Can seat belts be re-tensioned?
Discussion
The only way I can think you could do this is if you could pull the belt out from the hub until it has more tension to wind back, then wind the belt back around the hub by hand until its back in its correct position with the extra tension- but I dont know if the hub construction will let you do this however. You will loose total seat belt length in the process as I think there is an end stop on the hub rotation you cant go beyond. Not normally a problem however unless you are Professor klump.
The unwillingness to rewind can be other things. The obvious one is that the seat back is trapping the belt. Less obvious is that the belt can be in contact with the carpet from the top hook all the way down to the reel. This adds frictional resistance that when added to an old band spring will slowly lose the ability to overcome the friction. Try sliding a sheet of plastic or other low friction material between belt and carpet to see if that solves the problem
bobfather said:
This was my solution
Keep it off the carpet. I can't recall the regulation but the material and sizing of this bracket meets requirements
and I added some guides to help with access
Hi Bobfather, did you make these brackets yourself, or did you buy them? As I would be interested in a pair. Keep it off the carpet. I can't recall the regulation but the material and sizing of this bracket meets requirements
and I added some guides to help with access
Edited by bobfather on Thursday 14th July 16:50
FoxTVR430 said:
Hi Bobfather, did you make these brackets yourself, or did you buy them? As I would be interested in a pair.
I made them, I had access to a laser cutter in a previous job. I found the UK vehicle manufactures regs on line and followed that. If I recall correctly it asked for a minimum 4mm steel plate with high tensile UNF bolts, I used stainless steel. Basically, if you don't change the fixing points and leave all the angles of force the same then as long as the material is the same or better than the existing bracket you'll be okay. The bend in my extension plate is there to maintain the force angle remove the belt reel and give it a good hoover /blast with an airline with the belt pulled all the way out , then pledge the belt and the buckles it slides through , its often just dust and grime making them slow
if that fails theres places that refurb seatbelts , im sure they could fit a fresh spring
if that fails theres places that refurb seatbelts , im sure they could fit a fresh spring
IIRC the replacements are Securon 500/30's, only £43 inc VAT in Black ... £54 for colours.
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-XKC2528STYLE
Might be easier to simply replace than try to fix.
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-XKC2528STYLE
Might be easier to simply replace than try to fix.
Aussie John said:
Thanks Simon, filed this for future reference, cheers, John.
Everyone has an opinion and mine is the 500/30 are not the correct belts for these cars. The stalk is far too long. You may get away with it if you are of a larger disposition or you have the seat pulled forward. However put the seats back and be of slim build and the buckle ends up near your belly button. All just my opinion of course but I wouldn't be fitting them. I sent mine to FDTS and it came back all lovely with all my hardware swapped and a new retractor.The securon ones look cheap and nasty, but each to their own.
sgrimshaw said:
eBay is not my first stop when looking for car parts, especially when they're safety related 
Each to their own but there are now many very reputable suppliers using Ebay, selling good quality new stock.Caution is always advisable but with that particular seller having sold nearly 500 of them and offering the full range of sizes I'd be pretty confident they're not just clearing out a bit of "fire damaged" old stock they've picked up at an auction
Pretty much solved the problem, pulled out the belt from the tensioning unit and rewound the spring, then made up some brackets to hold the belt away from the carpet [ Thanks Bob!] The belts are now good [maybe not as good as new ones but very usable; thanks to all those who put up ideas, cheers, John.
bobfather said:
FoxTVR430 said:
Hi Bobfather, did you make these brackets yourself, or did you buy them? As I would be interested in a pair.
I made them, I had access to a laser cutter in a previous job. I found the UK vehicle manufactures regs on line and followed that. If I recall correctly it asked for a minimum 4mm steel plate with high tensile UNF bolts, I used stainless steel. Basically, if you don't change the fixing points and leave all the angles of force the same then as long as the material is the same or better than the existing bracket you'll be okay. The bend in my extension plate is there to maintain the force angle Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff