craftsmen22

Hi there,
on my 69 Cutlass conv. drivers side was a non original seat belt retractor installed. Since it was not original the retractor cap was missing, and this caused the belt to get all mixed up. Now I got myself a used retractor, but with the wrong belt color. The retractor has a plastic cap on one side, where it says "do not remove". My plan is to open the retractor to get a new belt inside. Would anyone know how to proceed or what hapens when I take the plastic cap off?

Olds64

There is a retractor spring under the cap. If you remove the plastic cap without having the retractor spring shoot across the room then you are lucky. The hard part will be getting the retractor spring back under the plastic cap when you reassemble the seatbelt. I suggest you buy a new seatbelt or have the original rebuilt professionally.

craftsmen22

So, any hints how to get the spring back under the cap, once it has been flying around. How do the pros repair a retractor. Anyone know any tricks?

I will provide pictures of my proceeding.

Olds64

I have no idea. The experience I have with seatbelts is that I bought two aftermarket retractable lap belts for my 71 Olds 98, I also worked for TRW for a time in Alfdorf, Germany. When I worked for TRW they installed the springs in the seatbelt assemblies as they were manufactured. Of course, these seatbelt assemblies were for newer European cars (Volvo, VW, Audi, etc.)

Do a search on our website, there are professional services that can rebuild seatbelts very reasonably. I know you can buy an aftermarket seatbelt from Kanter for about $90. IMHO, it isn't worth it to cut corners when safety is concerned.

craftsmen22

@ Olds64: thank you for your advice. I'll look for professional companies.

slowolds

442bro.com

go to "How to Do it"
select "Seat belt retractor removal"