It's been 15 long years since my 89 LX 5.0 was born and the seat belts dont retract hard at all. When i pull them they retract slowly back in and sometimes i have to feed them up there. I was wondering what i can do about this, so it will retract like a normal car (my mom got a new subaru and they retract fast, like i want mine to do). How would i fix it myself? How many screws would i have to take out to undo the side panel or the interior near the seat belt retractors? Any help? Comments? Higher someone to do it for me for 20$?
How to fix seat belts.
- Thread starter custom89stang
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HyPer-50
Member
Yup, I'd definatly like to know this too... Sick and tired of having my seatbelt hanging out the door.
BlackFox5.0
Founding Member
Make sure the "button" thing works. It is on the body near the striker when you open the door, it's black and it's aclyindrical, if that doesn't work, then that would explain the reason why they don't go back. Another reason is that it is worn out. I'm not sure if our belts can be wound up like some others can....
cardudeusa
Founding Member
I was pricing the retractor part on 50resto.com and I think they were close to $200. My 87 does the same thing.
I think that late model resto has new ones.
For a quick fix, I just opened up the housing that holds the retractor and wound the metal band inside it tighter. I think that the reason it quit working is because the metalband that is wound inside it came unwound. The factory just bends up a small tab at the end of it. The problem is that either this tab bends back almost straight, or the plastic that holds the tab breaks. If the plastic is broken then you need a new retractor. Mine was fine so I just slid the end of the band out of the housing and bent it back, then I took a butane torch to it (I figured this might harden the metal so it wouldn't bend out of shape again).
DON'T REMOVE THE WHOLE BAND, THIS WILL BE A PITA TO GET BACK IN!! If it unwinds then just wind it up again, just not too tight as it will bind up, and too loose will not work either.
I hope this helps. If you have questions, just PM me. Later.
Mo' Town
__________________
GAU89LXStang
I got this out of one of the similar threads at the bottom of the page. That is his user name at the bottom if you want to shoot this person a PM.
For a quick fix, I just opened up the housing that holds the retractor and wound the metal band inside it tighter. I think that the reason it quit working is because the metalband that is wound inside it came unwound. The factory just bends up a small tab at the end of it. The problem is that either this tab bends back almost straight, or the plastic that holds the tab breaks. If the plastic is broken then you need a new retractor. Mine was fine so I just slid the end of the band out of the housing and bent it back, then I took a butane torch to it (I figured this might harden the metal so it wouldn't bend out of shape again).
DON'T REMOVE THE WHOLE BAND, THIS WILL BE A PITA TO GET BACK IN!! If it unwinds then just wind it up again, just not too tight as it will bind up, and too loose will not work either.
I hope this helps. If you have questions, just PM me. Later.
Mo' Town
__________________
GAU89LXStang
I got this out of one of the similar threads at the bottom of the page. That is his user name at the bottom if you want to shoot this person a PM.
88LX
Founding Member
i was just going to post this question. my belt retracts slowly. and i guess my "button" works. i mean i can push it in and it will spring out. im doing my weatherstripping this spring so i thought id fix my belts. anyone else got an idea?
93 teal terror
Founding Member
You drill holes and slots in the seatbelt to disipate all the heat.....
Sorry couldnt help myself
Sorry couldnt help myself
Ray III
New Member
I took my driver's seatbelt apart because of this and tried winding the spring up to make it retract better. This worked in my other car but in my 89 I had the spring as tinghtly wound as I could possibly get it with the seat belt extended, and it still would not retract. The spring is just fatigued and no good. Unless someone knows how to restore the springiness or where to buy a spring separately, the only fix is to get a new seatbelt assembly.
This is $130 from the ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER so don't go buying stuff from that ripoff site...
Three good reasons to buy a new seatbelt: it works like new, it's clean, and then when you look at all new seatbelts they are nice and supple whereas aged seatbelts are stiff. Seatbelts are designed to stretch to minimize its force against you in the event of an accident, and if you're using an old stiff one you will hit it harder and it might even break.
This is $130 from the ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER so don't go buying stuff from that ripoff site...
Three good reasons to buy a new seatbelt: it works like new, it's clean, and then when you look at all new seatbelts they are nice and supple whereas aged seatbelts are stiff. Seatbelts are designed to stretch to minimize its force against you in the event of an accident, and if you're using an old stiff one you will hit it harder and it might even break.
ECU5.0
Banned
i bet you could find a seat belt in a junk yard that worked...im having the same problem and im gonna try to fix it and if i cant im gonna check a junk yard
BlackFox5.0
Founding Member
custom89stang said:
It's behind the panel next to the back seat, it's directly under where the belt goes into the panel. Youll need a big Torx bit (not sure what size) to take out the belt thats bolted to the floor, and the one on the B-pillar then you slide that through the panel, and at the end of the belt, is the retracter, it's a good size white box.
BlackFox5.0
Founding Member
Well you could always pull the panel back, but you could break it, and you'll probably cut up your hands trying to work behind a panel. You'd still at least have to take the bolt out of the B-pillar....
And yes, it is a lot of work to get at it.
And yes, it is a lot of work to get at it.
