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Rear shoulders belts - 240/140[ALL/1998] posted by Gilbert Kirk on
Thursday, 14 August 1997, at 2:54 p.m.
I have noticed that these belts are the weak siblings in Volvos on the older vintage. I haven't had much problem with the retracting reels/spring mechanisms on front belts, but for some reason, the rears seem to lose their 'retracting power' over the years. I HAVE dissected them in the past, without much improvement. Is there an effective repair, short of paying extremely large dollars to buy OEM replacements? The car in question is a 1980 GLE.
Re: Rear shoulders belts - 240/140[ALL/1998] posted by Dave on
Saturday, 16 August 1997, at 2:52 a.m.
From my experience, seatbelt retractor weakness is due to:
1) Binding of the belt fabric on retraction
a) Pilling (fuzzies) on the belt fabric
-shaving off the fuzzies may give slight improvement
b) Belt fabric stretching unevenly or taking a set resulting in a bend
-you pretty much have to get a new belt (I've found auto/marine upholstery
shops willing to make these up, but I don't know how kosher that is)
2) Retractor weakness
a) Grunge on the retractor spring
-try cleaning (wipe spring with WD40)
b) Metal fatigue
-try tightening the spring one or two turns max (make sure the belt can still be
extended all the way without binding the spring)
-otherwise you need a new spring
As I recall these are not serviceable items (do not open under penalty of death or
something) so I'm not sure if you can get the spring without having to get the whole
assembly. Technically the belts are safety items and should probably be replaced
whenever the belts become stretched (like after an accident) or worn.