Follow-up on seat-belt.

Yes, it was just folded over.

But I can't figure out how it happened. I can easily image something
happening to the belt outside of the car body to make it fold over,
but the spring on the retractor is no where near powerful enough to
pull it in in that case. And the next time I put the belt on it
should have pulled out the quarter inch that was doubled.

So what made it double over inside the fender, below the left rear
window? And why doesn't it happen all the time.

After I took out the rear seat cushion, then pulled back the hard
fuzzy cardboard from the top lower boot, and then took off four nuts
holding the seat back in place, then 4 screws on the left panel, plus
pulling it out of several clips, I was able to pull the belt back in,
since it had been totally pulled out. One good thing, the slot it
goes through had a 19th centery keyhole enlargment at each end, so if
the belt were pulled ot the side, it was easy to undo the doubling
over.

1) I read that if the belt doesn't recoil as well it used to, washing
the belt would fix that. In a pan of soapy water. Any opinions on
that.

2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3
or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing? What glue should I use?

Or I have some spare vinyl top material? Sturdier but might slow down
the speaker. Or plain cloth of various kinds? Or clear vinyl, the
thickest gauge the fabric store had?

Micky posted for all of us...


1) I read that if the belt doesn't recoil as well it used to, washing
the belt would fix that. In a pan of soapy water. Any opinions on
that.



The retractor springs lose their vitality. Washing it wouldn't hurt it as
long you don't use anything detrimental.

--
Tekkie

On 8/10/2016 9:45 PM, Micky wrote:

Follow-up on seat-belt.

Yes, it was just folded over.

You're welcome.

......
2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3
or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing? What glue should I use?

Or I have some spare vinyl top material? Sturdier but might slow down
the speaker. Or plain cloth of various kinds? Or clear vinyl, the
thickest gauge the fabric store had?


Get a real foam surround. If you search, they can be found fairly
cheaply, and will certainly work better than your substitute
suggestions. There are some sites with good instructions for how to do
it. But first, plug in the amp and see if the speaker does anything. If
not (it may sound terrible) the amp or speaker coil may be blown, at
which point the price consideration goes up.

When I did several home stereo speakers, I got a kit of a bunch of
different size surrounds for ~$35 that worked for most of them. I did
order a specific pair for the Dahlquists.

On 8/12/2016 8:37 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 8/10/2016 9:45 PM, Micky wrote:

Follow-up on seat-belt.

Yes, it was just folded over.

You're welcome.

.....
2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3

or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing? What glue should I use?

Or I have some spare vinyl top material? Sturdier but might slow down
the speaker. Or plain cloth of various kinds? Or clear vinyl, the
thickest gauge the fabric store had?


Get a real foam surround. If you search, they can be found fairly
cheaply, and will certainly work better than your substitute
suggestions. There are some sites with good instructions for how to do
it. But first, plug in the amp and see if the speaker does anything. If
not (it may sound terrible) the amp or speaker coil may be blown, at
which point the price consideration goes up.

When I did several home stereo speakers, I got a kit of a bunch of
different size surrounds for ~$35 that worked for most of them. I did
order a specific pair for the Dahlquists.


Plain white glue will work.

Micky has brought this to us :

[...]

2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

My guess is that the foam starting to fail caused the voice coil to rub
and short which in turn caused the sound to distort. This can cause bad
sound as well as causing the amp to blow a fuse. This is probably why
the amp was disconnected. You probably need a recone and not just a new
foam edge. If you don't do it just right, it will rub again and short
the new voice coil, so it might be even better to have it done by
someone used to doing this kind of repair.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3
or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing?

No, it is hard enough to get it set just right using the correct edge
or a whole new recone kit. Normal fabrics don't work well in
applications where radial characteristics are important.

On Sat, 13 Aug 2016 09:24:40 -0400, FromTheRafters
wrote:

Micky has brought this to us :

[...]

2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

My guess is that the foam starting to fail caused the voice coil to rub
and short which in turn caused the sound to distort. This can cause bad

This is certainly possible, but I checked yesterday and didn't hear
it or feel it.

The car is from 2000 and I bought it in 2011. They claimed it was
owned by the wife of the owner, and I know that's a standard sort of
lie, but I found some evidence elsewhere that indicated it might well
be true. She was supposed to have gone back and forth between South
Carolina and Florida, so maybe that's why it only lasted 11 years.
Maybe they disconnected it just before thy resold it.

sound as well as causing the amp to blow a fuse. This is probably why
the amp was disconnected. You probably need a recone and not just a new
foam edge. If you don't do it just right, it will rub again and short
the new voice coil, so it might be even better to have it done by
someone used to doing this kind of repair.

$25 was stretching it. No way will I pay enough fot someone else to
do it. Simplyspeakers charges 65 just for refoaming plus I'd have to
wrap it and ship it. Too much money for a car that will probably
not last me 2 more years, and reconing is a lot more than that I
expect.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3
or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing?

No, it is hard enough to get it set just right using the correct edge
or a whole new recone kit. Normal fabrics don't work well in
applications where radial characteristics are important.

Well they used paper to connect the cone for decades and I actually
have two speakers from the 1930's that I've been using in my bathroom
for 40 years, in my old apartment and now in my house, and they still
sound good. I don't take steamy showers or baths, the mirror never
fogs, so the bathroom isn't a specially harsh environment.

But you've convinced me and I'll spend the $25 for the foam kit.

Thanks.

On Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:37:40 -0700, Bob F wrote:

On 8/10/2016 9:45 PM, Micky wrote:

Follow-up on seat-belt.

Yes, it was just folded over.

You're welcome.

.....
2) I found I had a woofer and an amplifier behind the back seat. It's
not in that location in sedans because the seatbacks went down for
skis etc. and it can't mount under my rear deck because I don't have
one. The shop manual is designed around the sedan, and I have the
convertible supplement, but can't remember if has anything. It's 250
pages but only about 10 or 20 are about the body.

The entire foam ring around the speaker cone had turned almost to
dust. And surprise, the speaker/amp was unplugged. I wonder if the
previous owner did that, or if it was never plugged in.

Is it worth $25 for a re-foaming kit, meant specifically for this
speaker:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/toyota...ota.html#tab-3
or should I just glue on some cloth-backed vinyl, thinner than
uphostery, meant for clothing? What glue should I use?

Or I have some spare vinyl top material? Sturdier but might slow down
the speaker. Or plain cloth of various kinds? Or clear vinyl, the
thickest gauge the fabric store had?


Get a real foam surround. If you search, they can be found fairly
cheaply,

Your idea of cheap might be different from mine, especially since I
actually have thought the sound is good the way it is, and it will be
hard to keep the car even 2 more years, but I'll do it any way.

and will certainly work better than your substitute
suggestions.

About 40 years ago I did this either with soft leather or with clear
vinyl, in about 8 pieces that I cut myself, but I can't remember what
I did with the speaker after I did this.

There are some sites with good instructions for how to do
it. But first, plug in the amp and see if the speaker does anything. If

Good idea.

not (it may sound terrible) the amp or speaker coil may be blown, at
which point the price consideration goes up.

Maybe that's why it was disconnected.

..... So I'd connected it before and didn't hear anything, but could
feel the cone move a little. I reconnected it yesterday, and turned
up the volume, and I could hear something, and no bad noises.

I think the volume was low because there is no surround.

When I did several home stereo speakers, I got a kit of a bunch of
different size surrounds for ~$35 that worked for most of them. I did

the whole bunch together was only $35? Just curious because I only
have one speaker to do. I took the speaker out of one door last year
and it was in fine condition, like new afainoticed. I don't why the
rear one suffered so much.

order a specific pair for the Dahlquists.

Didnt' know about them, but they don't seem to sell parts anymore, at
http://dahlquistspeakers.com/

Googling for dalhquist repair parts brings up Simplyspeakers.com, the
same place I listed above. Dahlquist says they have no authorized
repair companies, but fwiw I don't have a Dahlquist speaker anyhow.

Plain white glue will work.

The places that sell the surr0ounds also include glue. It may well be
plain white glue but they're not going to tell you that. Instead they
say it's made specilally for them! If you zoom in on the picture,
there is no brand name of course, just a white label with text.

(They have questions and answers, a different set I think for each
model of foamkit. One guy wrote in a question, What would he buy if
there was a rush and he didn't have time to wait for them to ship it
to him. I think he was trying to be sly, so as to never buy the kit
and just learn what the right glue is, but the answer he got woudln't
have helped him.)

There is also repair-parts.com but they a) want 5 to 15 dollars more
money, cheapest is 30. b) they only list by diameter and don't have
any 9" speakers while simplyspeakers actually lists kits by car, year,
and model. They have one for a 2000 to 2003 Toyota Solara, and the
model number includes a 9. (For 2004 to 200?7, the model number
inclueds an 8.)

But I wrote them anyhow to make sure that Solara includes the
convertible, which has the speaker/amp in a different location, and
could conceivable use a different size speaker.

Now that I think abou it, I'm sure it does. They took sedans and cut
the top off to make the convertibles that year and maybe always, and
I'm sure they took the same speaker/amp from the rear deck and put it
down on the floor behind the rear seat back cushion. (This would
mean rerouting the spearker wires, but they looked original. I'll
have to look more closely next time. )