I want to open the side with the pawls and not the spring; which side has the ratcheting pawls ?

the small side has the spring

Thanks; the last time I opened the spring side and got a surprise. Unfortunately I forgot which side it was.

You can pry the lid up enough to see the spring w/o letting the Gennie out of the bottle. I can help but laugh when I think of all the "brown shorts" created from opening one of these.

I wanted to avoid opening the spring side. All went well: the pawl-mechanism side got cleaned with carb cleaner, then lubed with Teflon dry lube. Washed the belts in Dawn soap and dried in the sun. Got it back together and it no longer catches and stops in mid/pull

Yep. I wrecked a pair of shorts that way once.

Jim, Thanks for posting the question and your success! I need to do the same, and it is just the encouragement I needed

It's easier than it looks. Once the seats are moved forward and he backpack is removed. Only three bolts require removal: the retractor, the D-ring on the pillar, and the anchor.
One tip 8 learned: note the orientation of the D-ring to the buckle so you don't put it all back in and find the error.
I'm doing the passenger side today, shouldn't take more then an hour this time.
There is nothing more aggravating that having the belt not pull out or retract smoothly.

Wanted to add this to your post Jim. I cleaned and adjusted mine about 5 years ago. However, it still did not rewind completely unassisted. Finally I realized that mine was also dragging on the "crusty" D ring. After a good cleaning and half assed polishing of the D ring it retracted the remainder of the way.

Good Point ! Both the D-ring and retractor guide have to be smooth; plus the belts themselves. Washing them will get them clean and smooth. I’ve heard that armorall will smooth a belt if washing is not possible.