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View Full Version : Seat belt tensioners...


mallow
07-09-2008, 07:01 PM
I was pretty apprehensive about asking this since it seems like a simple question.

What type of seat belt tensioners do we have in the MKII? I know normal tensioners work off of inertia with spring loaded ratchets, where if the seatbelt is pulled fast enough it will lock.

I've also heard of pendulum types though, where a pendulum swings based on the acceleration of the car and if it hits a certain limit the pendulum will swing forward and lock the belt.

The reason I'm asking is that my tensioners don't lock when I pull the seat belt quickly. I probably need to get new ones (finding terracotta is going to be hard) but I just wanted to see if I needed to.

Thanks,
Mone
07-09-2008, 08:38 PM
my seatbelts don't lock either. Or at least I haven't tugged hard enough. I know that my old 82's worked, but only because I crashed it twice before putting it out of commision.
Junkie
07-09-2008, 09:17 PM
Inertia type, with a ball IIRC. Try it while braking. I know, I have hit the brakes, and reached for stuff, and about choked myself.
84ptype
07-09-2008, 09:21 PM
its sad that i know this but they even work upside down...and pretty damn well too.
Mone
07-09-2008, 09:54 PM
its sad that i know this but they even work upside down...and pretty damn well too.

story and pics pls!
84ptype
07-09-2008, 09:55 PM
you can find it if you search...does not need to be brought back tho...read and call it good.
any other questions pm me

end threadjack
Tanya
07-09-2008, 11:11 PM
I don't even need to brake in my car for my damn seatbelt locking thingies to work, all I have to do is move forward to grab something quickly and YANKKKKKK I get to move 2 inches and I'm stopped. It really irritates me sometimes
84ptype
07-09-2008, 11:15 PM
i just hate it when you are trying to put it on and it locks...like your backing out of the garage and putting your seatbelt on and you pull and it locks...
CJSREDPRA
07-10-2008, 03:16 AM
Inertia type, with a ball IIRC.

Yep, that be correct.

If you have the tensioner end, out of the car & you have it at a certain angle, it should lock if you try to pull on it.

Basically the little metal ball has to be in a "certain position" for it to unlock.

Try taking it out of the car & mess around with it (hold it at certain angles & see what happens).
mallow
07-14-2008, 01:12 PM
Thank you all for your replies. Sounds like the tensioners vary in when and how they lock. I'm guessing because they've all aged differently?

Hopefully I'll get a chance to mess around with them next weekend to see if they lock. Not sure if intentional hard stopping is a great idea around here. No straight open roads and the local PD are pretty strict.

If I do have to replace them, do I have to find a terracotta set or can I swap belts between tensioners?

Thanks again guys. I love this forum.
CJSREDPRA
07-15-2008, 08:44 PM
If I do have to replace them, do I have to find a terracotta set

Yes.


or can I swap belts between tensioners?

No. If the belts could be seperated from the tensioner, this would be a safety issue in the event this "location" decides to fail.

Only way you can seperate the belt from the tensioner, is if you cut it off. Then of course reattaching the new one would get really interesting.
ddd228
07-16-2008, 04:58 PM
Yes.



No. If the belts could be seperated from the tensioner, this would be a safety issue in the event this "location" decides to fail.

Only way you can seperate the belt from the tensioner, is if you cut it off. Then of course reattaching the new one would get really interesting. I got a complete new one from dealer a year ago but available ONLY in black. $100. Cannot find part #.