Sealtbelt tensioners weak

[flippin'eck]

My seatbelt retracts very lazily, is there any way to regain it's vigour from it's younger days apart from replacing the gubbins?

If not, how easy is it to replace whatevers gone weak & what exactly would I need..

(these are standard mk1b seatbelts)

[j0nathan]

Oooo... I'd be interested in this info...

[kaiowas]

Not sure how easy it is to refurb the mechanisms. I know there's a big warning on the mechanism housing that basically says "If you open this up you'll die" and I've not yet been brave enough to ignore the warning and see exactly what goes on in there. I'm assuming that there's a spring under a lot of tension in there though and if you open it up the whole thing will probably explode in your hands.

[Polypedates]

AFAIK they are designed to be replaced, not rebuilt.

I don't recall there being an easy way to dismantle them last time I happened to be looking at one, although that is not to say it couldn't be done.

It would be easier to replace with anonther one in better condition although that too is frowned upon. Might be interesting to see if Toyota still do them though and how many hundreds of pounds they cost

[classic mk1]

I would leave well alone, you could possibly find a modern belt in the breakers. the attachments are pretty much the same, obviously the adjustable shoulder height type wont be any good.

[Tony jinxy froude]

I personally wouldnt touch another type of seatbelt unless its made for the mk1, if it sits at a slighgtly different angle to the properly designed mk1 tensioner then it wont work properly & wont lock when its needed.
My own belt is the same where i have to feed it through the top anchor point... its a MK1 thang , Jinxy

[flippin'eck]

Sounds like the only real solution is a newie, or a good secondhand one out of a scrapper then eh.. Cheers guys, just thought maybe there was something obvious / easily replaceable etc. I'll give mr T & maybe some breakers a try, or just live with it

[kevin..in]

Sounds like the only real solution is a newie, or a good secondhand one out of a scrapper then eh.. Cheers guys, just thought maybe there was something obvious / easily replaceable etc. I'll give mr T & maybe some breakers a try, or just live with it

be warned if you take a seat belt out of a scrapper you have no way of knowing what loads it has been put under in any accident

if it does not work the first thing you will know about it is when your face gets mashed into the steering wheel

scrap seat belts make good engine hoists or if your creative then weave them into a hamock, trust your finely chisled good looks to one

[flippin'eck]

You could say that really for the existing belt I've already got, I guess - I don't think the car's ever been in a high-energy collision, from looking, but I don't have any proof of that. I'd certainly avoid a belt from a mangled scrapper though.. good point

I'm hoping Mr T isn't ridiculously expensive & still has some in stock really, but not exactly holding my breath

[flippin'eck]

Interesting response from Mr T. He quoted £38 for a 'replacement spring element', then rang back to say, very sorry sir, no stock left at the mothership

[Lunarmatic]

I was thinking that my seatbelts were pretty sluggish to retract only the other day! I was assuming that if I wanted to replace them at some point I'd be able to get new ones from Mr T. I guess not.

Anyone know if belt retracting is an MOT test item? Or do they just test for them locking if given a sharp tug?

[jimi]

Or do they just test for them locking if given a sharp tug?

That is not part of the mot test ths part of what they check

5. Fasten each belt locking mechanism and try to pull the locked sections apart. On retracting seat belts, check that with the mechanism fastened and the seat unoccupied, excess webbing is wound into the retracting unit.
Note: Some types of retracting belt might need manual help before they retract.
Operate the release mechanism while pulling on the belt to check that the mechanism releases when required

Full thing here CLICKY

[classic mk1]

Hi, came across these tonight. http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/standard-ret ... -811-p.asp These look as thou they would be a suitable alternative.

[MrMacko]

bringing a old topic to live i would like to ask something.
the car went to mot and failed with a "nearside front seat belt locking mechanism does not secure or release"
the seatbelt ataches to the lock (oposite to the seatbelt fixings) and it stays in place.
what happens is that if we give it a wack it wont lock the rooling sistem for the seat belt.
can i use the previous post and tell them that its the locking mechanism that needs to lock and not the rooling system?
or... is my seatbeltS both broken??
Thanks