Slack Inertia Reel Seat Belts...

[bacardincoke 42 1 Cars]

The front passenger inertia reel seat belt was a little slow to retract.

One side of the reel mechanism has the ratchet gubbins that locks the webbing if pulled suddenly.

 

It'll be the bulkier side of the two, plus you'll know which is which by the feel of the parts moving inside as you pull the belt in and out.

 

 

The other slimmer side has the spring that retracts the belt when taken off.

That circular black plastic piece pictured is a self contained unit, held on only by a single screw (1) and a plastic lug that sits in a recess (2)

Inside is a long clock type spring that hooks onto the inside of the black casing at one of its ends and inserts into the central spindle at its other.

It's under tension and will unwind all over the place if you don't hold it in place or try to remove the unit all together.

What you're aiming to do is loosen the until in situ by raising it very slightly off the metal body then rotating it (in my case clockwise) until you feel the springs resistance start to build up.... It took just 3 or 4 turns for me.

I suppose the spring loosens over 30 years of use and just needs that slack taken back up to make it effective again.

Sping side...

 

 

 

 

 

Ratchet side...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fix...

 

 

 

 

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Useful tip. Thank you. Mine has a similar problem.