Junkyard seatbelts

[mobileortho]

I’d initially decided not to use the 03 Avalanche rear bench seat because it’s a tad wide but I thought I’d give it another shot. I had a set of Silverado shoulder belts to install with it. Got them mounted but for some reason they won’t release I unbolted them they work fine but they will not release when mounted. What am I doing wrong?

[joedoh]

there is a gravity switch in seatbelts that locks them when momentum changes suddenly, my guess is that you have that switch engaged when its bolted in.

I will tell you, sometimes the belt reel mounts opposite you would think, sometimes its "upside down", happened to me on an s10 belt, had to go back to disassembly pictures to see I was installing it upside down.

[moparguy]

Robert,the Suburban seat looks great. I too believe the Inertia-Locking Reel is the problem. This http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/Retractor.html may help.

Also, can you share details on how you did the top mounting point? I like how you mounted the top location into a more substantial section of the interior sheet metal that most use.

Good Luck, RonR

[nvrdone]

with the top mounting point being higher than normal could it be that the belt is fully extended when you are trying to fasten it around yourself?

[mobileortho]

I took that into consideration and added an extension but no luck.

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

with the top mounting point being higher than normal could it be that the belt is fully extended when you are trying to fasten it around yourself?

I took that into consideration and added an extension but no luck.

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by moparguy

Robert,the Suburban seat looks great. I too believe the Inertia-Locking Reel is the problem. This http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/Retractor.html may help.

Also, can you share details on how you did the top mounting point? I like how you mounted the top location into a more substantial section of the interior sheet metal that most use.

Good Luck, RonR

Ron, I chose that spot because at 6'5", it fits me best. I know the mounting location is a bit higher than usual. IDK know where the reel was mounted on the donor truck, but looking at the ones on the rear seat of my GMC canyon, they were mounted roughly 2' off the cab floor & I suspect that may have been the case because they were too short during a trial fit. That's why sewed on an extension to these. I'm still playing around with them though. The reel still won't release.

[joedoh]

they were probably mounted sideways or the other direction. if you pull a seatbelt sideways or the opposite direction the gravity locks will lock.


my advice? go look at the same model that you got the belts out of. you may have to change your mounting orientation.

[mobileortho]

Ok, looks like I figured out something that works. I remounted them to the base of the seat and they’re working fine now. Just need to mount the middle passenger and I’m done...for now anyways!