80 seatbelt question (1 Viewer)

[fj40crusher]

The wife cleaned out the 97 today looking for something. Had to take out the car seat to get under the rear seat. I was tightening up the carseat with the center lap belt and it didn't seem to want to stay tight.

What I am wondering is if I am missing a clip. The belt folds through the male end and then attaches with the slide back onto itself. When I pull it down it tightens but if I pull on it it will loosen back up. Isn't there another clip that holds the slack of the two belt pieces together in the middle somewhere to keep it from loosening?

Dan you got any diagrams of the stock belts?

 

[Beowulf]

FJ40crusher,
The center lap belt on the 2nd row loops through the male portion one time, then the end (not the middle) has a plastic holder that goes around the part of the belt that is bolted to the floor. If you hold the male portion perpendicular to the belt, it will slide in or out. If you hold the male portion parallel (or in-line) with the belt then it holds tight.

I'll take pics if you need them.
-B-

 

[fj40crusher]

OK, so here are a few pictures. This is the carseat in the 60. Notice the clip that is about half way up the belt. That clip keeps the belt from loosening up.

Now, here is the one in the 80. Notice it doesn't have a clip. Instead the belt is attached to the other belt on the end. No clip! Did I lose it?

Scott

 

[fj40crusher]

[quote author=Beowulf link=board=2;threadid=6106;start=msg48956#msg48956 date=1065672228]
FJ40crusher,
The center lap belt on the 2nd row loops through the male portion one time, then the end (not the middle) has a plastic holder that goes around the part of the belt that is bolted to the floor. If you hold the male portion perpendicular to the belt, it will slide in or out. If you hold the male portion parallel (or in-line) with the belt then it holds tight.

I'll take pics if you need them.
-B-

[/quote]
Yeah I got that part. Thing is without the clip it doesn't want to stay parallel, to much slack!

 

[fj40crusher]

Beo,
Nice quote by the way!

Always wanted to put 1001010 on my cruiser, the 40 that is. Figured nobody would ever understand it.

 

[Beowulf]

Or 0111 0100 if you're a hex 8 bit byte kinda guy.
-B-

 

[bkgiii]

Why just 01001010.......rather than 01000110 01001010 ?

 

[GXO]

Given you are using a child seat I would recommend you not rely on the plastic retainer on the belt in any vehicle and go buy a metal belt lock. They cost like 2 bucks and lock the belt so no slack can build up....without it your child is at risk.

They are steel and look like a letter H...go get one ASAP!!

I use a side position now with the shoulder strap since my wife is majorly with child and can't reach into the middle anymore.

Good luck, keep them babies safe!!

 

[cary]

Okay, since this subject came up, does anyone know where I can get info on how to properly install/secure a child seat? It would be nice to know that I have the seat in correctly when the stork arrives in December.

Cary

 

[moralien]

[quote author=cary link=board=2;threadid=6106;start=msg49072#msg49072 date=1065713086]
Okay, since this subject came up, does anyone know where I can get info on how to properly install/secure a child seat? It would be nice to know that I have the seat in correctly when the stork arrives in December.

Cary
[/quote]

Best thing you can do is go to Baby's R US or Toys R us and get a mighty tight. They are a little pricey at 17 bucks a pop but work GREAT. It's basically just a ratchet for the seat belt. We have 3 kids in them ranging from 25 pounds to 65 pounds and fully tight they will not budge.

http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/ssk/ssk10001.html

Nick

 

[Beowulf]

[Beonese Lecture]
Mom & Dad,
Automobile accidents can and do happen all the time. "Fault" is relative and not under your control. No matter how safely you and your wife drive there are huge risks you face every time you open the door and start the engine.

In light of this, do whatever you can to secure those child seats safely. To secure them properly you will need some type of rear anchor system in addition to the lap belts. Do some research and design something that will safely protect the most precious gift on earth; your children.
[/Beonese Lecture]

-B-

 

[GXO]

If you have a carseat that is latch compatible you could probably make use of the 2 embedded cargo points in the rear to attach the hooks...hmmmm....

 

[Curran]

IIRC, the Milford Cargo Barrier has provisions to help mount car seats in the second row. I don't have any little ones, so I haven't had to try it out.
CJ

 

[fj40crusher]

[quote author=DanKunz link=board=2;threadid=6106;start=msg49097#msg49097 date=1065716705]
If you have a carseat that is latch compatible you could probably make use of the 2 embedded cargo points in the rear to attach the hooks...hmmmm....


[/quote]

I did that in my 80. In the 60 I went to West Marine and got a U bolt with a backing plate and mounted it on the upper part of my tailgate. Pretty solid, works really well for the anchor.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Agree with the whole danger/attachment/spend time on it thing. For our babies a few years ago, I didn't like the angle the removeable base left them when installed correctly. So I cut a piece of 2X4 the correct shape and covered it with carpet. This went under the rear edge of the base and accomplished several things:

- lifted the rear of the base so the center lap belt could put it under tension against the seat (otherwise, the lap belt at full tightness still allowed the base to slip around).
- provided a more stable platform in the event of a collision (child seat better connected to vehicle so baby's acceleration/G's mimic the vehicles - good thing) vs slips around and creates higher peak G's.
- prevented dents in the leather (unintended side effect)


Now that they're in forward facing seats, we aggressively shopped for a brand called Britax as you'll note in my sig line. The founder of this company was the Director of Safety for Mercedes Benz and their seats use the very latest in energy management and restraint research. They're also extraordinarily easy to use and adjust. They are hard to find, and at one point we had my two brothers (one on this list) who are airline pilots starting to look overseas for us. I think they're more available now, but even last year we had to have one shipped from a store in Naples, Florida. The first time you pick one up, you'll understand what this guy has in mind for your little one. Forget convenience of moving them, light weight, and the cost savings of less materials. These things weigh a ton!! You WILL have to wrestle them into place, but in a real bad collision they are like mini safety cages for the kids. I'd buy them if they weighed twice as much if I thought they'd minimize injury to the kids. It's all about mass and structural strength and I laugh when I see tests on seats that include "ease of carrying and switching vehicles" included in the evaluation. How about "These things have so much expensive energy absorbing material and a frame strong enough to support a truck so that several of our flabby and out of shape testers could not lift them"

Anyhow, they have upper straps that I attach to the empty third seat mounting points. The headrests are removed both so they have better fields of view and to allow the straps to go over the seatbacks. Our kids have had tight safety straps on since they were infants, and do not complain a whit when we firmly tighten them nowadays due to that conditioning. There's a direct correlation between peak G's suffered and tightness of the straps. Obviously, more injuries go with the higher G's.

Final comment. Whatever you can do to immobilize the seat and more firmly attach it to the vehicle carrying it will improve your child's chances of survival. Many vehicles built in the last 10 years actually have anchor points built in for these straps, but you have to order them through a dealer, then find the threaded holes already in place on the cargo floor, rear package tray, or rear roof pillars. Pulling most rear seatbelts fully out also activates a built in ratchet so that, wrapped around a child seat, the belt can be pulled as hard as you can and it will remain tight until fully released. Try this on yours - also handy for restraining something you're bringing home like a tool box or other potentially lethal item. These are called ELR/ALR belts and have been required in the US for many years. Few are aware of them. They're found on the rear shoulder and front passenger shoulder belts - not allowed on the driver's.

IdahoDoug

 

[GXO]

As a Daddy I will pitch in on Britax...they ROCK.

My boy has one, and will be moving to their booster soon.

I have one baby queued up in mom and will be here in December.

We will have a baby friendly Britax before then.

If you have kids that need seats/boosters....get Britax.

Oh, and if you have kids..you need a Chicco stroller....badass!

 

[IdahoDoug]

Dan,

Hold off on that booster as they move the child from a 5 point harness to using the car's seatbelts. Britax makes a hybrid booster for Europe that's good up to 85lbs and keeps them in a 5 point harness - excellent restraint. We've been watching for it to come available here and now it finally is available. It's called the Husky and you can see it at www.britaxusa.com. Good up to 80lbs, I guess - just checked the website. Anyhow, it seems to be the hot ticket.

IdahoDoug

 

[GXO]

ooooh! Good call!

I will make sure the boss knows about that.

Would make a very nice transition from his Advantage.

Thanks!

 

[IdahoDoug]

Interesting side note. On the Britax UK website it appears they sell this as the Traveler Plus in merry England for 399 British Pounds (over $600)!! Here, it's $239. If I'm correct that they're the exact unit, the UK version has an extender for the seating surface for long limbed kids which might come in handy as they near the weight limit, as well as a head restraint for when they're just big enough for it (I might need this). Plus, for our British listers we'll send 'em to you for half the price!!

IdahoDoug

 

[GXO]

www.babyage.com has em for $199.99 8)