So in my latest "bigass maintenance project" on my 98 F150 ECLB 5.4, one of the things I'm trying to have done is to replace the 2 seat belt buckles in the back seat that are right beside each other, cause the internal springs on both have failed and neither will buckle and hold the seat belt securely.

Well wouldn't ya know, the part I bought for it (from somebody else who was parting out another 10th gen EC truck) turned out to be completely wrong....I guess this may have been yet another of the many things that were changed in the 1999+ trucks...who knows. My big problem is that Ford can't even give me a part #, and is telling me that this assembly is outright discontinued. The whole assembly consists of the 2 buckles in question, as well as the latch and strap that are used to release the back seat so the bottom section can flip forward.

Does anybody know of a 97 or 98 extended cab truck that's being parted out and might have a good one of these that can be bought? Is there a way to remove the buckles from the latch assy and replace those alone? Can the buckles even be repaired internally?

I'm stumped here folks, any input would be helpful at this point, cause I *need* this repair done so I can secure a car seat in the back of my truck and not worry about my son, or the potential of the buckle failing, if I were to get into an accident.