StreetCreeper
New member
My seat belts will not retract on their own. This gets especially annoying when I'm in a hurry and forget to manually stuff the belt back into the truck and wind up slamming the door on the metal part...or just have the belt hanging out all ghetto style.
I understand the springs get worn out after time, but I also understood that the previous owner never once washed the belts, so there is 17 years worth of fast-food "drops, dribbles and spills" along with sweat and a good amount of funky greasy hand-grime that had accumulated in the fabric of the belt. This made the belts heavy and stiff with nasty shit I would prefer not to think about. I'm pretty sure the PO was a big fan of greasy McDonald's fries...judging by all the prehistoric petrified fries I once found under the e-brake handle.
I recently busted the plastic piece that prevents the male metal buckle part from sliding too far down the belt. It broke because the seatbelt didn't retract and got caught in the closing door — shattering it to pieces. So it was while inspecting the damage when I noticed just how nasty these belts really were. I couldn't fathom the thought of putting those belts on again until they were clean.
I was not at home when I noticed this however, so taking the belts out of the truck to clean wasn't really an option.
Quick fix, I pulled into the self-serve car wash and pulled the belts out of the door as far as they would go — and then shut the door on them and went at them with the pressure washer.
Serious nastiness ensued...
5 minutes later — nice clean soft & supple seat belts that retract much better than before, though far from perfect. However, for just 5 minutes of my time and three dollars in quarters, I'm quite satisfied with the results.
I understand the springs get worn out after time, but I also understood that the previous owner never once washed the belts, so there is 17 years worth of fast-food "drops, dribbles and spills" along with sweat and a good amount of funky greasy hand-grime that had accumulated in the fabric of the belt. This made the belts heavy and stiff with nasty shit I would prefer not to think about. I'm pretty sure the PO was a big fan of greasy McDonald's fries...judging by all the prehistoric petrified fries I once found under the e-brake handle.
I recently busted the plastic piece that prevents the male metal buckle part from sliding too far down the belt. It broke because the seatbelt didn't retract and got caught in the closing door — shattering it to pieces. So it was while inspecting the damage when I noticed just how nasty these belts really were. I couldn't fathom the thought of putting those belts on again until they were clean.
I was not at home when I noticed this however, so taking the belts out of the truck to clean wasn't really an option.
Quick fix, I pulled into the self-serve car wash and pulled the belts out of the door as far as they would go — and then shut the door on them and went at them with the pressure washer.
Serious nastiness ensued...
5 minutes later — nice clean soft & supple seat belts that retract much better than before, though far from perfect. However, for just 5 minutes of my time and three dollars in quarters, I'm quite satisfied with the results.
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