My driver seat belt retractor isn't nicely pulling in the slack any longer. Is there a better solution out there than what's below? Drilling out rivets and cutting webbing make me a bit nervous

Replacement belts
Instructions

 

Maybe a good one in the junkyard from another car. I wouldn't be taking anything of that apart. Get in a wreck and that's found to be tampered with it won't be a good day.

 

Have you tried looking at Hawks Motorsports?? I'm sure they've got used stuff there at a fraction of that cost. Hell even eBay would be cheaper. I bought all black seat belts and interior pieces for my 91 Z28 for the same price as that link off eBay

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/145825407544...mis&media=COPY

 

Hawks agitated me on a recent order, I'm trying to find alternatives.

 

Yea I hear that. There's definitely cheaper options out there

 

Have you gone to the dealer? The OEM seatbelts were still in production (as a collision part) long after GM discontinued the rest of the parts for the car. I was able to replace the driver's side only, which matched the rest of the car. (Avoiding the cost of needing to purchase a full aftermarket set in a slightly different color.)

The install is easy. I didn't need to drill anything out... There should be two bolts holding the retractor in place. The two challenging parts this are:
- Removing some of the trim to pull back the headliner without messing it up
- Making sure you have a good torque wrench to get the bolts right (this is a part where you want the bolts to have the proper torque...)

I would ignore those instructions and go back to your Factory Service Manual for the instructions.

 

I've called a local GM dealer and they said that part is discontinued. I'll try a local parts place that used to strip F-bodies.

 

Is your seatbelt dirty? If grease or a drink spilled on it, that could be causing issues retracting.

 

I don't think you need to look for other parts. My guess is that the company's instructions posted up above are just incorrect. (They could be a typo from another model of car.)

 

Not obviously dirty, I guess I could try a cleaning solution on it. The retractor pulls some of the belt back, but the last few inches hang loose along the side of the seat.

 

I saw this video a few years back and expect that it would solve the problems that need to be addressed here:
^ I recall that our retractors are/were a little more encased than the one in this video and back in the day (before this video) I was reluctant to trust my seatbelt/life to tribal knowledge. This video/procedure gives me a little more peace since nothing is being taken apart other than a dust cover.

 

I found another set of front seat belts in storage. I think these were the originals, and I removed them because the plastic on the latches had broken off. So I could trade a mechanical issue for a cosmetic issue.


Front seat belts