone won't do it.

it's unlikely that ball/locking mech from my experience.  

 

46 minutes ago, IVC434 said:

Thank you for your help. As always, you're a life saver Dean. 

 

I'll give it a go. Still have a few more exterior mechanical tasks to complete first, but it sounds like something that I can do... 

 

Much appreciated. 😊👍🙏

 

this has worked for 100% of my locking/retracting issues.  even if the belts are stuffed with frayed edges it's still the fix for the retracting/locking issue.

if they are frayed, you can get them re webbed it's called, be nice on a full resto, but a resurrection like you have i'd be doing the minimum for the short term

 

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