Rear seatbelt not going back in!!

[brad`]

ok so i know this is a massive safty isue so i kinda wanna fix it as soon as i can, the rear passanger seat belt will not wind its self back in.

I pulled the pannel from the wall thinking hat the belt might have got twited some where but it hadent.

and well now imn stuck on what to do. it takes about 5 mins for me to manual feed it back in and made it so u cant use the seatbelt by putting it behind the chair.

anyone know how i can fix this ?

[EvilChief]

only fix is replacement. the internal clockspring which is responsible for the retraction of teh seatbelt has broken and there is no fix for that.

[Mechan1k]

Pretty much what Evilchief said ... and they can be a bit of a PITA to replace ... if it is your centre one ... have fun.

[BIGJB]

hang on guys.... stop always looking at worst case.
When you take it out wash it in warm soapy water.
More often than not they aren't stuffed they are
just dirty. The best way to clean is as I just stated.
At the end of the day it's worth a go b4 just
replacing and throwin away money if it isn't needed.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Just to mention too ( this happened to my drivers seat belt ), pull the belt out all the way and check it is not freyed on the edges of the belt, this can cause it to jam and retract very slow/ or not at all. If the belt is freyed at all , get a cigarette lighter and burn/melt off the freyed edges of the belt.

[brad`]

hey there isnt any freys in it as far as i can see... how do i tkae the entire emchanism off the lining of the car ?
and how much would i be looking at for a brand new one? somone said you cant get them from wreckers due to ssafty concerns or somethibng

[AU1114ME]

Seems to be a common fault for the AU, I had one replaced under warranty and paid for the other one which cost $98.94 for the belt and $70.00 labour to fit from Ford. They gave me a lone car while they had mine which was an AU and both its rear belts were stuffed.

[Jastel]

Take it out of the car and examine it by taking off plastic C pillar lining and undoing torx bolt that holds it in, also undo torx bolt that holds other end to the floor under the seat

Most of the times the plastic liner on the seatbelt spool breaks and jams it from retracting properly. When seatbelt is out of the car pull it completely out (as in totally unrolled from the spool) and look at the plastic liner part. Best way to describe it is like a spool of electric cable, imagine the drum of the cable and the seatbelt winding back onto it. You want to check the plastic drum part, under the plastic is a metal axle bit that does the rolling up. If you see this plastic part cracked just break it ALL off, you must get rid of all the plastic bits though and it should retract like normal.
The plastic is there to stop the belt fraying but will not affect seatbelt operation, if it looks frayed you should replace it anyway.

If the clock spring is broken it wont retract at all, yours sounds like it slowly retracts so I think you should be able to get away with the fix above.

[Mont5.0]

^^ sounds interesting, i also have this same problem. Will give it a go this weekend.

[AU1114ME]

Let us now how Jastel's fix go's for your rear belts.Also exercise caution when removing plastic trims, as they break easily around the clips.

[dippy1]

so, if it is a front seat belt problem... HOW DO YOU GET THE PILLAR COVER BACK ON???
Thanks for any help )

[Dave_Obsession]

22 month threadmine... :( R.I.P.

[HLC]

Originally Posted by dippy1

so, if it is a front seat belt problem... HOW DO YOU GET THE PILLAR COVER BACK ON???
Thanks for any help )

same way you got it off???

line it up where the clips go, and bang it back in.

and for relevance, both my rear belts are dead i need to do this

[GK]

I have one in the rear of the SR that could use a little TLC.

GK

[frd906]

Mine broke on me, i just replaced it, was a easier option, never had a problem since

[Workshopdreams]

Hello,
Thanks for your input to this problem.
I have a couple of questions please regarding repairing a non retracting rear seat belt on my AU series 2 Fairmont Ghia
The plastic trim on the 'C' pillar seems fragile and it is advised to be careful to avoid breaking of the snap clips.
Question:- best method to get it off? and how are they attached?
Question:- can the clock spring be easily replaced if found broken. The belt retracted about 10 cm but stopped so I am hoping its just needs tensioning.
I will follow your advice about removing broken plastic bits etc.

Hoping you can help.

[marlin]

In my experience... just a point of view. Silicone spray on seatbelts is a quick caryard fix all dealers know about, temporary. The spray does not fare well over time with heat inside the cabin. It becomes sticky then a redo is needed.
With AU's, ba & bf too, I've always had long term success with WD40 on the "hidden" part of the belt in the pillar & the spring roll itself.
I first thoroughly clean, vacuum & wipe down all inner pillar surfaces, plastics, & belt itself with eucalyptus spray from woolies.
With the cover plastics removed & the belt extended simply spray the recoil unit & the belts, liberally with WD40. Yes it will attract dust but is good for about 5 years before a reclean. Those plastics can also get pretty sharp from belt drag so give them a light sand to round edges on the inside.
You will find the recoil is much stronger & the belt will retract nicely to sit vertical in the pillar with no "hand feeding".

[Workshopdreams]

Thankyou for your advice.

Regards,