seat belt retractor

[VXorado]

If your belt won't retract, check the windings on the side of the retractor mechanism.

I fixed my retractors a couple years back. I have black painted door panels and the belt buckle kept chipping the paint when getting stuck in the door from weak return spring. Even if I was careful, my passenger wouldn't know and slam the door on the buckle. It was driving me nuts and I was going to buy entirely new seat belts.

Fortunately, I found that I could remove the retractor and tighten the windings. The windings get loose from years of use but tightening them gives the belt some spring again. I don't remember the task to be that difficult, just a bit tedious. Also, you can find matching seat belts in certain year Troopers.

Since I did this, the seat belts retract enough to clear the door before I shut it.

[Daly]

Are the windings like some sort of spring that you can just make smaller/tighten or is there a screw or something that controls the tightness of the windings?

[Marlin]

I jsut odered a set off of ebay, replaced both sides, but you lose the adjuster at the top for seatbelt height.