Touchy seatbelts
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 247
Likes: 0
From: Baton Rouge LA
Touchy seatbelts
Seatbelts are turning into a pain in my a** 
You have to develop the "touch" to pull them across your lap and over the shoulder to latch them. Go too fast and they lock. It isn't so bad leaning over the ladies' lap to help with theirs, but I'm getting sick of it on my side. Any tips on how to fix? How do I get to the lap belt? After washing the car, I also get wet lap belts. I doubt this can be good. How is the water getting to the belt? I can just imagine what the water is doing to the frame around it.
You have to develop the "touch" to pull them across your lap and over the shoulder to latch them. Go too fast and they lock. It isn't so bad leaning over the ladies' lap to help with theirs, but I'm getting sick of it on my side. Any tips on how to fix? How do I get to the lap belt? After washing the car, I also get wet lap belts. I doubt this can be good. How is the water getting to the belt? I can just imagine what the water is doing to the frame around it.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 10,275
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
I had a similar issue with mine.
Wet belts, and they'd lock up the second you pulled them. It was impossible to pull them out without reaching under the seat and fiddling w/ the latch.
So I took the belt completely out. The water was coming from underneath, theres a hole down there and the plus was missing.
But water will also wick up, so you will need to put some sort of moisture barrier underneath. (yes I removed the seat, too).
Then I unwound the seatbelt and found that there was some rust build-up in between the belt windings. Whatever hardware is used to attach the belt to the ratchet mechanism was rusted, and it increased the diameter of the wounded belt. The diameter is what the latch rides against to determine when to catch. So, after I removed the rust, the belt wound back to a smaller diameter, and PRESTO, the darn thing works perfect.
Wet belts, and they'd lock up the second you pulled them. It was impossible to pull them out without reaching under the seat and fiddling w/ the latch.
So I took the belt completely out. The water was coming from underneath, theres a hole down there and the plus was missing.
But water will also wick up, so you will need to put some sort of moisture barrier underneath. (yes I removed the seat, too).
Then I unwound the seatbelt and found that there was some rust build-up in between the belt windings. Whatever hardware is used to attach the belt to the ratchet mechanism was rusted, and it increased the diameter of the wounded belt. The diameter is what the latch rides against to determine when to catch. So, after I removed the rust, the belt wound back to a smaller diameter, and PRESTO, the darn thing works perfect.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 10,275
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
Seat, yes. Carpet, no.
Seat comes out by removing the 4 bolts on each end of the rails.
Its not too difficult.
You will then have access to the seatbelt spool that is mounted underneath the seat. I also think there is a cover that will need to be removed. Pull the belt all the way out and look for rust build up at the core. If there is, clean it out! This should fix the catchy belt problem. If its really wet & moldy while you are down there, I would suggest pulling the carpet up at that spot and looking for the missing plug, and possibly putting down some type of moisture barrier.
Good luck. PS. Removing the T-tops really helped when removing the seats. (more headroom!)
Seat comes out by removing the 4 bolts on each end of the rails.
Its not too difficult.
You will then have access to the seatbelt spool that is mounted underneath the seat. I also think there is a cover that will need to be removed. Pull the belt all the way out and look for rust build up at the core. If there is, clean it out! This should fix the catchy belt problem. If its really wet & moldy while you are down there, I would suggest pulling the carpet up at that spot and looking for the missing plug, and possibly putting down some type of moisture barrier.
Good luck. PS. Removing the T-tops really helped when removing the seats. (more headroom!)
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 247
Likes: 0
From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by trotter73
I had the same problem, water got in there and didn't drain. Seized right up 
, had to order a belt from the Corvette auto wreckers.
, had to order a belt from the Corvette auto wreckers.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Ontario
Originally Posted by Custum73
what did you do to prevent water from getting in there again?
the problem on mine was the driver side was missing the rubber strip that goes at the bottom of the door jam by the sill plate that directs water to flow away from interior, hope that makes sense. So whenever I washed the car the, water would go into the car there and sit in the seatbelt retractor area, I didn't realise this was happening, and then when I took the car out last spring, I couldn't get the seatbelt to cooperate, so I pulled the seat and there was still water in there, after 4 months
, 2 inches high, retractor was totally unsalvageable.I replaced the rubber,
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Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 3,685
Likes: 202
From: Waterford Mi
The seatbelt retractors are mounted under the carpet. That’s why they come through a hole in the carpet. There is a plastic cover that covers them so the carpet doesn't get into them. Check the rubber hoses that connect the astro vent to the wheel wells. If they are rotted or split water can run into the interior when it rains or you wash the car. Pull the seats and carpet out and wash the car to see where the water is coming from. Leaky T-Tops, window seals, door jams, etc... I replaced my crappy seatbelts with F-body rear belts and they work great (that's if you don't care about originality).
