I bought brand new seat belt assemblies. They were new in the box. Even new, the retractors suck! They just seem to lack enough tension to bring them back without twisting or fiddling to get them all the way back in. First, does everyone have this issue?

The good news is that after ruining a couple of old ones and nearly getting decapitated from flying springs, I think I have it down pretty good to pull them apart and tighten the springs without incident. I just tightened the new ones. Much better. There is a limit to how far you can tighten them though.

For a fee I would be willing to tackle other peoples retractors. Is there interest?

..my passenger seatbelt retractor retracts fine...you have to wrestle with it to get the seat belt out. Only a few inches at a time and you have to pull it straight up vertically for it to come out.

what's the fix for that one???

sorry for the

i dont think mine really have a problem retracting, it just sounds like a roaring lion while its retracting....whats up with that?? -JON

Yeah, mine did that for a while, but now I have five points.

My passenger side didn't ever retract well and was hard to pull out. I sprayed WD40 around inside of it and now it works great (no joke).

The driver side always has worked a little too well if you ask me. I find the constant tension very uncomfortable. I've taken to twisting it about 5 times so it won't retract fully, but it still locks if you give it a sharp pull. Anyone have a better solution short of 5 points (which would seem a bit of over-kill on my strictly street car interior).

gotta see if that will eliminate the growl...

Mine suck. Girfriend complains about it. How much?

Another thing I found is that with low tension, the belt easily flips over preventing pull out and it won't go back in (or out) either without correcting it. That's what was driving me crazy. With proper tension, the belt stays flat on the ring above your shoulder and won't twist.

I could easily loosen the spring as well as tighten. Pretty sure I could do a pair for $35.00 and include shipping one way.

Paul,

I was prepared to go with the Schroth street-legal 4 point harnesses, believing stock belts to be beyond hope. Now you have me thinking . . .

The belts in my 02 WRX don't even retract!

Mine both suck and growl! Biggest problem is I boxed them in behind my custom bulk head. Now I can't get them out to fix them without a huge ordeal. I hate them!

OK, someone (one person) send me a pair and be the guinea pig. I'll tighten the springs for free, just pay the shipping. Lets see if this is going to work on the average guys worn retractors and you can respond back to the forum.. I can turn them around in a day or two.

If the belts are totally crusty, it's probably a waste of time.

Me me!!! I will just drive up there, get lost, call you from Green Valley Road, you guide me in and we can go from there!!!

OK Rob, bring em up.....

I'm so dissappointed with my seatbelts and retractors (frayed/torn and they twist around a million times if I let them retract on their own) that I plan on tossing the cheap VW/Audi/CRAP into the dumpster when I go with harnesses.

Hey Paul,

Don't want to take away from you making a little $$ doing this, but could you post a few photos for those willing to take a risk at putting out there eyes.

Regardless, thanks for taking the time to help us out.

Jim

Dude, if my seat belt retractors sucked, I'd NEVER leave the garage

<rimshot>

I may have some stack that you can rebuild and rotate if you are interested.

Ok Paul, I will call you. I think I may even have a few spares in the junkyard *someone* left in my yard...

I'll be at Euro Sunday with my car. If you are coming, bring them with you......