Mark and I have exchanged information and I will get the old seat belts out to him soon. Then he can brake (see what I did there?) them down and see about a fix action for the rest of the FTE readers.

 

It will be interesting to see what you guys come up with!

Nice video, thanks!

 

Now I'm getting stage fright!

 

Belts are being sent to Mark (Walleye Hunter) today. Hopefully he will have some time in the near future to tear into them.

On a side note, the belts from the 2006 cleaned up really nice and are working great. They get stuck on the cloth corners at times, but have not been in the way of the door shutting, or even close for that matter.

 

Sometimes they can be sooooo frustrating and I get back in and see it laying in a coiled pile sort of thing right next to the seat.

 

OK, I received the seat belts and have started in on them. I've been pretty busy and I'll go into more detail later. I have gotten one of them apart and see how they work except for how they lock and unlock. Have pics that I'll post too. It does not look good for one of my skill level to rejuvenate these things but I will try a different approach on the other piece. Going to Moody Blues concert for now but stay tuned for more information.

 

OK, the dissection has begun. Sous sent me his old, weak belts so we can see what's going on in there.

This cover is pop riveted onto the mechanism and has to be removed first.



It reveals this.





Not the best of pics but that black frame wraps around the galvanized piece which contains the belt, spring and locking device. It is riveted together and has to be separated to get at the stuff. Those rivets are mashed in there tight, most likely when hot and they won't come out even after the head is ground off, they had to be drilled.



I couldn't even find the center of the rivet, let alone drill it so I drilled a hole that let me chisel the rivets in off the edges and get them out.



That let me in at the cap on the end that holds the spring in place. The cap has several clips that hold it on much like the ones that hold the pigtails on the sensors. There is no room to get a screwdriver in there and while I was able to get my dental pick in there it was not strong enough and got mangled getting the clips released, but I did manage to do it.



And it revealed this spring, which retracts the belt. This is the same type of set up that you'll find in most recoil starters on small engines. Over time the spring weakens and won't pull the belt back in. I got the belt wound into the casing and tried winding some pre-load into the spring with a pair of needle nose pliers. That white plastic piece in the center has a cross in the bottom of it that fits into the mount below it. The plastic piece took a flight into oblivion and has yet to be recovered. I am going to try harder to see if I can get the other one opened up without drilling two pieces apart. But that's where it stands for right now.

The other side of the mechanism contains the locking device and most of that stuff is plastic gears. I'll get some pics of that for my next update.

 

Wow, Mark! Your dissection effort is of huge value. With what you've already shared, I'm convinced beyond doubt that these units are intended to be replaceable, but NOT REPAIRABLE, which means we can either live with weak springs, replace with salvage parts (which CAN be a VERY bad idea UNLESS you KNOW FOR A FACT they have never been stressed in a wreck), or replace with new. Our lives depend on them, and I'm not going to shave a few dollars to risk my life.

Don't get me wrong, though, I think your continued dissection effort will continue to be a huge benefit to all of us because it will confirm the issue of repairability! I will follow this closely if for no other reason than to put the issue to bed in my mind once and for all.

 

I agree with your sentiments on salvage seat belts if bought sight-unseen. I pulled the belts for Sous from a non-wrecked 2006 with a 6.uh-oh in it. The only reason it was in the yard was because it had been equipped with a 6.uh-oh from the factory...very unfortunate for it, but fortunate for Sous.

 

They are fixable, but as F250 I don't want to post the fix due to the "WHAT IF" scenario, not worth it if you don't know what to look for.

 

Yeah, the issue of liability with a seat belt is definitely something to be concerned about.

 

Nicmike, I understand the known viability you and Sous were privy to with the units you obtained for him, and agree with you on that detail. I've revised my comment above to reflect that nuance. It's a rare thing, though, to really know the quality or history of a seat belt from a salvage yard.

 

Sous, heads up, I responded to your PM.

 

Got it David, thanks.

I agree with Pete and trusted Mike to provide me with a good set of belts. He did just that and I am grateful for his time and efforts.

As for the old belts, I hope Mark can figure something out but I had a lack of confidence in being able to fix them myself. The "gray belt mod" on the other hand is working as it should.

 

I am of the same mindset. All four of mine need help retracting after 1/2 way. I have no doubt they are still safe, just annoying after unbuckling. You can't put a price on safety, but over $1200 is a big elephant to eat in one bite for all new belts.