Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I got a problem when off road, even when just on a mild dirt road that vibrations cause the seat belts to keep getting tighter, my kids goin nuts and takes it off. He always puts it back on cos he wont ride without one nor will I let him, but I have to stop or slow right down to snails pace before the belts will release.

The drivers belt hardly does it but all the others are bad for it.

Is there a fix for this annoying problem (that's legal)?

Type of vehicle???

If they are the electronic pretensioner type you may well be stuck with the problem. Normal retractable seatbelts normally stay where you put them.

No fancy electric pretensioners on this ol glorified farmers ute
Just normal retractables. It's a 98 rodeo dual cab.

Seen a few over the years ......

absolute bastiches of things


only solution I have found is left hand right shoulder..... about 5 minutes after you have got another one from the wreckers


Usually the wreckers charge between $50 - $80 each..... only other solution is to clip a bulldog clip up near the top slider whch clamps the two belts together .... NB.... not legal to do this !

Kingy

Kinda defeats the purpose of the belt,
but you can put a heavy paper clip on it
and it wont get too tight

V8Patrol wrote:only other solution is to clip a bulldog clip up near the top slider whch clamps the two belts together .... NB.... not legal to do this !

Oddly enough an RTA officer told my dad it was acceptable for him to do this whilst driving his truck to relieve a bit of tension off his shoulders. Aslong as what he used wasn't sharp or damge the belt and only loose enough to still be sitting correctly on him but to relieve a bit of the pressure.

On my 97 Rodeo I have found that on a hill when 4wding if I lean back into the seat the belt will tighten. However as I am on a hill they will not loosen when you lean forward. The same as when you get in the vehicle on a steep hill you cannot put the belt on until you are off the hill.

Is this what you mean? It can be a bugger but when you know why it is happening you can deal with it.

I'm with you on the wearing the seatbelt thing too. I feel weird if I even move a car without a seatbelt on. It is just second nature to put the belt on as soon as I sit in the seat.

r0ck_m0nkey wrote:

V8Patrol wrote:only other solution is to clip a bulldog clip up near the top slider whch clamps the two belts together .... NB.... not legal to do this !

Oddly enough an RTA officer told my dad it was acceptable for him to do this whilst driving his truck to relieve a bit of tension off his shoulders. Aslong as what he used wasn't sharp or damge the belt and only loose enough to still be sitting correctly on him but to relieve a bit of the pressure.

Or a clothes peg ( no sharp edges)

BJ

Every retractor has a installation angle , meaning where it sits in a vehicle on level ground , but they all have a automatic tilt lock function ,

reason being that if you are involved in a sideways roll over where there is no forward inertia the belt will still lock after a given tilt angle of the vehicle ,
and that tolerance is that it must lock between 12 and 24 degrees after the installation angle.
Same thing happens if your ...... lets say , going over a cliff front on , the belt will lock although there is no forward inertia , worst case scenario.

That is why belts lock on strange angles and only when they are on flattish ground they will unlock.

And in regards to your problem sudso , check that your retractors are mounted in the right position meaning that they arent twisted over on a angle a bit , because that will give you a very sensitive retractor.

cheers.

I have the opposite problem, whic apparently is rampant in Jimnys. The retractor has died in the arse, when I undo my seat belt and flick it back, the retractor isn't strong enough to pull it back in.
So it hangs out my door and the metal tongue gets slammed in it (leaving a dint) when i get out.
problem is, does a slack retractor cause problems in an accident? Will it still lock when it needs to?
(I know stuff all about seatbelts )

Squik wrote:I have the opposite problem, whic apparently is rampant in Jimnys. The retractor has died in the arse, when I undo my seat belt and flick it back, the retractor isn't strong enough to pull it back in.
So it hangs out my door and the metal tongue gets slammed in it (leaving a dint) when i get out.
problem is, does a slack retractor cause problems in an accident? Will it still lock when it needs to?
(I know stuff all about seatbelts )

Generally its the return spring has got weaker or slipped internaly on the spigot ,
i would replace it , yes it should still lock , but is any ones guess for how long.
I would not be trusting it at all , if components are already failing.

Squik this may not be the case for you but in our work utes if the seatbelt is dirty (even only minute not even visible dirt) then the seatbelt will not retract. The problem is the belt does not glide over the loop/pulley thing that sits above your right shoulder (driver) on the pillar. Once cleaned or if you push the belt through this loop it retracts as it should.

Supercheap have smallish battery clamps hanging around their shops in packs of 4; ideal for this problem. Just get yourself comfortable and clip one on. I wouldn't be without them in any vehicle.

Bob

Sometimes it can be a design problem especially when the vehicle concerned was originally designed as a 2wd.
The further the retractor mechanism is off the floor the sooner it will retract/lock when the vehicle is tilted.
There also ppears to be a difference between say a Cruiser inertia reel and and an aftermarket or car one. The car or aftermarket ones tend to keep pulling in while the cruiser ones don't seem to.

My wife's Frontera does the same thing but only on the passenger front.
Could be a Izuzu thing.
But keep the ideas coming cause I'll try them as well.

Just be careful when buying from a wrecker. If the belt was being worn at the time of a collision then the fabric may well have done its job and stretched. You are compromising your safety by replacing with a potentially unsafe seat belt. That is why some SES cut the belts when they are doing an extraction because it has done its job.

Unless you know the history of the vehicle or have the ability to tell the difference , go new if you can afford it.

I mean you wouldn't use a franger twice....would you?

bugger

Excellent point Roadnazi!
I used to get the odd pair of retractable seat belts from wreckers to upgrade from the old adjustables but I never paid for them, I dont think the wreckers were allowed to sell seat belts from a wreck. Here in SA anyway.

Heycharger, I think your'e right about about the whole angle thing.
Some vehicles are just worse than others I guess.
Sounds like mine's not the only one.

just put a bulldog clip or a wrap a bit of electrical tape around the belt to squash it a little so it wont fit back trough the top mount, no sharp edges.
just make sure the belt is adjusted correctly first.

On one of my vehicles I used a dolly wooden peg it worked well and if you happened on a huge bump it would fall off and the belt would work as normal , we just put the belt on as normal let it adjust then put the peg on.
If your belt is reluctant to retract clean with amourall or some such dash cleaner which makes the belt clean and slippery fixing the prob.

uh, i bought non-retractable belts for my sierra.

different means to an end...but the same end regardless...I use a ziptie to stop the belt from retracting too far!