Ok I know it’s not a new topic, but here’s my experience with it.
Going through my new to me TJ, one item of emphasis is safety, which brings me to the seatbelts. For the purpose of this discussion, I’m only referring to the front two, as I have yet to do anything with the rear seat yet.
One of my first inspection items was to test out the inertia reels. I.e. the locking mechanism that stops you from eating the dash or windshield in a collision. Easy enough, pull hard and fast to simulate abrupt deceleration and it should lock.
Driver side, check, no issue.
Passenger side, pull hard, no lock. Attempt several more times, same thing, it just feeds more belt.
That leaves me fairly disenchanted so I turn to the interwebs and find there is a ball mechanism inside that locks in unusual attitudes but releases when vertical.
So I decided to removed both seat belt and give them a good old fashioned cleaning, and rejuvenation.
Basically, clean the 20 years of dirt and grime from the webbing and the mechanicals, without disassembling it. I’ve done this before, usually soaking in mild soap and water does the trick.
So I removed the passenger side and first thing I encounter is that it retracts to its full capacity and locks, with no signs of unlocking, regardless of anything I try to unspool it.
Back to the interweb I go for more knowledge on the subject.
I find that it has to be perfectly vertical to unlock, yet this is not having any effect in my case.
I spend oh about 30 min playing with it until I get it to disengage.
I unspooled it completely and then used a clamp (hemostat) to prevent it from retracting again.
In a solution of warm water and dishsoap, I throughly clean the webbing and mechanism by soaking and scrubbing. I then thoroughly rinse with clean water and dry using compressed air and a towel. Then hung it to dry. The rest of the way. While it was drying, I used the same process on the driver side belt.
Once dry, I removed the clamp, and let it spool up. Then attempted to unspool it. Now it functions perfectly. It locks when pulled hard and fast, releases with ease when vertical, and locks in any unusual attitude (anything other than vertical).
The results are repeatable. I’m feeling good about the seatbelt once again.
Same thing for the driver side, although I notice it has a slightly different design, as slightly stronger return spring.
Looking at the manufacture date, I find a code that, but notice it’s not clear what the date was. Maybe 2011, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for my 2002 TJ, unless they were replaced, but if that was the case, why are they different from each other?
So while I’m at it, and they’re drying, I remove the buckle as well, and give them the same treatment, as they too are sticky with dirt and dust. After a thorough cleaning and drying, I used a squirt or two of triflow (lubricant) inside to assure free movement and corrosion prevention.
A quick bench test with the buckle into the release mechanism returns excellent results, the operate like new. No sticking or jamming. Just easy in and out.
Fantastic.
So I re install the belts back into the vehicle, and prepare to be amazed with the newfound ease and reliability.
First side I test is the passenger belt, which caused me to go down this rabbit hole in the first place.
Same test, pull hard and fast to engage the inertia reel, simulating a crash or abrupt deceleration.
IT DOESNT LOCK.
What in the actual heck!?
Several more attempts, same thing. I just spools until no more belt is left to give.
I know it was working perfect in all possible manners on the bench.
Now once mounted up in that “perfectly vertical position” it won’t lock.
I’m certain it will lock if the jeep is rolled or at an angle, but would it do it’s job in a collision? Probably.
Maybe. But do I really know for sure; no idea.
Driver side totally behaves the way I would expect.
Sorry for the long winded post. Hence the title Seatbelt Saga.
Going through my new to me TJ, one item of emphasis is safety, which brings me to the seatbelts. For the purpose of this discussion, I’m only referring to the front two, as I have yet to do anything with the rear seat yet.
One of my first inspection items was to test out the inertia reels. I.e. the locking mechanism that stops you from eating the dash or windshield in a collision. Easy enough, pull hard and fast to simulate abrupt deceleration and it should lock.
Driver side, check, no issue.
Passenger side, pull hard, no lock. Attempt several more times, same thing, it just feeds more belt.
That leaves me fairly disenchanted so I turn to the interwebs and find there is a ball mechanism inside that locks in unusual attitudes but releases when vertical.
So I decided to removed both seat belt and give them a good old fashioned cleaning, and rejuvenation.
Basically, clean the 20 years of dirt and grime from the webbing and the mechanicals, without disassembling it. I’ve done this before, usually soaking in mild soap and water does the trick.
So I removed the passenger side and first thing I encounter is that it retracts to its full capacity and locks, with no signs of unlocking, regardless of anything I try to unspool it.
Back to the interweb I go for more knowledge on the subject.
I find that it has to be perfectly vertical to unlock, yet this is not having any effect in my case.
I spend oh about 30 min playing with it until I get it to disengage.
I unspooled it completely and then used a clamp (hemostat) to prevent it from retracting again.
In a solution of warm water and dishsoap, I throughly clean the webbing and mechanism by soaking and scrubbing. I then thoroughly rinse with clean water and dry using compressed air and a towel. Then hung it to dry. The rest of the way. While it was drying, I used the same process on the driver side belt.
Once dry, I removed the clamp, and let it spool up. Then attempted to unspool it. Now it functions perfectly. It locks when pulled hard and fast, releases with ease when vertical, and locks in any unusual attitude (anything other than vertical).
The results are repeatable. I’m feeling good about the seatbelt once again.
Same thing for the driver side, although I notice it has a slightly different design, as slightly stronger return spring.
Looking at the manufacture date, I find a code that, but notice it’s not clear what the date was. Maybe 2011, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for my 2002 TJ, unless they were replaced, but if that was the case, why are they different from each other?
So while I’m at it, and they’re drying, I remove the buckle as well, and give them the same treatment, as they too are sticky with dirt and dust. After a thorough cleaning and drying, I used a squirt or two of triflow (lubricant) inside to assure free movement and corrosion prevention.
A quick bench test with the buckle into the release mechanism returns excellent results, the operate like new. No sticking or jamming. Just easy in and out.
Fantastic.
So I re install the belts back into the vehicle, and prepare to be amazed with the newfound ease and reliability.
First side I test is the passenger belt, which caused me to go down this rabbit hole in the first place.
Same test, pull hard and fast to engage the inertia reel, simulating a crash or abrupt deceleration.
IT DOESNT LOCK.
What in the actual heck!?
Several more attempts, same thing. I just spools until no more belt is left to give.
I know it was working perfect in all possible manners on the bench.
Now once mounted up in that “perfectly vertical position” it won’t lock.
I’m certain it will lock if the jeep is rolled or at an angle, but would it do it’s job in a collision? Probably.
Maybe. But do I really know for sure; no idea.
Driver side totally behaves the way I would expect.
Sorry for the long winded post. Hence the title Seatbelt Saga.
