nj_cutlass72

Calling out seat belt experts I bought online full set of belts but come to find out the retractor mechanism is not working, I dont even know if what I have is complete. I do have retractor belt for a 72 however was interested in using the belt set which most likely from a 71 model; the 71 model has a winding roll under the white cap but it does not in any way work. I guess my question do I have retractor thats incomplete and if no is there a way I can fix to work; thx

nj_cutlass72

The retractor on the right of pic which is from a 72 has more mechanical components so doesn't help me not having belts in my car and being familiar with this type of seat belts.

nj_cutlass72

And picture of full set that I was hoping to use.

stevengerard

I had the same issue, I fixed one but couldn't tell you how. Sorry. Just rewound it but I know it took many tries for me to get correct.

oddball

The 72 has a seat belt warning hookup that signals when the belt is retracted. That's the extra bits hanging on it.

IIRC, you have to pry the plastic cover off and see if the spring is still in one piece. If so, then you can wind it back up or see if there's a mechanical problem under there.

Fun71

Be very careful doing that! The spring (a long thin flat metal band) is wound up and contained by the plastic cover. I broke the plastic cover on a seat belt when the spring unwound as I was taking it apart - the plastic cover was launched straight down into the concrete garage floor and shattered - and I have yet to find a replacement plastic cover.

As for the process in general, the spring can be removed and if it has issues, it can be replaced with a spring from a different retractor (like one from a different year that may be easier to locate).

nj_cutlass72

thanks for the feedback, I did take a peek under plastic cover and saw that its metal band is wrapped around but not sure why its not functioning properly.

To get it to work, do I need to let it unwind all the way and at the same time let the belt unfold all the way and as I wind the spring the belt will also fold into place?

Fun71

The spring is wound a lot tighter than the length of the belt so that it will retract the belt fully. I had to play around with the number of turns (wraps) of the spring so there was sufficient tension when the belt was fully retracted.

crimsoncolby

I'm not clear whether you're saying you have a lack of belt tension...or, the retractor catch mechanism isn't allowing the belt to lock in place when it's retracted. I'll assume the former.

The only thing that helps the belt hold tension is the spring under the cap. There's no reason other than a broken spring that would cause it to lose tension. Well, that's not entirely true. If someone has taken it apart, they may have wound the spring/cap in the wrong direction. Or, the center shaft wasn't "re-seated" to the end of the spool and is allowing the looped end of the belt that's secured with the shaft to slip along with the shaft separately from the spool itself. That would cause loss of tension. Is the end of the spring seated in the slot in the end of the center shaft? Sometimes those break off.

BTW...the correct way to tension these is to wind the belt up on the spool (make sure it's wound in the correct direction) and then tension it by turning the cap/spring about 6 full revolutions (again, make sure you're turning it in the correct direction). The action of pulling out the belt from that point will add more tension to properly retract it.

nj_cutlass72

For some reason can't get the tension, I did wrap the coil tightly and snapped on the cover where the end of coil goes into the slot;

As soon as I pull the belt, coil slips from the slot, posted a few pics, not sure if it helps but perhaps it's missing a component otherwise how does it lock the belt to function properly. Hate to give up but may not have a choice.

nj_cutlass72

Few pics

nj_cutlass72

Few more

70Post

Unfortunately, in your pic above (posting#11) your index finger is covering up the most important "issue" here. There should be a bent tab/retainer tab on that outside end of the flat coil spring. Can't tell if your coil has that (and it's covered by your finger in the pic) OR if instead, the bent tab at the end is broken off. The "bent tab" end is what slips into the "slot/channel" in the plastic cover.

EDIT AND ADD: Looked at the "index finger" pic again and it sure looks like the retainer tab/bent tab may be broken off your spring. That would account for the lack of tension.

crimsoncolby

I noticed the same thing. If by chance it does have the bent tab, you can install the spring inside the cap in the manner in which you show it on the center stud. Be advised that the direction the spring is wound in the cap determines which side retractor it goes in. I believe the one you're showing would be correct for the driver side...but, can't be 100% sure without double-checking a spare retractor I have laying around.

nj_cutlass72

I wind it tight, put the bent end into slot but the moment I pull on the belt I hear it slipping.. hate give up on these two retractors; perhaps will list them for sale and have another member make use of them. thanks for the valuable feedback.

Fun71

Every time I look at the pictures of the spring I have a strange feeling that something doesn't look right. Seems I remember when I worked on one that the spring was wound in the opposite direction of what I thought it should go. I just can't remember the details of that encounter.

edit:
I think the spring on mine was wound so that it was tight against the outside of the plastic cover. (That's how I lost it - was winding the spring into the cover when I lost my grip on it and the spring unwound, launching the cover straight down onto the concrete floor.) Seems I remember the spring got wound when the belt was retracted and the spring unwinding was what pulled the belt back onto the reel. If this memory is correct, you may need to flip that spring over and wind it the opposite way.

In your post #11 picture, note how the outer end of the spring is has a contour in what appears to be the opposite direction than the direction the bulk is wound around the post. I think the spring needs to be wound in the direction that end piece is trying to go. Sure would be easier if I had one in front of me to play with instead of relying on an old memory.

crimsoncolby

The outer end of the spring should not be rounded before the sharp bend that holds it in the cap. It should be straight before it's bent at a sharp angle (like a "v") so it will fit correctly in the slot. May or may not be causing it to slip...although, I kind of doubt it as there would be enough spring tension from the subsequent coils to hold it in place. Let's try this, wind the coil up inside the cap and send a pic to confirm that's being done correctly. If so, then either you're winding the cap in the wrong direction once the inner spring end is placed in the slotted end of the stud, the belt and stud are slipping (not likely unless someone has removed the stud and, when reinstalling, didn't seat it properly to the end of the spool) or, the belt is being wound on the spool in the wrong direction.