Seatbelt buckle flipped

[wangjjang]

Ok, so im sure you all know how this is done so its another silly and basic question from me. Had to replace the drivers seatbelt after a mechanic put the third row seatbelt in there incorrectly. Got it in just fine and it works but the buckle is flipped and for the life of me, i cant get it back round. On my previous car the belt only went through the buckle once so was easy to twist it back round. Anyone tell me how to twist it round? Or have i put the bloomin thing in the wrong way somehow?

 

[chadr]

When this has happened to me in the past, all I've done is simply to fold the belt lengthways so that the overlap tapers, then slip/slide the buckle over the folded section until it clears the folded/tapered section and hey presto it's now facing the right way.

** Re-reading the above, I'm not sure it makes sense, this is where a pics or two would be worth a 1000 words! At least I know what I mean! ;-)

 

[PETE BELL]

looking at your pic you have it in the correct way -push a lenth of belt through one eye of the buckle so you have a loop then put a twist in it press it flat and force it through then repeat on second eye

 

[wangjjang]

Thanks guys, but unfortunately the second eye of the buckle is a real problem. Its so tight that i cant get the belt through in any way other than straight.

very frustrating.

 

[Shayne]

You won't bust that belt no matter how hard you try , fold it over and tie it to a lampost if you have to and drive away until its forced through . It will go through but its bloody tight .

 

[grantw]

or twist it over at the top mounting point and undo the twist on the "seat" side by turning it over on the bottom mounting bolt ... you'll still have a twist between the top mount and the retractor but it isn't bad for a worst case scenario.

 

[Shayne]

Just thought , i washed my seat belts in the hope they would retract better , they did but not by much . What may interest you though is they now feel much softer to touch and are much more supple . I soaked them in vanish which turned the water filthy though the belts didn't look dirty , then following advice gathered from web searches i soaked them in the fabric softener you buy for laundry . Worth a try maybe ?

 

[wangjjang]

did you take the whole belt out of its reel then shayne? or just unwind it as much as possible and soak that bit? sounds like a good idea

 

[Shayne]

I unbolted the top , wound it all the way out , jammed a wooden wedge in the reel to stop it retracting then just dumped it all in a sink bowl inside the truck .

 

[wangjjang]

ok i manned up and put some effort in and its flipped..woohooo

now im gonna have to unbolt it and soak as per shaynes post..i want sparkling clean belts. cheers all

 

[frank rabbets]

Hi Shayne

Soaked them in Vanish did you. Hope it didn't do what it said on the label

Frank

 

[clivehorridge]

Hi Shayne

Soaked them in Vanish did you. Hope it didn't do what it said on the label

Frank

WOT? No seatbelts?