Faster Recoiling Seatbelt?
10-28-2012, 04:07 PM
#1
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Faster Recoiling Seatbelt?
Car: 04 WRX. Mileage: 110K.
Kinda trivial, but it does annoy me a bit on daily basis. Any recommendations for getting the seatbelt to return faster?
Mine tends to keep a lot of slack in it after being unbuckled, enough to get caught in the door after it's closed occasionally. I hate having to manually feed it back in almost every time I get out of the car.
I'm a bigger and taller guy, but I'm not *that* big nor tall, so I figure that's not the issue, least not one I could readily correct.
Might this just be addressed by replacing (or swapping from another seat) the spring etc. that keeps tension on the belt? I haven't played too much with the "slide" position, I'm about 6' so I've just kept it at the top.
Kinda trivial, but it does annoy me a bit on daily basis. Any recommendations for getting the seatbelt to return faster?
Mine tends to keep a lot of slack in it after being unbuckled, enough to get caught in the door after it's closed occasionally. I hate having to manually feed it back in almost every time I get out of the car.
I'm a bigger and taller guy, but I'm not *that* big nor tall, so I figure that's not the issue, least not one I could readily correct.
Might this just be addressed by replacing (or swapping from another seat) the spring etc. that keeps tension on the belt? I haven't played too much with the "slide" position, I'm about 6' so I've just kept it at the top.
10-28-2012, 04:54 PM
#4
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I'd love a 5 point but that's a bit extreme for now. And no matter what I'll need to get in there, to relube or replace, so I'll give that a go now. Thanks for the replies, will report on findings...
10-28-2012, 06:53 PM
#5
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Ok, got the trim off and made it to the tensioner. I would have taken it out to inspect more, but apart from being pretty snug in there, it is one of those life-saving measures in the car, so I figured best not to fiddle with it too much. The assembly proper is not to be disassembled as well - just something I didn't want to eff with 
I shot some WD-40 through the silly straw on the sides of the roller, spun it back and forth a bit.
Verdict: it did help some. Def shoots up a bit quicker. Now, ideally I'd have the sucker snap back in less than a tenth of a second, but in the interim it's fixed for practical purposes.
Thanks again for the feedback folks
Removing side trim. There's a little tension bolt thing that holds it in - no threads.
Detail. The bottom of the door "stoops"/"rims" what have you go over the trim, so you'll need to jimmy the trim out from under there a little bit.
If ever you wanted to know what the tensioner looked like, now you know.
I shot some WD-40 through the silly straw on the sides of the roller, spun it back and forth a bit.
Verdict: it did help some. Def shoots up a bit quicker. Now, ideally I'd have the sucker snap back in less than a tenth of a second, but in the interim it's fixed for practical purposes.
Thanks again for the feedback folks
Removing side trim. There's a little tension bolt thing that holds it in - no threads.
Detail. The bottom of the door "stoops"/"rims" what have you go over the trim, so you'll need to jimmy the trim out from under there a little bit.
If ever you wanted to know what the tensioner looked like, now you know.
10-29-2012, 03:01 PM
#6
If in doubt, FLAT OUT
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These are safety items. If they don't work properly, they have a lifetime warranty with the dealer by law and you can have them replaced for free. For legal and safety reasons, something you definitely don't mess with as a consumer.
10-29-2012, 03:06 PM
#7
leave harness bars and harnesses on the track. IMO
10-29-2012, 03:09 PM
#8
in terms of the seatbelt retracting issue. i had the same problem, but found that sometimes the top mount (plastic where seatbelt slide up along pillar and then back down to chest) gets dirty or clogged with w.e and does not allow the plastic to pivot and follow the line of the seatbelt. when the plastic is tilted off center, the belt slides along the plastic alot harder and may create enough drag to not bring the buckle up.
10-29-2012, 03:55 PM
#9
If in doubt, FLAT OUT
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in terms of the seatbelt retracting issue. i had the same problem, but found that sometimes the top mount (plastic where seatbelt slide up along pillar and then back down to chest) gets dirty or clogged with w.e and does not allow the plastic to pivot and follow the line of the seatbelt. when the plastic is tilted off center, the belt slides along the plastic alot harder and may create enough drag to not bring the buckle up.
10-29-2012, 04:28 PM
#13
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Car Info: 12Teens crazy 4 me
Yea I closed my door and heard a loud bang to it I freaked out.
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