Seat Belt Question

[TubeTruck]

I replaced my seat belts with the ones from LMC. Although I was under "1978 Suburban" I think they fit a pickup a lot better. I wish the female ends were factory length, they are 1-2" longer. And the retractor locks up unless you pull them super slow.

I kept my factory belts. Maybe someday I'll have them rewebbed.

 

[yevgenievich]

I tried lmc belts first, and I think the issue was that they were same for both sides and not flipped for better mounting on opposite side of the vehicle. Or maybe by second time I had the mounting figured out better.

 

[Phil 83K20]

@yevgenievich,

You say you "destroyed" your original seat belts. What the heck did you do to destroy them? Just curious.

I needed them removed to do the body work and the bolts holding them in were giving me a hard time...
I sort of melted some of the passenger side away while trying to convince the bolt to come loose with a torch. So then I figured I might as well just replace them both.

The bolts probably wouldn't have come out without my having cut the seat belt bracket with an angle grinder.

 

[bad_idea]

I've had seat belt bolts that refused to come out. I welded a 1/2-13 bolt to the top of the stuck/striped bolt. The heat from welding the bolt on was enough to convince it to come loose.

I too am in need of new belts. Haven't attempted to remove these yet. The rear belts do not operate correctly and the webbing is frayed. Plan to haul the wife and kids in the burb, so it needs to be (relatively) safe. Thanks for the recommendation on a quality vendor. Will check them out.

 

[voodooskin]

Replying to an old-ish thread:

I just sheared off the head on the bolt holding the driver side seatbelt to the floor. (I was trying to replace the seatbelts w. aftermarket). Applied liquid wrench, drilled a hole, tried easy-out reverse thread thing, no joy it is STUCK. Really do not want to have to drop the fuel tank to address this issue.

Seems to me my options are:
1. Try to heat the remaining bit of stuck bolt and hope the easy-out can move it
2. Take it to a shop of some kind and have someone weld a nut on the end of that stuck bolt, maybe also with heat can remove

Re. option 1: heat, this whole thing sits on top of the driver's side gas tank, any real concerns using a torch inside the cab heating the bolt considering the tank is 8" away?

Re. option 2: a welding shop, think a muffler shop might deal with something like this? They must deal with crappy nuts, bolts, and welding all the time. Else what type of shop should I look for, general automotive or something else?

Thanks!

 

[Old Guy Bill]

You want to heat the metal nut around the bolt so it expands… the trick is heating it quick before the heat transfers to the bolt itself. Have an impact/socket or long breaker bar ready.
That broken one needed to be drilled in the center.. grind a broken bolt off flat before center punching. You can still use a die grinder with the proper cutter, try not to destroy the threads of the nut.