DupermanDave

If you couldnt tell from me recent posts, my truck needs a lot of work.

Right now the seat belts are worn so much they hardly go back up on their own. We have to lift them and push them back into the roller.

I saw instructions here that showed how to do it (think it was 4crawlers quick tips page) but it wasnt as simple as the page had made it out to be. The guide simply said to tighten the screw at the center of the spring. Well, the screw in the center of mine is plastic, and it wont twist. If I twist it any more, it will crack and split the plastic.

Does anyone else have any better advice?

mt_goat

I've heard some people get improvement by washing the belt. But it didn't really help mine. I haven't found anything that works yet. Good luck

DupermanDave

I was also told (and experienced) that the dealership will replace seatbelts for free since it's a safety requirement. We had a nissan that the dealership had to replace the seat belts because the motor that operated the automatic sliding seat belt thingy was broken. It wasn't a recall, but they fixed it for free.

mt_goat

Worth a try I guess.

DupermanDave

I've been researching this for 2 weeks and now that I have the day off from work I've been spending the morning looking this up. I can't find anyone with a success story. I'm still searching, though.

GSGALLANT

I don't know what the assembly is like on your '89, but on the '93 4Runner I used to have, it was easy enough to do. I didn't take any pictures, and I'd have to see it again to remember exactly how I did it, but I do remember the following:

I had to pull the belt out fully, hold onto the "drum" that the belt wraps around, push the belt out through the slot in the "drum" a little bit, remove the belt retainer (plastic piece that goes in the loop at the end of the belt and keeps it from coming right out when it's fully extended), rotate the "drum" a few turns in the "tightening" direction, put the belt back in through the slot in the "drum", install the belt retainer, then let the belt coil back onto the drum. Do not overtighten it. If you overdo it, the spring inside can let go and unspool (the end of the spring is just bent and pushed into a little slot in the plastic). Trust me... it's a pain to take apart to fix that (but it's do-able).

The only thing that I remember really being a pain in the butt was making sure I didn't accidentally let go of the drum when I had the belt off. I slipped once, and completely unspooled. It took forever to wind it up again to tension the spring.

DupermanDave

that's how it's described here: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/minutemods/seatbelt/

I'mm go to the parking garage tonight and take another look. I may have had the wrong impressions going into this project, which is why I cant figure out how to wind the spring tighter

GSGALLANT

Yep... that's essentially what I did. When he says tighten the spool... that's what I meant when I said rotate the "drum" in the "tightening" direction.

DupermanDave

How do you get the little white stem out (the plastic piece that keeps the belt in the spool)? What tools do you need to pry it out?

WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

I don't think you are supposed to take that part out. I believe you are meant to try to wind the spring tighter. I went through that procedure and it failed. That little plastic part just holds the end of the spring. When I wound my spring tighter, the plastic park would hold on to the end. It's a waste of time IMHO.

scope103

When I had this problem I replaced the belt, and it has worked fine lo these past 6 years.

By "replace the belt" I didn't buy a Toyota part, I bought seat belt material at REI (local outdoor/mountaineering place) and sewed up a new belt. The sewing is pretty trivial.

The part that may be unfamiliar to you is down near the floor anchor; the belt is doubled back on itself and sewed together. This is so if you really hit the belt hard, the stitching in the doubled part will rip apart, keeping it from breaking your collar bone. Maybe.

Tightening the belt, even if you get it to work, will just be something you have to do over and over. Sew yourself a new part and you will be done for at least 6 years.

GSGALLANT

If I remember correctly, just pushing the belt itself back through the slot in the drum was enough to free it and the retainer from the drum (I might have had to pry it out with a small screwdriver). After it's free of the drum, you just push it out of the belt loop with your finger (or again a screwdriver).

Although old belt material (stiff and dirty), makes the problem of the belt not retracting worse, if the spring is also weak, a new belt will not get it back to like new condition... I agree it will still make it better. What I found for me, was a combination of tightening the spring, cleaning the belt material with soapy water (which softened it up), and cleaning the upper bracket that holds the seatbelt above your shoulder (it was all gummed up with black sticky stuff) made my seatbelts work like new again.

aviator

Black sticky stuff = congealed sweat mixed with dust and just a little lube oil from the drum = yuck!

sided00r

The spool on my seatbelt, I can't seem to make it turn in the 'tightening' direction. It is locked in place, is there access to the part that locks that direction, to 'unlock' so I CAN turn the spool in the tightening direction? I am holding it level/up and down. '94.