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> Who rebuilds seat belt mechanisms?
dgraves
post May 11 2017, 12:56 PM
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My seat belt mechanisms need some rebuilding. They appear to be complete and in good shape...except for not working.

Any advice out there? Thanks.
Dan
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Mike Fitton
post May 11 2017, 01:25 PM
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http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/
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dgraves
post May 11 2017, 05:06 PM
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QUOTE(Mike Fitton @ May 11 2017, 01:25 PM) *

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/


Thanks, Mike. I've already placed the order.
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jim_hoyland
post May 12 2017, 07:14 AM
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I had two very uncooperative seat belt retractors; I came across a simple fix on-line; place the entire retractor with the belt still in place into a bucket of hot-soapy water. Leave in overnight. Next day rinse; then pull the webbing out to dry. The mechanism will drain, don't worry about it rusting. Then open the end with the pawl and lightly lube. Do NOT open the end with the spring.......
My retractors work like new since..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
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porschetub
post May 12 2017, 02:26 PM
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QUOTE(jim_hoyland @ May 13 2017, 01:14 AM) *

I had two very uncooperative seat belt retractors; I came across a simple fix on-line; place the entire retractor with the belt still in place into a bucket of hot-soapy water. Leave in overnight. Next day rinse; then pull the webbing out to dry. The mechanism will drain, don't worry about it rusting. Then open the end with the pawl and lightly lube. Do NOT open the end with the spring.......
My retractors work like new since..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I have fixed several drivers side ones by cleaning them out,as long as the webbing is ok.
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bradtho
post May 12 2017, 04:15 PM
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I had a less than satisfactory experience with ssnakeoyl. the price was absurd, but I would have lived with it if the belts worked well. when I got them back they were beautiful, but there wasn't enough tension on the belts to retract well. I argued with them for over a month and they finally agreed to refund half of my money. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

overall, I think they're a small shop doing a lot of GM work for CW types. I actually wanted mine to work well.
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seanpaulmc
post May 14 2017, 06:31 PM
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QUOTE(jim_hoyland @ May 12 2017, 09:14 AM) *

I had two very uncooperative seat belt retractors; I came across a simple fix on-line; place the entire retractor with the belt still in place into a bucket of hot-soapy water. Leave in overnight. Next day rinse; then pull the webbing out to dry. The mechanism will drain, don't worry about it rusting. Then open the end with the pawl and lightly lube. Do NOT open the end with the spring.......
My retractors work like new since..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


So I contacted Snake Oyl last month about restoration for my seat belts based on the feedback I've read here and they said they couldn't do it. I have a 73 with the retractable belts. I provided pictures of every angle with the belts rolled and unrolled. Based on the positive feedback for them here I'm disappointed in their response but delighted to see this posting.

What kind of soap - dish detergent or laundry detergent?
Why not worry about rust?
Which is the end with the spring, the bigger end?

On mine, The finish on the bracket is rough. Any suggestions? Was thinking of hitting it with a dremell and polishing.

What about the chrome on the guide bracket? Where can I get these re-chromed?

Thanks in advance for the comments.
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87m491
post May 15 2017, 04:42 PM
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QUOTE(dgraves @ May 11 2017, 10:56 AM) *

My seat belt mechanisms need some rebuilding. They appear to be complete and in good shape...except for not working.

Any advice out there? Thanks.
Dan
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914_teener
post May 15 2017, 05:21 PM
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QUOTE(seanpaulmc @ May 14 2017, 05:31 PM) *

QUOTE(jim_hoyland @ May 12 2017, 09:14 AM) *

I had two very uncooperative seat belt retractors; I came across a simple fix on-line; place the entire retractor with the belt still in place into a bucket of hot-soapy water. Leave in overnight. Next day rinse; then pull the webbing out to dry. The mechanism will drain, don't worry about it rusting. Then open the end with the pawl and lightly lube. Do NOT open the end with the spring.......
My retractors work like new since..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


So I contacted Snake Oyl last month about restoration for my seat belts based on the feedback I've read here and they said they couldn't do it. I have a 73 with the retractable belts. I provided pictures of every angle with the belts rolled and unrolled. Based on the positive feedback for them here I'm disappointed in their response but delighted to see this posting.

What kind of soap - dish detergent or laundry detergent?
Why not worry about rust?
Which is the end with the spring, the bigger end?

On mine, The finish on the bracket is rough. Any suggestions? Was thinking of hitting it with a dremell and polishing.

What about the chrome on the guide bracket? Where can I get these re-chromed?

Thanks in advance for the comments.




Jim can answer better than I perhaps.

I remember we talked about this one and its on my list as well.
IIRC he said Simple Green.

The spring mech is a hardened spring steel and doesn.t rust easily.

I.m not sure about any chroming on the guide. I have a 73 and I am not aware of any chrome with exception of the spade for the latching clasp.
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Specracer
post May 17 2017, 04:22 AM
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The small side is the spring. I just went through this. I had a damaged belt. I got one here, so my intent was to just change the web. I was holding the tension on the retractor with a screw driver. And I also took off the large side, which helped me hold the tension. It slipped, and it retracted rapidly. This dislodged the spring and it was now junk. With nothing to loose, I went in. The spring uncoiled into a rats nest. This became a challenge. I rewound the spring, and got it back together. It was a total pain, but can be done.


QUOTE(seanpaulmc @ May 14 2017, 08:31 PM) *



Which is the end with the spring, the bigger end?
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saigon71
post Mar 22 2018, 05:06 PM
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I had a problem with my drivers side seat belt. It would only let a couple inches each pull before locking while buckling up. I soaked both belt assemblies in a bucket of hot soapy water overnight, then ran them through the dishwasher a few times.

The "stickiness" seems to be fixed, but I'm not convinced they will have enough spring tension to retract once installed.

I've read numerous online forums on old seat belts. Severl people have added a few winds to the spring. I was planning to do this, but I'm not sure it's possible as I can't see how to get this apart without disturbing the spring (which I don't want to do). Has anyone added a few winds to the spring on these seat belts? If so, How do I go about it.

Thanks in advance.

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Nacho
post Mar 22 2018, 06:12 PM
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Woolite delicate soap detergent let soak overnight. Woolite will not fade or extract color from the material. typically will also fix retracting issues due to years of buildup!

-Nacho
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JmuRiz
post Mar 23 2018, 06:56 AM
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Question: When soaking do you soak the mechanism too, or just the belts?

Mine could use a refresh when I put it all back together, so this would be a good time to clean them.
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saigon71
post Mar 23 2018, 07:14 AM
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QUOTE(JmuRiz @ Mar 23 2018, 08:56 AM) *

Question: When soaking do you soak the mechanism too, or just the belts?

Mine could use a refresh when I put it all back together, so this would be a good time to clean them.


Soak the whole assembly, including the mechanism.

Then run them through the dishwasher a few times for final cleaning.

Finally, run them through the "heat dry" cycle (only) on the dishwasher about 6 times to dry everything out.

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