SanDiegoPaul

My belt retracter is getting cranky - sometimes it won't pull out and other times it won't retract. How do you get to it and who's repaired them?

1979toy

If the problem is the lower one, they suffer from rust buildup. Remove the seat, spray with WD-40 scrub off all the rust that you can and work the retractor a few times. I have found coins in the retractor that prevented full retraction.

suz72vette

Be sure to pull the belt out of the retractor fully before doing this, to minimize the amount of spray lubricant that ends up on the belts themselves (and eventually on your pants).

Also, at least true in 72s, covering the retractor (underneath the carpet) there is supposed to be a plastic "clamshell" to prevent the carpet from getting tangled up in the retractor mechanism.

In our 72, a previous owner put in new carpet but must have tossed (or forgot about) the clamshell retractor covers. Likewise, we made the mistake of mentioning difficulty with the retractors to the seller who said "No problem - I'll take care of it by tomorrow when you pick up the car" ... and apparently sprayed the heck of out 'em with WD40 or eqiuvalent, belt fabric and all. Thanks, Mister. Hindsight being 20/20, hopefully you can learn from these mistakes !

Good luck,

Suzanne & Jim

Big Fish

If cleaning and lubing it doesn't help, try these people: http://www.ssnake-oyl.com.

They re-webbed my lap belt only, replaced the retractor, sewed on new labels same as original equipment, and total charge was around 150. The webbing was an exact color and pattern match, I was very pleased. Maybe yours only needs the retractor which would be a little less $$$.

suz72vette

Corvette magazine has an article on-line featuring Ssnake-oyl's very nice work ... view it here:
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2001...p/bucklep1.asp

Also, if it comes to the point of replacing belts and/or retractors and BigFish's $150 cost at ssnake-oyl is more than you're willing to spend for a driver, have a look at this forum thread for do-it-yourself replacement with camaro belts:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=566021

Finally, our situation was no original lap/shoulder belt hardware that ssnake-oyl could begin with, and their quote was closer to $600 starting from nothing (several other sources were comparably high). We ended up with a much better deal from "America's Finest Corvettes" (http://www.corvetteusa.com) so they might also be worth a call ... and they're almost local for you.

Good luck !

Suzanne & Jim



[Modified by suz72vette, 4:12 PM 7/20/2003]

SanDiegoPaul

Thanks all for the help. Yes it is the lower one that is getting cranky. It just seems that the belt disappears into the floor. Is there an access panel under the carpet? :hat

Big Fish

You won't have too much trouble getting to it once you remove the seat and sill plate. You then could gently pull the carpet out of the way and remove the "clamshell" that covers the retractor. There is a drain hole in the retractor recess, but often they get plugged up and won't let any standing water out. Sometimes the bolt securing the retractor is quite stubborn and will need to be drilled out, re-tapped and replaced.