Seatbelt retractor transplant?

It's now quite obvious that the AE92's driver's side seatbelt retractor is totally dead. Finding another one, if it weren't impossible, wouldn't be the best solution since it would be 18-20 years old.

This reminds me of the seatbelts in my dad's X-trail. They lock up hard on the slightest movement, which is normally quite infuriating, but would be great in the AE92. Now AFAIK all car seatbelt retractors work the same way - the retractor itself knocks around freely in a padded metal box and the belt comes out through a slit. If I'm right about this a transplant may be possible. I found this general guide:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2122153_replace-car-spring-loaded-seat.html

So if the width of the X-trail and AE92 belts are similar, could a transplant be possible?

The only thing is I don't know how easily the X-trail belts lock up under inertia. The AE92 belts used to lock very easily, which I liked.

Actually, most retractors have two locking modes: speed (how fast the belt comes out of the retractor) and inertia (how fast the car is stopping). The speed thing is easy to handle, the inertia part can be tricky.

The reel for the belt is mounted solidly with a ratchet mechanism on one or both ends of the reel. The spring on the reel's engagement 'dog' controls how fast it locks up when the belt is pulled out of the retractor. If you don't pull the belt fast enough it won't lock.

There's an inertia weight that swings out under the right amount of deceleration and makes the retractor lock. If the belt retractor is tilted, the inertia weight will make it lock up then, too. The secret to swapping these: the belt you are installing has to be mounted at the same angle it was in the donor vehicle. This is generally straight up and down but it pays to check.

If the donor vehicle has airbags, it is quite possible to run into yet another passive retraction method: the pretensioner. This critter uses pyrotechnics (yeah, they explode!) to yank the belt back against the occupant and pull them back into the seat. Sometimes it's in the buckle side, sometimes (notably VWs) it's built into the retractor.

Hmm yeah a transplant isn't looking so good anymore, I've been doing some reading and these things aren't so simple...I read about the explosive pretensioners just a couple of minutes ago, I definitely don't want any explosives in the car for no reason

Inertia lockup would be more important than speed lockup for this application. The speed lockup is definitely dead on the AE92. I remember hearing a loud snap come ouf of the seatbelt retractor not too long ago.

I'll check the stealership tomorrow and see if they have any (they probably don't), if that fails I'll check the junk yards and after that my only option would be a transplant.

I'd be a bit concerned about belts from a junkyard. They'll stretch in an impact.

What's the location/orientation of the AE92 belts? Miata tensioners sit vertically and with the axis of the reel lateral to the car.

I bought some after market 3 point retractable ones for my 1973 Capri from Eastwood. They are a brand called Beams. Eastwood only sells 1 variety, but Beams makes other styles. JC Whitney sells the identical product as well.

They work real well.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=22167&itemType=PRODUCT

http://www.beamsind.com/catalog.asp

New aftermarket is a good solution. Junkyard ones are ok only if the car wasn't in a frontal impact (side and rear usually doesn't ask the belts to do much), the webbing is in good shape, the car hasn't been sitting outside for eternity with no doors or windows AND it isn't 20+ years old. So yeah, no-name aftermarket ones are probably the best solution.

Might be worth doing some homework. Honda has a lifetime warranty on their seat belts. There are quite a few people who have had a 20 year old latch or retractor replaced for free at the dealer. I don't know if Toyota does something similar or not.

I had a tensioner go dead once, took it apart and it was jammed up with dog hair and crud. Without the dog hair and with a little lithium grease on the inertia ball its worked better than ever. Probably not the case if you heard it break, but worth a try.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Might be worth doing some homework. Honda has a lifetime warranty on their seat belts. There are quite a few people who have had a 20 year old latch or retractor replaced for free at the dealer. I don't know if Toyota does something similar or not.

They did for my fathers T100 but it took some griping.

Considering that Toyota replaced a bunch of steering parts on my 1989 pickup a couple of years back for free, it's certainly worth asking.

Calling the local Toyota dealership and asking if they'll replace a part for free sounds like a good prank call...I called them and the whole seatbelt assembly is $450 (vs. $125CAN in Canada).

I got some used ones for $25, they're working well...and for future reference AE101 Trueno sealtbelt retractors won't fit in an AE92. Ask me how I know.

I'm not surprised that they don't warranty real old seatbelts. At some point the car belongs to the person who bought it, not the manufacturer.

BTW, seat belts are designed to do some stretching even when new. Think about it: if you were strapped in with something that had no 'give' (aluminum straps, for instance) and you hit something at, say, 40 MPH the results would be less than optimal.

You don't want ones that have been stretched out. They're not intended for multiple impacts. It's not that they've turned into rubber bands after the impact, but that now they won't stretch in an impact.