Seatbelt

well my drivers seatbelt wont retract...at all. anyone know how to fix this?

it's the metal spring that is unwound or split or jammed etc...
2 solutions:
1) get another one from the jard.
2) take the cover off the b pillar, unscrew and take out the mechanism.
you can flip the thing apart and have a look at the spring. mine was bent a few times and i was able to straighten it out by pulling it over a metal edge. just make sure you have no cracks in it - then you have to toss it...
just wind it up again, close the cover, bolt it back.

not a big deal if you're familiar with fixing stuff.

ok also to take it off it needs a torx bit. does anyone know what size? its pretty big...

The socket I use to take out the seat belt torx bolts, says T50 on the side. 1/2" drive, I broke a 3/8" drive socket in the same size, trying to remove a stuborn seat belt bolt.
I recieved a recall, on my 87 a couple of years after we bought it, for sticking seat belt retractors. Believe it was for the rears though, don´t really remember. Jeep did it at the same time as they did the O2 sensor recall.
Seat belts still didn´t retract after the Jeep dealer got through with it, I had to pull the carpet threads out of the rewind mech. myself.

well i finally got those suckers out, ended up using a pipe wrench. turns out the litte copper belt thingy that retracts it was busted. So its off to the junkyard tomorrow to get another one.

My jeep has the stickers for 02 sensor replacement so im guessin the seatbelts may have been checked out, also the rears retract fine.

thanks for the helps guys

I have 96 xj and EVERY seatbelt doesn't retract when I'm pulling the belt. I was told they should only retract after hard braking. What is right?

belfer said:

I have 96 xj and EVERY seatbelt doesn't retract when I'm pulling the belt. I was told they should only retract after hard braking. What is right?

Click to expand...

The belts are supposed to be under light spring tension when buckled across the occupant. This allows the occupant to move in the seat in a normal manner when reaching controls, etc.

In an impact, or at really sharp road angles (like climbing steep hills off road), the seatbelt spring mechanism will lock, and prevent the belt from extending any further. Once the tension is released on the belt, it will go back to being spring loaded.

If yours don't behave like this, get them fixed.

My 95 seatbelts retract fine but they have not yet locked. Not on hills/off camber, bumps or even pulling them as fast as possible by hand. Now I'm wondering if they would lock in an impact? Does this sound normal for XJ seatbelts?

Cheers.

Good luck on getting a seat belt from a salvage yard. Around here they say it is against the law to sell seat belts and catalytic convertors. In the right situation they just look the otherway.

sec said:

My 95 seatbelts retract fine but they have not yet locked. Not on hills/off camber, bumps or even pulling them as fast as possible by hand. Now I'm wondering if they would lock in an impact? Does this sound normal for XJ seatbelts?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

this thread is a bit stale, but i've just replaced one of mine, and the "new" one is now screwed-up too. i was searching for more intel, when i found this message.

i can contribute the following:

it sounds like yours could be working fine.

there's a pendulum lock in the retract mechanism. it does not operate until the pendulum swings. this means that centrifugal force from the retract mechanism unwinding does not activate the lock.

use this procedure to test it:

tighten the seat belt around your lap, then pull it tight against your shoulder so there's no slack. find a steep driveway and drive down it at about 5 to 7 mph. hammer the brakes and allow your upper body to move forward. in other words, don't hold the wheel so tightly that you prevent your body from loading the belt. the belt should hold you, keeping you from hitting the wheel. if this test fails, try again at about 10mph. if it still fais, remove and inspect the retract mechanism. you will see the pendulum in a little cage, and you will be able to test its functioning. replace the mechanism as required.

try www.car-part.com for the nationwide junk yard search engine. remember to ask about condition, especially rust around the pillar hanger and the retract mechanism itself. many parts are left out in the weather until someone places an order, so rust is common.

good luck,
bill