Seat belt retraction ‐ rebuild services?

[D60]

Ford is particularly good about periodically designing a seat belt that retracts very poorly.

My '11 F350 is driving me nuts. Has anyone ever had belts "serviced"? It's like it needs to be slid apart, wound tighter a revolution or two and reassembled.

I know some of the mechanisms can result in the "POING!!!!" of spring(s) unwinding so I'd be happy to ship it off to a professional, if there is such a thing?

Surely I can't be the only member here to have been tormented by poor seat belt retraction. What did you do?

 

[tcp71]

Quite a few seatbelts have explosive "pre-tensioners" built in that activate with the air bags. These are explosives. Not something to play with.

https://blog.myairbags.com/what-is-a-seat-belt-pretensioner

 

[RooflessVW]

There are companies that rebuild belts. I need to send my Touareg's driver's somewhere, the belt is starting to fray.

 

[drtyler]

Have you checked on the cost of new assembly from Ford?

 

[zzyzzx]

I'm reasonably sure that I've seen TY videos where Samcrac had sent them out someplace for repair.

 

[D60]

Quite a few seatbelts have explosive "pre-tensioners" built in that activate with the air bags. These are explosives. Not something to play with.

https://blog.myairbags.com/what-is-a-seat-belt-pretensioner

Oh my the sky is falling!!

AFAIK Ford puts the pretensioner on the female buckle side, ie driver right hip assuming a US-spec left hand drive vehicle.

 

[D60]

Have you checked on the cost of new assembly from Ford?

No, but I was considering paging @bdcardinal

Still, when I got the truck at 130k they were terrible. I'm not sure if Ford improved this along the way or if they were dismally weak from the factory. I just don't want to buy OEM and practice the definition of insanity, replacing with an identical part and expecting a different result.

I haven't played with the belts in other 11-16 SuperDutys so I don't know

 

[D60]

There are companies that rebuild belts. I need to send my Touareg's driver's somewhere, the belt is starting to fray.

Well lemmeno if you do!

 

[thastinger]

No, but I was considering paging @bdcardinal

Still, when I got the truck at 130k they were terrible. I'm not sure if Ford improved this along the way or if they were dismally weak from the factory. I just don't want to buy OEM and practice the definition of insanity, replacing with an identical part and expecting a different result.

I haven't played with the belts in other 11-16 SuperDutys so I don't know

I need to do something with the driver one in my 98 F150. I've owned it since new, only recently started to not retract without some help and has never been in an accident. Mine will go half way back in by itself but needs help the rest of the way.

 

[BHopkins]

My son had his seat belts, for his '88 Fiero Formula, repaired. The repair included opening up the retractor spring, cleaning out all the old, caked up grease and putting in fresh grease and replacing the webbing. The results are very nice. The seat belts now extract and retract like they should. And the new webbing he selected really snaps.

Here are before and after pics.

He used this place.

I need to do something with the driver one in my 98 F150. I've owned it since new, only recently started to not retract without some help and has never been in an accident. Mine will go half way back in by itself but needs help the rest of the way.

https://www.safetyrestore.com/conte...86rJTTAvsarivPk8bI5NDpTqDuxJul2EaAkdEEALw_wcB

 

[BHopkins]

You might try a thing or two before having seat belts repaired. There are a couple items that can are easy to do, and can make a seat belt retract better.

First, is the webbing particularly dirty, to the point that it feels a little stiff, and no longer flexible? If yes, then clean the seat belt webbing. There are some good YouTube videos that show how to go about it, and a recent discussion here on BITOG about it also.

Second, lift the seat belt webbing where the webbing comes out of the B pillar, and look for any buildup of grime on the turnbuckle (aka a D-ring). Clean up any of this grime, so that the surface of the turnbuckle where the seat belt rides on, is nice and clean.

Quite often, particularly in older cars, this can be all that is needed to make a seat belt retract much better.

In defense of Ford, and any other auto manufacturer, it is difficult to get just the right amount of tension on a seat belt, particularly for people in North America. We consumers don't want a seat belt to be too tight on our torso, because we don't want it to interfere with our comfort, or crease a pretty chiffon blouse. At the same time, we don't want a lazy retractor, that leaves the webbing out, so that it could get slammed in the door.

It would be easy for seat belt manufacturers to increase tension, so seat belts always retract. But then, no one would wear them, because it would be uncomfortable.

 

[bdcardinal]

No, but I was considering paging @bdcardinal

Still, when I got the truck at 130k they were terrible. I'm not sure if Ford improved this along the way or if they were dismally weak from the factory. I just don't want to buy OEM and practice the definition of insanity, replacing with an identical part and expecting a different result.

I haven't played with the belts in other 11-16 SuperDutys so I don't know

Ultimos ocho digitos del VIN, por favor. That is the extent of my Spanish.

 

[D60]

My son had his seat belts, for his '88 Fiero Formula, repaired. The repair included opening up the retractor spring, cleaning out all the old, caked up grease and putting in fresh grease and replacing the webbing. The results are very nice. The seat belts now extract and retract like they should. And the new webbing he selected really snaps.

Here are before and after pics.

View attachment 234225View attachment 234226

He used this place.


https://www.safetyrestore.com/conte...86rJTTAvsarivPk8bI5NDpTqDuxJul2EaAkdEEALw_wcB

Fantastic info, thank you!

 

[Number_35]

Ultimos ocho digitos del VIN, por favor. That is the extent of my Spanish.

For whatever reason, that made perfect sense - and I didn't think I knew any Spanish.

 

[Dave9]

Try lubing the mechanism with a "little" bit of light oil. Light oil because it will mix with the hardened grease to thin it (operate the belt several times to work it in, right after application) instead of having to clean all that out, which you could always do on your next attempt if that doesn't work.

 

[wpod]

Some times the dirt messes them up I took apart a retractor on a Toyota and cleaned it and it worked until I sold the truck

 

[bdcardinal]

For whatever reason, that made perfect sense - and I didn't think I knew any Spanish.

Selling car parts in Southern California requires a wee bit of Spanish knowledge.

 

[fsdork]

Oh my the sky is falling!!

AFAIK Ford puts the pretensioner on the female buckle side, ie driver right hip assuming a US-spec left hand drive vehicle.

They can be on the buckle side, but are more commonly integrated with the retractor.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Unbeknownst to many, if not most, seat belt webbing does have a finite service life, and the average age of vehicle ownership now means that encroachment beyond that term is more likely. In competition applications, the clock starts ticking from the date of manufacture.

As with tires, it's not a black/white, yes/no absolute situation, and usage conditions play a role, but by the book, seat belts are not lifetime parts, even if they're treated that way as a practical matter.

Especially if they've been involved in an accident, as "one time use" parts. Which makes that "retractor only" post-accident service offered above questionable, even without the hard sell nature of the site giving off an uncomfortable vibe.

Honda feels strongly enough about this to offer a lifetime warranty on the belts in their U.S. vehicles.

 

[BHopkins]

Try lubing the mechanism with a "little" bit of light oil. Light oil because it will mix with the hardened grease to thin it (operate the belt several times to work it in, right after application) instead of having to clean all that out, which you could always do on your next attempt if that doesn't work.

Opening up a seat belt retractor spring cassette is not quite that simple. Well, doing it successfully, isn't that simple. Any dolt can open up a retractor, and have the spring fly out, so the retractor becomes land fill fodder. But it take experience and finesse to do it successfully.

I used to work at a seat belt manufacturing facility, and have opened up dozens, if not hundreds, of seat belt retractors, and have had plenty of springs pop out on me. Trying to rewind the spring, and put it back in place is a very frustrating and almost futile task. So unless you have experience, I wouldn't recommend attempting it.

Unbeknownst to many, if not most, seat belt webbing does have a finite service life, and the average age of vehicle ownership now means that encroachment beyond that term is more likely. In competition applications, the clock starts ticking from the date of manufacture.

As with tires, it's not a black/white, yes/no absolute situation, and usage conditions play a role, but by the book, seat belts are not lifetime parts, even if they're treated that way as a practical matter.

Especially if they've been involved in an accident, as "one time use" parts. Which makes that "retractor only" post-accident service offered above questionable, even without the hard sell nature of the site giving off an uncomfortable vibe.

Honda feels strongly enough about this to offer a lifetime warranty on the belts in their U.S. vehicles.

Seat belt longevity is definitely a matter of how well they are cared for. Just like any other synthetic textile, seat belt webbing is susceptible to wear and UV rot. And, unless you have a Takata seat belt, the life expectancy of the pretensioners keeps being increased. When I was in the industry, aging testing continued to show that the pyrotechnic in pretensioners has a very long life expectancy, well beyond the original predictions.

That said, I am a touch envious of our friends in Australia. From what I understand, Australian motor vehicle regulations make it illegal to have worn, damaged, frayed or faded seatbelts. So there are shops across Australia that specialize in selling and installing aftermarket and rebuilt seat belts.