Issues with seatbelts

[mibars]

Hi all,

My seatbelts suck & lack of proper seatbelts is a major issue for me.

I have dual retractors, independent for the lap belt and shoulder belt and middle seats with adjustable lap belts. Retractors seem to work different than in modern cars, that is you can pull as fast and hard as you wish and they will not lock, they only react to g-forces. They have also less tension than modern belts, it feels like there is always some slack in these belts. I’m not sure if it is how it suppose to be, or something has worn out. As a result I keep sliding in turns and jumping on a bench seat almost like I was unbuckled.

Additionally I have couple of issues:

-Front shoulder belt has so little tension that it sometimes fails to retract, you need to pull it slightly and let go to make it tighten.

-Rear left lab belt got soaked in some oil and barely moves, it is basically stuck.

-Rear right belt is stuck at some intermediate length.


Are those Suburban belts so weak from default or do they wear out? Is there a way to improve them? Has anyone figured out how to install shoulder belt on center seats? Any idea what may have happened with the seatbelts that are stuck?

 

[gmbellew]

the reactors use a hanging weight that locks up when the vehicle is rapidly decelerating.

the belts are a little tricky, with a wound up spring that is used to retract and maintain tension that sits outside the spool for each retractor. one of my springs popped out and it was an exercise on finger dexterity and strength to reassemble it. I'd rather not ever do it again if I don't have to.

I will say the rear belts with dual retractors in the middle row of my burb are a but tricky to get to retract all the way. you have to sort of hold the belt portion out in front of you to get it to retract when you unbuckle. it doesn't help that the area between the seat and door doesn't have a lot of room for the belt to freely move and that makes it harder to get it to retract properly.

but otherwise mine are all operational. I think even when they were new, you had to somewhat regularly readjust the shoulder belt to keep the slack out.

I seem to remember somebody mentioning a place to send them off to be refurbished, but I don't recall for sure. try searching and see what you come up with.

I've never seen anybody add shoulder belts to the center seats in the 2nd or 3rd row, or 1st row bench. it would have to be a seat swap with integrated belt or some reinforcing at the roof to allow it to be attached there.

 

[mibars]

I can feel that dangling weight with my fingers under front retractors.

From what I've learned I need Torx T50 to remove seat belts to inspect them. Maybe there is a chance to clean or grease something or to give the spring one or two more rotations to make it work better.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I can feel that dangling weight with my fingers under front retractors.

From what I've learned I need Torx T50 to remove seat belts to inspect them. Maybe there is a chance to clean or grease something or to give the spring one or two more rotations to make it work better.

The square body Burbs didn't have a shoulder belt in the center of the second row. That came in with the next generation trucks.
I've had problems with the retractors on the back seats on my crew cab; they had dust and carpet fuzz in them from not being used much in 26 years. I was able to take the one I use(when my brother goes with Mom and I, he rides shotgun and I ride behind him) off the floorboard and pull the cover off. Then I cleaned the junk out of it,and I could see the weights and the cables they're on. I just kept messing with it until I got it to come all the way out, and then clamped it. Then I reinstalled the belt assembly and got in the seat, so I could see where it needed to go back to, so I could clamp it again.
I got a better working belt assembly out of a crew cab at the wrecking yard last week, but haven't installed it yet.

 

[nb96z]

I haven’t seen anyone add 3 point belts for center seats, but there are 4 point harnesses available.

 

[David King]

Have an '85 C-10. Removed the seat, installed new carpet. During that process, removed all the seat belts and driver and passenger side retractable seat belt mechanisms with the belts intact. The retractable mechanisms were full of old carpet, dirt, and just plain nasty. Cleaned them up in my parts cleaner then blew them out with compressed air. Then I extended the belts as far as I could. With the belts still attached to the retract mechanism, I poured 2 cups of fabric softener into a 5 gal. bucket of water and put all the seat belts into the softener mixture. Let the retractable mechanisms hang outside the bucket. After two/three days, took them out, washed them off and they came out beautiful, clean, and very pliable and soft. The retractable mechanisms worked great, nice and smooth!

 

[calredneck]

Have an '85 C-10. Removed the seat, installed new carpet. During that process, removed all the seat belts and driver and passenger side retractable seat belt mechanisms with the belts intact. The retractable mechanisms were full of old carpet, dirt, and just plain nasty. Cleaned them up in my parts cleaner then blew them out with compressed air. Then I extended the belts as far as I could. With the belts still attached to the retract mechanism, I poured 2 cups of fabric softener into a 5 gal. bucket of water and put all the seat belts into the softener mixture. Let the retractable mechanisms hang outside the bucket. After two/three days, took them out, washed them off and they came out beautiful, clean, and very pliable and soft. The retractable mechanisms worked great, nice and smooth!

I think the belts get hard that why they don't retract well I am going to try the fabric softener that mite make a big difference

 

[Lorrie]

A bunch of years ago (10+), I purchased belts from LMC truck for my 89 Burb (2nd row of seats). They are really nice and work well.

 

[gogo14910]

Hi all,

My seatbelts suck & lack of proper seatbelts is a major issue for me.

I have dual retractors, independent for the lap belt and shoulder belt and middle seats with adjustable lap belts. Retractors seem to work different than in modern cars, that is you can pull as fast and hard as you wish and they will not lock, they only react to g-forces. They have also less tension than modern belts, it feels like there is always some slack in these belts. I’m not sure if it is how it suppose to be, or something has worn out. As a result I keep sliding in turns and jumping on a bench seat almost like I was unbuckled.

Additionally I have couple of issues:

-Front shoulder belt has so little tension that it sometimes fails to retract, you need to pull it slightly and let go to make it tighten.

-Rear left lab belt got soaked in some oil and barely moves, it is basically stuck.

-Rear right belt is stuck at some intermediate length.


Are those Suburban belts so weak from default or do they wear out? Is there a way to improve them? Has anyone figured out how to install shoulder belt on center seats? Any idea what may have happened with the seatbelts that are stuck?

Tina King on FB restores seatbelts. She would be able to answer any and all questions you have. This is a set she did for me.

 

[gmbellew]

Tina King on FB restores seatbelts. She would be able to answer any and all questions you have. This is a set she did for me.

rough cost and turnaround time?

 

[gogo14910]

rough cost and turnaround time?

I have a standard cab. Ran a little over $200? Can’t really remember but not ridiculous. This was a couple years ago. She communicates really well and returns them in 2-3 weeks?

 

[mibars]

Question: What's the bolt size & thread for rear (middle row) seatbelts? Looks like mine doesn't want to come out in one piece...

 

[Redfish]

For some reason Mrs. Redfish manages to mess up the operation of the passenger side seat belt in The '87 every d**n time she rides in it. I first assumed it was because she had to stretch it all the way out to get it around her oversized body... But I think she pulls it so rapidly that she actually activates the lock mechanism.
There is a hanging weight under there that sort of feels like a metal version of the game piece from the old board game "Sorry". I have to contort my finger to reach in under the plastic skirt/cover, above that weight and there is a tiny reset button that I press downward toward the top of that weight. This makes the seat belt retract properly...until the next time she rides in the truck.

My son never has any problems with it...

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[mibars]

I can feel these hanging weights with my fingers and no amount of playing with them makes these belts free.

I want to disassemble everything, inspect it, clean it, grease what's greaseable and reassemble it knowing that they are in a good working order.

I twisted and slipped T50 wrench in a bolt on one side, the other one is corroded, so I feel like I'll need to cut it anyway, so I'm looking for thread size for replacement bolts.

As a last resort I can replace anchor plates with bolts, which I'd like to avoid if possible.

 

[Redfish]

I can feel these hanging weights with my fingers and no amount of playing with them makes these belts free.

I want to disassemble everything, inspect it, clean it, grease what's greaseable and reassemble it knowing that they are in a good working order.

I twisted and slipped T50 wrench in a bolt on one side, the other one is corroded, so I feel like I'll need to cut it anyway, so I'm looking for thread size for replacement bolts.

As a last resort I can replace anchor plates with bolts, which I'd like to avoid if possible.

No, messing with the weight won't help. You have to get your finger above the weight. On top of whatever that weight is hanging from is a small "button". Pressing that button straight down toward the top of that weight always restores my belt to normal operation.

Of course you may have other issues, all of these things are old.

I initially found this "reset" by accident. I removed the mechanism but did not see any easy way to disassemble the plastic cover.