Sticky seat belt fixing 101 (2 Viewers)

[mypancreasbroke]

Just did a little work on my seat belt. Wound it up until it wouldn't wind no more and definitely notice it retracts better. The only part I had trouble with was the 14mm bolt at the bottom. The d**n thing would not go back home. Took me damn near an hour for the thing to finally seat and thread right. The bolt and whole both seemed in fine condition and would screw in perfectly without the retracting mechanism attached, but when I tried to screw it back with everything back together... nothing. After an hour of wiggling, cursing, and threatening it with death, its finally home, and the belt retracts again!

 

[NLXTACY]

My (and everyone else’s) driver’s side seat belt is usually hanging halfway out the door since it won’t retract. I finally got sick of it and with Gumby’s recent find of a somewhat hokey Toyota supplied “fix”, I decided to put an end to my belt’s lazy ways. So, step by step, here’s what to do.

1. Pull up trim on the sill of the DS front and rear doors just enough to expose the lip of the trim piece that covers the belt assembly. Gently peel the belt trim from around the B-pillar and remove it.

2. Slide the plastic boot covering the 14mm main anchor bolt up the belt a little, and remove that bolt, along with the 10mm locating bolt on the top of the seat belt assembly.

3. Hold the assembly vertically and pull the belt off the spool. Once you get to the end you’ll see that the belt is fed through the center of the spool and locked in place with a nylon bar. Feed the belt through the spool enough that you can grab the end with the bar and slide the bar out.

4. NOW PAY ATTENTION. Once you remove the belt from the spool, if you let go the spring winding the spool will explosively unwind itself and you’ll likely be getting a whole new assembly from CDan (list price $93). Once you’ve pulled the belt through the center of the spool, jam a screwdriver or something else through it to keep it from spinning. Pull the belt through the loop by your shoulder and it’s out.

5. Throw the belt in the wash. Be careful with detergents, I’m not sure what they could do to the nylon belt. I used our kid safe stuff, Dreft.

6. While the belt is washing, carefully wind the spool up a little more. I turned mine about 5 turns, until it began to really feel like it had some good tension. Jam screwdriver back through spool. Once the belt is done, hang dry. Mine took about an hour to dry.

7. Now’s the time to break out Toyota’s “fix” for the sticky belt. It’s part no. 73205-48011. Gumby found it in a Lexus TSB (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=132142). It’s a piece of loop Velcro and two pieces of thick plastic with adhesive on the back. It’s definitely not worth buying since you can accomplish what the kit does very easily, but it was fun to guinea pig it.

Gunk from flossing:

8. Once you’ve flossed the loop and your belt is dry, it’s time to reassemble. Line everything up so the buckle is in the right direction, belt feeds correctly, etc. Feed the belt through the shoulder loop and down. Carefully feed it into the spool. I had to use a pair of fishing hemostats to grab it and get it through. Slide the nylon bar back in and lock the belt in place. Once you’ve done this, you’re no longer in danger of having the spool unwind.

9. Let the spool wind the belt up, bolt everything back into place, and replace the trim.

10. Now, back into Toyota’s “fix”, it’s time for the fluorocarbon tape. This feeds through the shoulder loop and adheres around it, giving the belt a smooth surface to slide through. This, along with winding the spool, is probably the thing that makes the most difference. If you look closely at the shoulder loop, it’s got a wrinkle finish in the plastic. Look at the nylon of the belt and it’s textured too. So, those together create plenty of friction to slow the belt down. Giving the belt something smooth to slide over solves that problem. I think you would use heavy packing tape and get the same effect as what’s in the Toyota kit.

11. Well – you’re done. Yank the belt out a few times and watch with glee as it pulls itself all the way back in with ease.

This is a one banana job and took me a total of 2 hours, including a wash cycle.

TRUNK, fix your images

 

[AZ Moose]

1983 FJ60 Passenger front seat belt would not wind up at all. Took it apart and found that one of the rewind springs came off the plastic cylinder. I reattached and now it works great.

 

[PZLCruiser]

I got an additional 2 or 3 turn on my DS spring. I also trimmed the plastic molding to give the belt some more room to slide. Just used a dremmel barrel sander and took it done some. Didn't get great results but it's much better than before.

 

[nwcoast]

Does anyone know the part number for a new seatbelt retractor?
I did everything to make the belt work better. Washed it, cleaned it, wound it tighter. I even drilled a tiny hole in the casing and lubed up the spring.
I think I just need a new one. I thought about getting one out of a junkyard, but I figure all these rigs are 20 years old and probably even low mileage ones would be lazy retractors?

 

[sleepycruiser]

I am having trouble trying to figure out how to do this. I took the bolts out and pulled the belt all the way out but kind of lost on how to tighten the springs, etc. anyone have a quick video?

 

[South Texas 97]

My (and everyone else’s) driver’s side seat belt is usually hanging halfway out the door since it won’t retract. I finally got sick of it and with Gumby’s recent find of a somewhat hokey Toyota supplied “fix”, I decided to put an end to my belt’s lazy ways. So, step by step, here’s what to do.

This is a one banana job and took me a total of 2 hours, including a wash cycle.

We lost Trunk Monkey's pictures for this, so this is the best video I have found on this topic - short and to the point. Slow Seat Belt Retraction fix

 

[Wagonone]

Maybe a stupid question but I’d rather ask before I take my seatbelts apart or buy a new one to figure it out. Can you use a front passenger seat belt to replace a driver seat belt or would there be issues with the fit? Has anyone tried this?

 

[nieboo]

I did my DS seat belt today and thought I would put up some pics as I pulled it apart. The bolts are pretty easy, so here are some pics of the retractor and how to get the belt out.

This is what it looks like when completely unwound

When you push up the belt from the lower side, the belt will come out like this and you can slide out the nylon bar that holds it in the slot. You can then pull it thru the slot and out the shoulder loop to wash it.

This is the nylon bar

Don't forget to jam the drum. I gave it 2 more turns to tighten the spring.

I will re-install tomorrow and report the result. I will also Dremel out some space on the plastic part that covers the B-column to avoid the belt rubbing there.

Keep you posted

 

[FigFam5]

I did my DS seat belt today and thought I would put up some pics as I pulled it apart. The bolts are pretty easy, so here are some pics of the retractor and how to get the belt out.

View attachment 3268851
This is what it looks like when completely unwound

View attachment 3268855
When you push up the belt from the lower side, the belt will come out like this and you can slide out the nylon bar that holds it in the slot. You can then pull it thru the slot and out the shoulder loop to wash it.

View attachment 3268867
This is the nylon bar

View attachment 3268868
Don't forget to jam the drum. I gave it 2 more turns to tighten the spring.

I will re-install tomorrow and report the result. I will also Dremel out some space on the plastic part that covers the B-column to avoid the belt rubbing there.

Keep you posted

Good work! This is high on my list to do. I appreciate the photo post as well. Let us know how it goes for you on reassembly.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I did my DS seat belt today and thought I would put up some pics as I pulled it apart. The bolts are pretty easy, so here are some pics of the retractor and how to get the belt out.

View attachment 3268851
This is what it looks like when completely unwound

View attachment 3268855
When you push up the belt from the lower side, the belt will come out like this and you can slide out the nylon bar that holds it in the slot. You can then pull it thru the slot and out the shoulder loop to wash it.

View attachment 3268867
This is the nylon bar

View attachment 3268868
Don't forget to jam the drum. I gave it 2 more turns to tighten the spring.

I will re-install tomorrow and report the result. I will also Dremel out some space on the plastic part that covers the B-column to avoid the belt rubbing there.

Keep you posted

I did similar with a previous 80.
Soaked the belt in laundry detergent solution before washing in the machine.
De dusted the mechanism as much as possible without letting the pixies out.

Just having it all clean helps

My memory is 1 extra turn of preload on the drum was helpful, 2 was too much and it bound up.

YMMV

 

[nieboo]

Today, I put the seat belt back where it belongs and the result is surprising.

I gave the spring 2 more turns, Dremeled out the plastic where the seat belt goes down to the mechanism and put some Teflon tape on the loop at shoulder heigth.

It pulls in like it should now. I am very happy