DIY Seatbelt refurbishing. Shoulder belt and lap belt.

[firefighterjed]

(This project requires access to a robust sewing machine.).

My '76's seat belts had seen better days. I had shopped for seat belts a couple times but the cost was prohibitive, especially for a product that was aftermarket and wasn't an exact match for OEM. Over time, the webbing had become so faded and brittle that it began to fray. Now I'm worried about the integrity of the webbing and something must be done. I stopped by a local tent and canvas repair shop and was happy to find that they had actual seatbelt webbing. I bought 30 feet for $18.


Replacing the webbing requires some disassembly of the seat belts. Since I had it apart I figured I’d clean things up a bit and spray some paint too. Here’s a pic of one lap belt done

 

[firefighterjed]

Pry with a fine screwdriver to remove the buckle cover

 

[firefighterjed]

Cut the belt and remove the rest of the parts. Take a pic of the order they came out, just in case your memory is like mine.

 

[firefighterjed]

Scrub and scrape and rub and buff until you’re happy with how your parts look. I used brake cleaner and a wire bush, then sanded and painted the parts that should be black. Assemble in the reverse order.

 

[firefighterjed]

Sew the ends on your webbing.

 

[firefighterjed]

Now for the shoulder belt.....

Remove the retractor assembly from you rig. Take a picture of the parts before you take them apart.
Cut the end of the webbing so all the parts can slide off.
The boot just pries off the retractor

 

[firefighterjed]

The smaller side of the retractor houses the clock spring which retracts the seat belt. Be careful as you remove this spring because it really sucks to rewind it into that houseing.

If you let all the webbing wind onto the spool the tension should be gone out the spring. Remove the three screws that secure the cover. Then pry up on the edge. There are three tabs that snap into the side of the retractor as well. You’ll need to pop those loose while keeping a hand on the spring cover to keep control of it. When the third tab is popped loose, the cover may feel like it wants to spin. This is residual tension in that clock spring. Carefully rotate the cover in the direction that it seems to want to go until it stops trying to unwind. One of mine needed two revolutions to unwind. The other didn’t need any. After the tension is out of the clock spring lift the cover slightly and pry the spring out of the slot in the end of the axle. Now be very careful to maintain control of the cover with the spring in it. Don’t let the spring out of the cover. It will unwind rapidly and ruin your day. Set the spring and cover aside in a safe spot where it won’t get bumped or knocked over.

 

[firefighterjed]

With the spring removed you can feed the old webbing off the spool. Hold the retractor vertically so the dogs release and the spool can spin. One fully extended cut the old webbing and pull it out of the axle. Feed the new webbing around the inside of the axel shaft and sew in place. Wind the new webbing onto the spool until it’s completely full, leave a few feet of tail and cut the webbing.

With the spool as full as can be, reinstall the clock spring and cover. As you extend the belt, the spring will tension and then retract the belt like normal.

Assemble the parts onto the webbing and sew the end on.

 

[firefighterjed]

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[firefighterjed]

My passenger side retractor was a little touchy and difficult for the passenger to extend. I was able to tweak a plastic part that improved the behavior of the retractor.

I remove the large side cover.
Find the opening as pictured. Use a fine standard screwdriver to tweak the end of that catch dog so it isn’t so close to the gear teeth. This allows the webbing to spool out easier, but still activate the catch when any inertia is applied to the actuator.

 

[firefighterjed]

When putting the side covers back on the retractor you may have to use a blunt instrument to click the tabs into their holes before driving the screws into their holes.

 

[GA Architect]

Nice work and documentation!

 

[secretsquirrel]

Thanks for writing this up. Is there any specs on the thread used or strength needed?

 

[SergP]

Excellent work. I have same condition old belts what I want to refurbish. It is really helpful. Thank you.

 

[MadMace]

Thank you for doing such a fine job documenting your restoration. I’ve got some seat belts in need of restoring and your write up will be a great resource.

 

[firefighterjed]

Thanks for writing this up. Is there any specs on the thread used or strength needed?

I didn’t research thread at all. I have lots left over from upholstery projects I’ve done, and this thread is similar size and the right color, so I went with it. I’m confident in the strength of the stitches.

 

[40FOX]

Awesome work, the belt came up like new!