ugman

I bought a 1978 coupe this week and one of the seat belts wouldn' retract. I removed the plastic interior parts to find that the cover for the spring had come off and the spring was unwound. Is there a way to recoil this yourself and get the cover back on? I played with for a half hour with absolutely no success.

ugman

stingray72

Yes, it can be done; in fact, I did this to my own 72 with retractors. You have to wind the spring fairly tight so it has enough energy to recoil the belt once it is pulled out. This is also a dangerous job, and I would advise the use of safety glasses.
Keep in mind that seat belts are a safety item, and if you can buy a replacement belt, by all means do so. I since replaced the one on my car with a brand new one from http://www.andoauto.com They're not cheap, but its worth it in my opinion.

Good luck with the 78!

George

Big Fish

Just got my driver's side belt back from Ssnake-Oyl. they did a fantastic job. I had the lap belt retractor replaced, new webbing for the lap belt (a perfect match for color and pattern) and new labels sewn on for $157.00 including shipping.

ugman

Thanks for the info. I will probably send it out to get refurbished. I'm guessing it will just pop off again after I get it all together anyway.

Thanks again.

KWIL

Dont send it off just yet- its really not that hard, I recently did this on a rusty retractor from my 76. (Assuming you have a rotary tool/ drill and a tap and die set.

The cap has little plastic pins (3 I think) that probably broke off of yours. So even if you wind the spring again, you wont be able to keep it in place. First, look at the retractor and see if the pins (tabs) are stuck in the retactor. If they are, pull them out with some pliers. Then, drill a little hole through the cap where the pins broke off (big enough to get a small bolt through.)

Using a small tap (cant remember the size- #6 maybe) thread the three holes where the broken pins were. Using the corresponding size bolt, attach the cap to the retractor (after you wind the spring of course.) The bolt has to be very short or it will interfere with the operation of the unit. When bolted down, it should just protrude from the underside of the recently tapped piece. Total cost of the fix was about 50 cents for the bolts.

If this didnt make sense, let me know and I will try to clarify.



:cheers: Kevin

ugman

The pins are all fine. How did you recoil the spring, then get the spring back in place with the cap on?

KWIL

is the spring completely out of the retractor? if so, widen the slot that it fits into, press it in place and sqeeze the slot shut. Then, wind it by hand- its really not as hard as it might seem. When you get to the end, slip the tail end of the spring into the cap while keeping pressure on the spring. Then snap the cap on- since the pins are still good.