Any car geeks lurking?

[ephmynus]

Just wondering if someone could help me with a problem?

Recently, my wife's 1997 Geo Prizm's seat belt has been locking up. It seems like the teeth are caught and you have to pull it one gear tooth at a time until it finally comes out far enough to be latched. Has anyone had a similar problem and can anyone provide a rememdy short of saying "open it up to see if anything is wrong with the assembly?"

[Ya_know]

The thing is, unless there is just some debris causing this malfunction, sounds like the suckers busted up inside…

I would check and see if there was ever a recall on the car for this problem, if so a dealership will do it for free. If not, get a replacement assembly from a junkyard and install it yourself. Hardest thing is finding a color match...And you may need a heavy-duty torques (SP) or a good set of vice grips to remove the bolts. You will probably have some trim panels to remove from either the door, or the inside wall of the car, but your only other alternative is to pay someone else to do it. Looking at (a guess) $300 to $400…where the junkyard will charge less than $50 for the part I am sure.

[+Daemon+]

Originally posted by Ya_know
The thing is, unless there is just some debris causing this malfunction, sounds like the suckers busted up inside…

I would check and see if there was ever a recall on the car for this problem, if so a dealership will do it for free. If not, get a replacement assembly from a junkyard and install it yourself. Hardest thing is finding a color match...And you may need a heavy-duty torques (SP) or a good set of vice grips to remove the bolts. You will probably have some trim panels to remove from either the door, or the inside wall of the car, but your only other alternative is to pay someone else to do it. Looking at (a guess) $300 to $400…where the junkyard will charge less than $50 for the part I am sure.

ditto

oh and you can always get the racing seats in there with the 4 point seat belts

anywho, if I was you id just cal lup some junk yards and ask around for a seat belt replacement and tell them the color too

[Ya_know]

Oh yeah, something else I should mention…

I know that years ago, independent body shops were sometimes required by insurance companies to send the car to an authorized dealership to replace safety restraints, from belts to airbags, once the actual body work was completed. That said, be sure that you install this thing correctly. If trained body tech’s aren’t always trusted to install something like this, it says that it is possible to screw this up if you aren’t careful. But realistically, it ain’t that hard, just sometimes time consuming…

[ephmynus]

Thanks for the input... I guess I'm ripping off the interior side panels to check it out this weekend.

[Outcoded]

I have rebuilt inertia reel mechanisms in the past, and wouldn't recommend it is attempted by mere mortals Replace the whole seatbelt unit.

[FatalException0E]

My El Camino needs new reels as well, due to a pretty big accident in its previous life. I used to have a very nice '77 305, which I wrecked. I decided it would be 'fun' to get a basket case '74 400 and rebuild it. From behind the A pillar its '77, the front and chassis is '74. Lots of body/engine/mechanical work later, and it still looks horrible, and needs the interior totally redone.

[crazyman]

I replace those all the time,and the last one I did was on a 95 Toyota Previa,and it was $120.00 for the entire retractible belt assembly(new),and if you know a buddy that has a shop,you can get 20 to 30% off that.

and it will be pretty easy to replace in the Geo, a $10 torx tool will do it,and on some cars,it just a regular bolt,like 17mm.
it's only going to be 2 or 3 bolts,it's really very easy to do,I can replace one in the Geo in about 30 minutes.

the side panel is easy to remove too.


if you are gonna replace it,I gotta say NOT to get a used one,could have the same problem in a short time,if you have to replace it,then IMO spend the extra $ and get a new one.

geo parts are not really too pricey.

don't forget also,that car is the same as a Toyota Corolla.

[FatalException0E]

Originally posted by crazyman
...
don't forget also,that car is the same as a Toyota Corolla.

Well, ya learn something new every day, eh?