Seat belt retractor FYI:

[VetteMed]

Got into the Z this morning, went to put on my seat belt, and the lap belt portion wouldn't pull out of the retractor. Tried over and over again, pushed the cinch button repeatedly to see if something was jammed, no dice.

Got home this evening, and removed the retractor unit, and opened it up. There was a good few tablespoons' worth of lint, grit, etc, all around the inertia lock pendulum and associated levers. Blew it out with some pressurized air, and it works as good as new!

For reference, I also spoke with Carlos at Seatbelt Solutions. They quoted me $350 to re-web both sides (LH and RH), and another $50 to repair the stuck retractor. While obviously I don't need the repair anymore, it's nice to know that there's an option for having the webbing redone (which is probably not a bad idea at 20+ years of age).

[Z51JEFF]

These new OEM sets can be found from time 2 time for alot less than $400+.

[VetteMed]

Originally Posted by Z51JEFF

These new OEM sets can be found from time 2 time for alot less than $400+.

Yes, agreed. but at some point, those new sets will disappear.

My post wasn't to plug this company whose quality I have no knowledge of. The point was to explain that a stuck retractor might just be stuck due to 20 years of crud inside the housing.

[mike100]

Mine made a bad squeal when the belt extended and retracted and sounded cheap every t me may fat azz bounced out of the seat on bumps etc. A little air and silicone lube in the guts fixed it right up.

[GOLDCYLON]

Originally Posted by VetteMed

Yes, agreed. but at some point, those new sets will disappear.

My post wasn't to plug this company whose quality I have no knowledge of. The point was to explain that a stuck retractor might just be stuck due to 20 years of crud inside the housing.

When I pulled mine out I found coins, lint, paper, food etc. lol

[gbmidyear66]

OK, apologies in advance for the semi-hijack....

I just hate when you open up the secondaries and the belt cinches from the G force (particularly when its just after lunch or dinner...).

Is this normal?

[VetteMed]

Originally Posted by gbmidyear66

OK, apologies in advance for the semi-hijack....

I just hate when you open up the secondaries and the belt cinches from the G force (particularly when its just after lunch or dinner...).

Is this normal?

The inertia lock is supposed to activate upon rapid deceleration. I have not noticed it under rapid acceleration. There is a pendulum inside the retractor mechanism which prevents the belt from pulling out of the housing when the pendulum swings forward -- but I didn't think the same should occur when the pendulum swings backwards.

Might be worthwhile to open it up and clean it out

[gbmidyear66]

Originally Posted by VetteMed

The inertia lock is supposed to activate upon rapid deceleration. I have not noticed it under rapid acceleration. There is a pendulum inside the retractor mechanism which prevents the belt from pulling out of the housing when the pendulum swings forward -- but I didn't think the same should occur when the pendulum swings backwards.

Might be worthwhile to open it up and clean it out

Grea info Thanks!

I'd assumed it was a "feature". This is going to the top of my "To Do" list.