Seat Belt Question

I just need to know if this is normal..
Most vehicles I've owned, if you jerk on the seat belt quickly enough the seat belt will ratchet and lock. On my '87 XJ.. no matter how fast you pull it, it doesn't lock. That pretty much makes the shoulder part of belt useless. The seat belt still works because part of the belt that you plug in (the part you grab with your hand) has a slider that tightens....

So my question is... is this the same way yall's work?

I just tried my 87 & it took several yanks before it locked. These are 20 yr old belts so they probably don't work as well as they should.Hopefully an impact will be hard enough to make them lock. Mine don't always retract the way they should either. I think they are a GM design in the AMC rigs . I have had some hit & miss luck taking 70s & 80 GM belt retractors apart, cleaning & reassembling them so they work properly. So my answer is "Yes that is the same way mine work", but it's not the way they should work.

First off, it's tough to similate a sudden stop by jerking with your hand. I remember once I had similar doubts about the shoulder harness on an 83 Pontiac, until one time when I had to make a sudden stop and it held up. I never could trigger it by hand, but I could with slamming on the brakes. So, you might want to try that in a parking lot somewhere (be safe though).

Second, if you like your face and teeth the way they are, lap belt isn't enough, go to a junk yard and get one that really works.