Seat belts do not lock up up when you tug on them?

bluegoat

bluegoat

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MIddletown. DE
It appears that in that year seat belts do not lock up when you tug on them. Its a later years addition I guess. So the only way they activate is from sudden deceleration or extreme change in angle. Has anyone replaced them with a more advanced after market version? I have two little kids and I would like for those belts to be more reliable.

Thanks
 
With most seat belts, they won't lock up unless you apply quick and sudden force (the kind you'd get from a car rear ending you).

I haven't actually checked the seatbelts on my TJ, but I have to imagine they lock up. Are you positive they don't?
 
Yes. I have tried all four. None do when you tug on them. Took one off. It locks up from change in the angle so they do work but not as we expect in newer cars.
 
Here's something @Jerry Bransford said once upon a time on this same topic:

They're not suppose to, they don't work like that. The Wrangler's seat belt was not designed to lock up from being pulled fast or hard, it won't lock up no matter how fast you yank on it. It only locks up when the mechanism's locking mechanism locks up from its steel ball rolling out of the center of its orange plastic cup as below and locking the retractor via its yellow lever, like from sudden deceleration or if the Jeep is parked on a steep hill.

Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 8.38.04 AM.png


@mrblaine also said something on the same topic as well:

Buckle in, go find a spot to lean the rig over at a slight angle and then pull on the seatbelt to see if you can get some slack in it.

If you can't, it's working as designed, if you can, you have a problem that needs to be addressed.

We typically find that the lock mechanism is so sensitive that we put clips on them right above the retractor for when we exit the vehicle on trails when the rig isn't sitting flat, we can buckle back in when we go to move the rig. Otherwise, the seat belt retracts and can't be pulled back out until the rig is level again.
 
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bluegoat said:
Yes. I have tried all four. None do when you tug on them. Took one off. It locks up from change in the angle so they do work but not as we expect in newer cars.
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As explained above, no modern seatbelts lock up when you yank on them, they're not designed to work that way. You could be Superman and yank on them at the speed of sound and they won't lock up. What locks them up is inertia causing the little steel ball in the above photo to roll out of its cup to lock the mechanism up. So if you smash into something or you drive or park on a steep enough hill, the seat belts will lock up from that little steel ball rolling out of its cup. I have never seen a "newer car" where they would lock up by simply yanking on them. Neither my wife's Lexus nor my BMW do either, neither do they in my son's F-150 as I demonstrated to him when he asked why they don't lock up when he yanks on them.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
As explained above, no modern seatbelts lock up when you yank on them, they're not designed to work that way. You could be Superman and yank on them at the speed of sound and they won't lock up. What locks them up is inertia causing the little steel ball in the above photo to roll out of its cup to lock the mechanism up. So if you smash into something or you drive or park on a steep enough hill, the seat belts will lock up from that little steel ball rolling out of its cup. I have never seen a "newer car" where they would lock up by simply yanking on them. Neither my wife's Lexus nor my BMW do either, neither do they in my son's F-150 as I demonstrated to him when he asked why they don't lock up when he yanks on them.
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Jerry, I wanted to test this out because this thread got me thinking. I went out in the garage and sat in our 2015 Subaru Outback. I quickly yanked the seatbelt and sure enough it locks up. I did it a number of times just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and it actually does lock up every single time with just a snap of my wrist.

That’s weird... isn’t it?
 
Chris said:
Jerry, I wanted to test this out because this thread got me thinking. I went out in the garage and sat in our 2015 Subaru Outback. I quickly yanked the seatbelt and sure enough it locks up. I did it a number of times just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and it actually does lock up every single time with just a snap of my wrist.

That’s weird... isn’t it?
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Your Subaru obviously uses a true inertia reel seatbelt which I wasn't aware was used any more. So obviously it's not 100% of all vehicles as I thought. That is surprising since the American, German, and Japanese cars I own all use the same type of locking mechanism where yanking the seat belt won't lock it.
 
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Thanks for the replies guys. The reason I am asking is I have a two year old and since there are not baby seat latches in a 97 model I have to use a seat belt to secure his seat. I was hoping I could lock up the seat belt so its more secure on his baby seat. Otherwise there is not other way to secure it in back.
 
bluegoat said:
Thanks for the replies guys. The reason I am asking is I have a two year old and since there are not baby seat latches in a 97 model I have to use a seat belt to secure his seat. I was hoping I could lock up the seat belt so its more secure on his baby seat. Otherwise there is not other way to secure it in back.
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Oh my 2005 there are anchor points on the floor behind the seat for baby seat attachments. Yours doesn’t have those?
 
Don't think I have those. There are two anchor points on the floor that are too far apart to be for that purpose. I might be missing one. Besides if they are on the floor I am not sure if the baby seat belt would be long enough to reach them. Will try anyway. Thanks.
 
bluegoat said:
Yes. I have tried all four. None do when you tug on them. Took one off. It locks up from change in the angle so they do work but not as we expect in newer cars.
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The rear mechanism is the easiest to remove with a Torx bit on an extension. Remove on, tip it sideways and try to pull the belt out. ;) Not to mention that there used to be 1-2 post a week from someone who removed them and could not get the belt to extend to reinstall them because they didn't have it perfectly straight up and down as they lowered it to the bottom of the rollbar.
 
You have to find a perfect position (orientation) to allow the belt to retract. If you open them up I would not use the WD40 (thats fish oil), it will eventually gum them up. Use a dry lubricant with graphite.
 
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bluegoat said:
Don't think I have those. There are two anchor points on the floor that are too far apart to be for that purpose. I might be missing one. Besides if they are on the floor I am not sure if the baby seat belt would be long enough to reach them. Will try anyway. Thanks.
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What about a rear seat out of a 02 or later? They should have latch , unless the later wrangler seat doesn't fit the early years...
 
bluegoat said:
... If you open them up I would not use the WD40 (thats fish oil), it will eventually gum them up. Use a dry lubricant with graphite.
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WD40 is not fish oil, that's just an old tired myth. It's technically classified as a solvent and is petroleum based. It has a very thin viscosity which is one reason it's not a good lubricant and why it evaporates before long.

WD40 would never be my choice as a lube but as a flush/solvent/cleaner it's pretty good.

WD40 debunks the tired old fish oil rumor at https://www.wd40.com/cool-stuff/myths-legends-fun-facts
 
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