Seat belt retractor repair?

[zeus]

Hello all. Gutting the interior and cleaning up things on my project 'cuda. Both seat belts don't work. The retractors are stuck and the belts won't come out. I removed both the exterior housings, and can see the problem. Only those of you that have ventured this deep into these devices will understand, but basically the plastic peice with notches (that either blocks or pushes the flap that stops the retractor) is sliding with too much friction against the belt housing, so any movement on the belt causes it to make the flap stop the retractor. I only have 1/8th inch of room in there when I push them apart, got some wd40 in there and made sure there isn't any junk in there, but didn't relieve the friction at all. Any suggestions for how i can smoothen things out? I can't really get a dremel in there. I don't want to take the assembly further apart really, as I have no idea what's going to pour of there. Thanks for your advice!!

 

[challenger6pak]

These guys may be able to help you.
http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Ssnake-Oyl&Category_Code=RS

 

[zeus]

I checked out their site. Looks beyond my lil' budget

I was thinking, maybe there was something in between the plastic notched peice and the metal roller that allowed for the correct amount of friction. Anyone see anything like this? or maybe someone has an exploded view of what is in there? (so I can take it apart)? Thanks again!

 

[zeus]

Got it sorted out. It seems I simply misunderstood how the basic function of these belts. I thought they worked like a modern belt which will come out if you pull slowly. They don't. They are in "constant lock" mode always getting tighter and goes into spin out mode when the buckle is almost fully retracted. Incase someone else runs into issues with it still, the main causes of failure for mine was rust on the walls of the spinning wheel which the belt rubbed against when retracting, stopping it. Further, the stiffness of the nylon doesnt help either. I solved this by leaving the entire assembly in a bucket of water with liquid fabric softener. The nylon belt was nice, clean, and soft as silk in 15 minutes. Dont forget to dry it out and wd40 it afterwards for rust prevention. On an additional side note, the belt smells nice now. Rear retracting belts the same.

 

[blewbyu]

check your PM box for info