1st Gen Seatbelt Repair Source

Well, like many, we had the dreaded driver's side seat belt non-retract on my son's '96 X-cab. A new unit from the dealer ranged from $150 to $180 in a quick search. Anyway, I had the unit rebuilt by a company named Safety Restore, located in Westfield, MA. Roughly $100 including shipping both ways and insurance. Only took 6 days from mailing it to getting it back. They also give a lifetime warrantee on their work. Beats junkyard units, obviously. They also can re-web belts in different colors. Check out their website www.safetyrestore.com for all the services they offer. Good luck to others needing this work. BTW, I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a satisfied customer.

 

does it retract like it was new?

 

I wonder what do they do besides replacong the belt. When I replaced my belts (140 dollars per side new OEM) I noticed not only the old belts were swollen but whole bunch of guts like guides and stopper were worn out. For 22 years old every day use item the non-retracting isuue is the small peanuts comparing to suspicious of not locking when needed.

 

It retracts good, but I did notice it binds / slows down at the upper shoulder point, where the adjustable guide attaches to the body. I read somewhere about using some teflon tape there, so I may have to find some.

 

I would love to see the fine print of warranty exclusions !!

Most likely you send it back and they decide at that time it is a non warranty failure and it you want it back you pay the price.

It would be nice to be wrong though .

I must be do something wrong mine style works just fine after 16 years

 

I've used a company called: myairbags.com

They rebuild seat belts as well as SRS ECU's.

No issues whats ever with the belts on my last 3 rebuilt wrecks.

 

When companies do "rebuild" on "wrecked" seat belts they should do two things (besides cleaning it):
1. replace pyro-pretensioner obviously
2. replace belts as once streatched in the crash it does not have the same strength.

All is good if you deal with post-crash but fairly new seat belts. But like in my truck which is 22 years old, the guides and locking shoe shows the sign of wear (metal and plastic parts are shaved by belt movement. While worn guides is just inconvenience of binding, the worn out stopper shoe is a problem as you never know if it will hold the belt under the load or not.

For me it was no brainer - 40 bucks more I got brand new OEM belts with factory quality (95 does not have pyro-pretensioner).