HDJ81 2nd-row seatbelt mod/retrofit

[mot]

Nice Job Mot San.

You could use a new sub woofer. Wish would have know that, would have given you mine.

Tossed it away about 1 month ago.

Cheers,


LandCrusher80

-R-,

Thanks for the offer!

Yeah that thing had disintegrated to kingdom come.
I had an external subwoofer box, but got it stolen when it was getting shipped across the pond.

Hope all is well!

I just wanted to say thanks for doing such an excellent job documenting this procedure! I was looking for an answer to this very question, and couldn't have hoped for a more thorough explanation, and pics to boot!

You know, when I first posted this I did not think there would be so many of you in the same situation.

I'm thrilled to find out that I was wrong.

I'm just glad that I could contribute to this wonderful forum and you wonderful folks that have given me so much over the years.

Mot

 

[IanB]

I was installing new seatbelts to pass safety tonight, and after swapping the center sections where the seat latches are the rear seats won't latch down to the floor anymore. I searched and found a thread that said to lube up the hinges, and hold the handle back while slamming it down, and that works sometimes for the left side seat (to prevent confusion as this is a RHD truck), but it can still be yanked up and loose by hand without touching the release, and the right side rear seat won't stay latched to the floor at all.

I followed this thread on the rear seatbelt swap (thanks again Mot!), and did the same thing as him in swapping the belt sections and keeping the truck's original latch assembly, so the latch is the same as what was fitted to the truck before I started.

I've lubed up the latches with fluid film, the rods are in place to position the latch as you drop the seat to the floor, the cables for the releases are slack during all this, I'm not sure what else to do. There doesn't appear to be any adjustment room, the latch is either tight or loose to the seat bottom. I'm thinking of trying to shim it with washers or something, any ideas?

Also, why are most of the threads you find when you search locked? A lot of good info disappears into the archives when you can't bring up an old conversation.

 

[IanB]

Update: I had to remove the release cable from its bracket to swap the center seatbelt sections, I guess I tightened up the slack adjusters when reinstalling, and the guide rod was pulling the slack out of the cable as the seat was lowered, so the release mechanism was being pulled slightly and it wouldn't catch. Took a bit of testing to get this figured out, but seatbelt swap is complete and a success!

For the shoulder belt mounting point, you can feel just above the rear window guard where the threaded hole is, so I was able to make small a "X" incision at that site and fit the bolt through.

Again, thanks for the DIY, very helpful!

 

[mot]

Glad to hear that you were able to iron out the slight glitch you had encountered!

This must be the most gratifying thread I have ever started!

Glad that you guys have found it helpful.

 

[veiloctane]

I also have a early hdj81 with lapbelts I am interested in doing the same for my land cruiser 80 do you have a part number list of everything needed? what generation were the belts from to make this work? would seatbetls from a usa 80 model or lexus lx450 work?

 

[IanB]

I don't have part #'s, but can confirm that any 2nd row seatbelts from a US spec 80 series or LX450 will work.

For the front row, you need to pay attention to the style of attachment at the top of the B-pillar, and make sure you get ones that match. There are 2 styles used here and they are not interchangeable, I'm not sure which is which and what year the split was, just pay attention to this detail.

 

[zoojp]

Thanks for this thread!!

The top bolt that goes into the pillar is a 7/16x20. (I think).

The little bolt that goes in the top of the retractor is an M6.

I used an M10 nut and bolt for the bottom.

 

[HillCountryTX]

I want to thank @mot for this write-up and all the photos! I used his how-to heavily to finally replace the 2nd row passenger and driver side lap belts in our 1991 HDJ81 with shoulder belts. To help others who may find themselves wanting to do this, here is how I procured the necessary equipment:

* Two 2nd row retractable shoulder belts from @Deathvalleypaul from an 80's series Land Cruiser. He was very, very helpful and went above and beyond, with after-sales support! He included the top bolt that goes in the upper pillar for each shoulder belt, as well as some other hardware...very handy.
* Two 2nd row seat belt receivers (i.e. female end) from CruiserParts.net
* Two 7/16 x 1.5 inch long bolts, each with 2 appropriately sized washers and a nylon lock nut from local hardware store
* Two M6x20x1.00 Thread Pitch bolts, each with a lock-washer from local hardware store

*WARNING* - I did not realize this at the time, but there were several "types" of seat belt clips and receivers offered by Toyota from the 80's series Land Cruisers...so be very careful if you purchase your shoulder belts and your receivers from different sources. You need to make sure that the seat belt clip (the metal shiny thing that either has a squarish hole, or an arched hole) actually fits in the receiver properly. I mistakenly did not specify exactly what type of seat belt clip I had in my possession when I ordered the seat belt receiver and so the receiver did not fit properly the first time. Props to CruiserParts.net for working with me and sending me a different set of 2nd row seat belt receivers after I had sent them the shoulder belt that I was going to use. If you get both the seat belt receiver AND the shoulder belt from the same donor vehicle/source, you should be ok. I wish I had known about this before I had to go through the back and forth

This swap took me a few hours, start to finish. It was not technically difficult at all, just time consuming to remove all the necessary interior panels and get some vacuuming done at the same time!

 

[TaoCruiser91]

Thanks for the write up!
I have successfully upgraded my belts.
I sourced take off parts to insure the belts and buckles matched. It also seems as if the belts are available but the buckles are discontinued.

The belt reels came with grade 8 (gold) hardware (flange bolt, lock washer, and retainer). I sourced 7/16 nuts and washers also grade 8 gold from Ace Hardware. Everything feels like OEM strength to me.

I used a 6mm grade 8 flange bolt and lock washer for the top mounting point on the reel.

Everything bolted together with no hassle at all.

 

[TaoCruiser91]

Satisfied.