good question. my driver seat belt doesn't retract very quickly, so
i'd like to know also........

 

same here :/

 

They're supposed to retract?!

 

I didn’t think so till I read this topic

 

I couldn't find that seatbelt mod anywhere... but I did find where Shawn mentioned that SUTHNR posted it... only one thing came up with his name tho... a couple threads said to pull the seat belt out and let it slide thru a rag w/armor all or spray WD40 on it... I might try that with one of my armor all wipes or something.

 

Cut the plastic were it's binding...that's all you have to do...Just trim it a bit...

 

Quick Question: I don't have front seatbelts, i did the two seater mod, and accidentally cut the front ones out as well, and well, ruined them, how much are new ones, anyone wanna donate a pair? * thats for those of you who bought racing harness seats, or sell me a pair? thanks..

IcyVr4
Tim Harrison

 

Cut the plastic were it's binding...that's all you have to do...Just trim it a bit...

binding, eh?

 

Ummm...ya...binding....?

(Checks dictionary) Ok...no, I didn't mispell it...?

 

Long time back, people complained that their seatbelts were slow to retract.

One guy said that the constant motion of the seatbelt through the plastic shoulder guide thingamee bolted to the car (not the one on the top corner of the seat) caused a buildup of some gunk. so he took a razor to the plastic thingamee and just shaved off all the gunk, and then his belts were fine.

 

The reason they retract slowly is because there is very little clearance in the assembly that the belt goes through. The belt binds(??) against the plastic cover of the assembly that's bolted to the B-pillar area. I simply popped the cover and did some cutting on mine. No more problems and they retract much better now.

 

I had this problem a year or so back and I replaced the seatbelts, $275 W/labor and now they're starting to act up again. Time for some warranty service. As far as fixing them goes, if you trim the inside of the plastic ring that guides the seatbelt out of the driver's side wall you can help alleviate the problem slightly. If it doesn't retract at all, the springs bad and you have to replace the entire assembly.

 

Probably just staing the obvious, but I don't use the plastic guides on the corner of the seat. They seemed to keep the belt from retracting and IMO looked tacky anyway. They still don't retract with a "zip" like most every other car I've ever been in do, but they retract nonetheless.

 

Just curios... I get frustrated everytime I get in my car, close my door, and start driving. Then as I'm driving away and try to put my seatbelt on, I notice it's caught in between the door and the seat, and I have to open my door to get it unstuck... very annoying... Anyone else's do this? Both of my stealth's do this, and it's aggravating.

 

Thanks guys.. I'll try to do some "trimming" today and let ya guys know how it goes. Got the day off so I am planning to friggin FIX the rear spoiler (stuck in the up position), and the seat belts... the seat belts are embarassing. Happy day off to me!

 

I have done this on all of my cars (family cars) and it has worked every single time.

My mothers 91 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce was the worst, it didn't retract moe than a few inches....

Pull the seatbelt out completely and spray it down on both sides with Armour All or Meguires protectant. Using fingers, message the product into the entire seatbelt working it on till the belt is saturated. Let this sit for about 2 or 3 minutes and then take a rag and lightly wipe off the excess. You seatbelt should "zip" all the way back like it was brand new.

The fibers in the seatbelt get frayed and worn causing the surface to be rough. The retractor does not have enough force to pull the belt in because it is rubbing on the guides and on itself (once is it coiled up) Lubricating the belt allow is to once again slide freely upon itself and through the guides.
----

 

I dont remember where I read this, but I swear it was on this site or team3s.com under the tech tips/FAQ section. Anyways, someone noticed that the seatbelt retracted a lot better when the "pully" attached to the B pillar was cocked to the side at a 45 degree angle, or about. So he took it off, and replaced the few metal washers with rubber ones, that way that "pully" stayed at an angle but was still movable if needed. It solved his problem at least. By pully, I mean the object that the belt goes thru toward the ceiling on the B piller, that swivles back and forth, allowing the belt to go over you. Anyways, hope that made sense and good luck.

Ryan

PS. Props to the guy that I stole the previous idea from!

 

Did some trimming on the pillar pully thing, plus the armor all. It works a lot better.. still not perfect, but better. You can't even see that I took a knife to it. Note: when you are using a utility knife be carefull you don't slip and take a chunk out of the paneling.. I came REAL close to doing that.
Thanks guys!

 

Ok guys, I found the fix that I was talking about... here's the ACTUAL fix that I was talking about, quoted from www.my3000gt.com...


POS Seatbelt Retractor Mechanism
by: Philip V. Glazatov

I noticed that the belt does not slide very well inside its upper ear/attachment on the B-pillar. It usually happens when that ear is hanging straight down because the belt retractor is pulling it down. The belt also kinks and twists when that happens and does not want to retract by itself at all. But when I turn that ear about 45 degrees forward the belt straightens up and starts moving.

That ear tends to move down because of its own weight and because the retractor pulls its down. This is not the best angle for the belt. Sometimes I would reach into the glove compartment and then I have to unbuckle, move the belt, and buckle up again because the belt is stuck loose. It becomes even worse if the window is open because then the wind pulls it back too.

So I decided to fix that ear in place. I removed a plastic cover from it. It opens if you pull it and move it left and right or pry it lightly with a screwdriver. There will be a bolt and a bunch of washers there. Keep all the steel washers but throw away the white Teflon U-shaped ring that is pressed into the belt's ear. Take an old bicycle inner tube and cut 6 or 8 rubber washers out of it. Assemble everything back together placing the rubber washers on both sides of the ear. Tighten the bolt first carefully not to break the plastic cover, then hard as it is supposed to be tightened. The rubber washers should be keeping the ear firmly in place but they also should allow you to turn that year by hand if you want to align it better.

I set my ear at such an angle that it keeps the belt straight and flat when I normally sit in the car buckled up. The whole project including thinking and preparation took only 30 minutes. Now I can reach into the glove compartment without worrying that the seat belt would get stuck. I route my belt through that thing on the seat next to the head rest. It still does not retract completely til it is straight and tight on the seat, but if there are only couple inches of slack, it does not bother me at all. Good luck!

 

Hehe. Just found this repost of my old story. I have found an additional fix since then that fixed the problem completely. Besides fixing the swinging upper belt mount in place, I trimmed the plastic cover of the upper mount in the area where it comes in contact with the belt. I trimmed it by about 1/8", just so that it does not jam the belt anymore. Now it slides up and down like it should.

Philip Glazatov

 

I did all that and it still sucks compared to new cars

 

All the things that I did ensured that the belt does not bind in the upper attachment. That was apparently enough for my car. Some can have belts that are too worn and too soft. Others can have a retractor that is not strong enough.

Philip

 

so SICK of all the parts in my car saying "Mitsubishi"
Gotta replace everything cause I love the car soo much

 

How would replacing all the parts help show you love the car?

 

Pretty straightforward... if something goes wrong.. you replace it with something better... or in a better way.. modified.

For instance if I ever get serious about making my seatbelts retract well, I would take out the retractor/belt and find out WHY it wore out.. if I could prevent it somehow on the new one, I would.

Or another answer might be because one is WILLING to keep fixing things