I just swapped in new belts in favor of a different color into my 96, I believe the belts were off an 02. They work all fine and dandy in the back, but both the front belts want to lock up constantly. It makes it quite a pain when I'm trying to buckle in and it takes me 20 seconds because the belts keep locking. I've noticed when I'm on an incline with the nose facing up the hill, they function fine. Is there a zero reset of some sort on the locking mechanism or is there another reason why they would be doing this?

tia
_Troy

 

Mine are somewhat random as well. I have a 2000. Never really bothered me much though.

 

Mine is pretty bad. In the few weeks I've had the new belts, I think I've put the belt on twice without it locking at least once in the process of pulling it over to buckle. Last night it locked probably 5-6 times putting it one one time.. Needless to say, pretty annoying.

 

bump....

 

Are you sure they are interchangeable? There are levers, pins, and springs, inside the mechanism that lock the belt. If the reel unit is mounted differently on the two cars, this locking is entirely possible - and not fixable.

 

As far as I am aware, there were no chassis changes throughout the fourth generation, but I suppose it would explain it. They bolted up without any problems at all, and seemed to fit just the way the originals did, but are obviously not working properly. Was there a color very similar to ebony in the previous years? Early 4th generation?

 

The belts look similar, but are different part numbers. (Classic Industries' has a good selection of replacements with pictures on their site.)

 

I think what causes them to lock is a pendulum inside the reel mechanism, so they lock while applying brakes. This would explain why they don't lock when parked on a hill, front up. The belts may mount in a different position through the years. You could remove the belt and test where the belt locks and doesn't lock and try to mount in a position closer to the unlocked position. But, if the belts came from a car that was in a front collision you may be out of luck, something inside the reel can get screwed up if the belts were worn in a collision.