yes i know i can just buy them, but i want to know how to change out the webbing. how do you get it off the retractable mechanism. i have not taken mine apart for fear it will never get back together right, and i have looked everywhere. i have read all 42 sites on this board dealing with repair of the mechanism and none really talk about taking it apart. so does anyone know and can you post some pics of what it looks like? some of you who want to thread seatbelts through those stupid seat belt guides they put on the seats might find it interresting too. thanks tony if i find the answer i will post it too. have a good weekend

I wouldn't even attempt it unless you are licensed and certified. There are posts about companies who redo the webbing and I would go that route even though it is quite expensive. If you think you can reweb and sew in new belts good luck, it's your life your risking.

thanks for that imput duke and i appreciate the notice. i was not planning on sewing anything, that is what others can do.
i just want to be able to change out the belts as i want.
i dont want to design new anything. i just want to know how the belt goes into the retractor and is held there.
the clip has to be sewn and that can be done by a local shop - BUT HOW DO THE DARN THINGS CONNECT TO THE RETRACTOR?
and as i noted above, some people want to be able to use stock seat belt guides on their seats and are going through fits cutting them as clean as they can, but it always looked cut. i went through that too.
so now if anyone knows how thebelt connects to the retractor would love to know.
hey if it was easy, i wouldalready know how to do it. maybe i will have to go to a yard and just buy one to take apart.

Buy a couple from the wrecking yard and try on them first!

DO NOT SEW OR CUT THE WEBBING MATERIAL
THERE ARE D.O.T. REGULATIONS/REQUIREMENTS
THAT ARE IN PLACE FOR YOUR SAFETY.

There are 2 mechanisms that work in the upper assembly.
The first is the arresting mechanism, this locks the the belt in place
when the vehicle noses down or has any sudden change of pitch.
The second one is a wound spring tensioner mechanism that pulls the belt back into the "spool".
The second one will give the most headache!

You must remove the shaft from the "spool", unfortunately the shaft has a wound tensioned spring at the end.....
When you remove the upper mechanism, letting the belt stay coiled will leave less tension on the spring,
but the belt has to be unwound from the spool.

I am sure that GM has a fancy contraption that makes this process a breeze.
We are not GM, so we are left in the wind!

Remove the 3 pronged plastic cap covering the retaining spring.

At this point there should be some cursing and blessing that you will never hear uttered in church.

That pesky little spring has a bad habit of coming unwound.
That would be bad!

You have to remove the spool and the belt slides out from the side.

Reassemble the way you took it apart.

UNLESS YOU REALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THIS,
REASSEMBLE IT THE WRONG WAY AND YOU COULD BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR CAUSING PERSONAL INJURY TO YOURSELF OR YOUR PASSENGER
IF, GOD FORBID, YOUR RIDE IS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT!

You can take the whole assembly and bring it to a shop that deals with this type of repair and reassemble it yourself.
A lot of upholstery shops will not touch this due to liability issues.

but how does the piece of fabric lock into the mechanism?
looking for a picture if anyone has it.
actually i prefer the way the rear ones work rather than the fronts.
but if you research everything first before you make a decision you can make an intelligent one.
pic's anyone?

You could go to the salvage yard and pick up several for free. I know my local yards will let you get little stuff like that for free, or for the price of admission at the yards that charge for it. Tear them down and have fun playing with them. Then you will be the expert and we can all come to you.

i may actually have to do that, and have a few different ones made up.

If you can figure out a way to change out the seatbelt guide, the plastic thing that mounts to the seat, i would very much like to see it!

oh it was easy changing out the guide. i cut it off and then got an aftermarket that split apart and screwed back together. i think both sides were 10 bucks or so from ebay. got the link from someone here on 3rd gen.
just do a search for seatbelt guide and narrow it to a 3rd gen.
i switched out seats from 90 3rd gen to t/a 4th gen all leather ones. i could have left the original guides on but i did not like them all that much. and grey gets pretty dirty after 19 yerars.

Can I get a picture of that?

picture of what - the ones i cut off or the ones you can get on e-bay?

here is an e-bay site. http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=sea...olet%7CPontiac

or do you want a pic of the take off guides that are split naturally and made that way?

will post a pic later if that is what you want.

This is the style of seatbelt holder I have.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/90-92...Q5fAccessories

Dude.... Take my advice. Whatever reason you have for wanting to swap out belt materials...its not worth it. Not even in the slightest.

I took a 4th gen retractor apart because the chassis got bent during shipping, and the upper guide was cracked in half. So I took a tan set, and started to swap in the black set's components. WHAT A NIGHTMARE.

First you HAVE to make sure the clock spring doesnt just explode. You have to count the turns as you slowly release the tension on it. Then, you pop out the cross bar that goes through the hole unit. This bar is what connects to the clock spring, as well as goes through the sewn loop in the material. This is what holds the belt in... You knock that pin out, and the belt will come free.

HOWEVER...that pin is an inference fit. After I took it apart, I could not for the life of me get it to fit tight again and stay put. I had to get really creative and peen the cross pin into place, and with everything being hardened steel, let me tell you it wasnt fun.

Im actually still running the belt now...as its my (driver) belt. Had it been the passenger belt, no question. I would have gotten a new unit. I plan to replace mine when I redo the headliner with yet another set of 4th gen belts...because I dont really trust it. Swapping 4th gen belts is easy, because the lower attachment point will fit through the seatbelt guide easily.

With as easy as it is to replace the entire unit, there is just absolutely no reason to try to change out the webbing. You'd have to remove it all anyway to take it apart, so its not like there is any extra steps.

I just remembered the nightmare and wanted to add my opinion on it haha.

J.

good advice and with instructions too. i think you are right. i will just have a few seatbelt's made up and switch them out as needed.

and kirk - cant help you with that one. i never liked the look of it and as far as i know you cant thread the seatbelt through it, but ghetto appears to know his stuff - so maybe he can tell you how.

now i need to find someone who can give me passenger seatbelt designs - like big flowers - and butterflies. already have some kick panels and speaker panels made up that way. its a grandfather/granddaughter thing. what else can you do when they look up at you and say "papa why dont you have sunflowers or butterflies in your car? i really like yellow flowers and butterflies." well she gets sunflowers and butterflies - but i got to be able to switch them out fast when she goes home.

I know, I know. Trying to keep it stock though.


also, its Krik not Kirk. Like a krik in the neck.