Vectra seat belt tension

Oct 15, 2003 3 Replies
T

Hi,



I have a five year old Vectra estate coming up for its NCT (Irish MOT). The seat belts, only one of which gets used much, have all become very reluctant to wind back into the spool when released.



Is there a way to re-tension them or perhaps a suitable lubricant to put on them? There is a retaining bolt/nut at the spool bottom which requires a very long socket to undo to release them from the chassis. Does anyone know what size that very inaccessible nut is, so that I could fabricate something to do the job with - e.g. weld something onto a socket or find a suitable box spanner if anyone still sells such things?



Experience welcome.



Tony.



TIA.


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R

This seems to be a normal problem with cars as they get older. I'd also be interested to see if anyone has a cure.

Rob Graham

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G

The message from "Rob Graham" contains these words:

I've found that washing the webbing (with mild detergent and warm water) makes quite a difference. The grime is sticky and slows 'em down.

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T

As for some feedback. I tried spraying the belt with PTFE dry spray which improved it a little. Then I tried washing the webbing as described above and that too improved matters a bit.

Finally, I sprayed with PTFE dry film again (i.e. after the washing) and the combination was quite considerably better and will probably be enough to get me through the NCT (Irish version of MOT). The belt tension worked fine when sitting in it but failed to recoil more than a couple of feet or so into the door pillar when released. Now it winds up almost fully but takes its time for the last couple of feet.

Anyway, thanks for the washing tip. That's what made the difference.

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