You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now own
an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way. Checked
with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed so you
could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and then
reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
news:Fpq0k.98$Yx.8@trndny08...
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now
own an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way.
Checked with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed
so you could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and
then reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

My wife has had the same problem in two of our cars over the years. I clip a
big spring-type paper clip on the belt where it enters the retraction
mechanism, adjusted so she can wiggle freely.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
news:Fpq0k.98$Yx.8@trndny08...
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now
own an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way.
Checked with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed
so you could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and
then reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

My wife has had the same problem in two of our cars over the years. I clip a
big spring-type paper clip on the belt where it enters the retraction
mechanism, adjusted so she can wiggle freely.

You can get clips designed to lock the belts for child seats (for your
Silverado, for instance). They may work in this application.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" gives you just what it says.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

get one of those plastic clips semis have that lock the seatbelt from
retracting.

erik litchy wrote:
get one of those plastic clips semis have that lock the seatbelt from
retracting.

As you have an identical car as spares, why dont you takeout the drivers
seat belt mechanism and dismanthe it.
The last time I did this to a spare one I had here, the locking
mechanism is as follows.
Its a steel ball sitting in a larger dia seating. So which ever way
the G loading effects it, in any of the x, y, or z planes, it will
allways lock up the belt.It rolls up the cup pushing up a plate which
locks the reel when it engages in the belt reel edges.
If yours is like this youll be able to fit this sort to your wifes
seat position.
Let us know how you get on with dismantling it and what you find.
Here in the UK we have your drivers type for both front seating positions.
Obviously any such changes to the safety kit is on your own head
And might invalidate any insurances you might have.
I dont see how anyone could argue that whats ok for the driver isnt ok
for the front passenger.
Needs careful thought.
Seat belt design has been intersting. Ive here an original Irvin type.
Beutifully made.Diagonal and lap. Drop forged ali fittings. As new.
But Non retracting.

On Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:25:57 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ivan
Vegvary" quickly quoth:

You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now own
an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way. Checked
with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed so you
could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and then
reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Small vehicles with springy seats are notorious for that.
Three possible choices for repair a

1) If she's the only passenger, stick a 16d nail through the belt @
the retractor housing when she gets comfortable in it. Done!

T _____________
belt ||
------------------|| housing
to SWMBO ||_____________
|

or
2) Use an awl to open up the hole and use a piece of all-thread with a
pair of standoffs for a more engineered look and feel, Ivan.

3) For a removable stop, use a spring clamp on the belt. Lay it on the
seat when done.

--

To change one's self is sufficient. It's the idiots who want to change
the world who are causing all the trouble --Anonymous

Ivan Vegvary wrote:
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now own
an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way. Checked
with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed so you
could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and then
reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary



Actually your Silverado CAN act the same way. You just have to change
the mode the belt is in.

On the Toyota I don't think they use the same feature though. However
it's worth a shot. Pull the belt ALL the way out of the housing, when it
gets to the end give it a solid tug. If they have the same feature the
belt will now act like the Silverado belts.

Another option would be to replace the belt with one from a different
vehicle. The hard part then is matching the color.

--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
news:Fpq0k.98$Yx.8@trndny08...
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now
own an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way.
Checked with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed
so you could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and
then reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary


If you choose to cannibalize (sp?) from another vehicle, be careful, as many
newer vehicles have a pyrotechnic pre-tensioning device installed as part of
the mechanism.

Shawn

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
news:Fpq0k.98$Yx.8@trndny08...
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now
own an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way.
Checked with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed
so you could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and
then reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary
Love the Darwin Theory responses.

Child seats never go in the front seat of a car - read the instructions that
came with the capsule/seat. In fact children never go in the front seat as
their weight is usually insufficient to activate the inertia reel
seatbelts - again read the instruction manual that came with the car.

Rooting around with the belt is brilliant, putting a nail through it -
fantastic, I'm sure your wife will appreciate your concern for her life as
she passes through the windscreen and her face hits the back of a truck.

Just use the plastic seat belt "stop" which should still be attached to the
belt? Big problem it needs to be adjusted each time its used - too hard?
Adjusting the seat will also reduce the action of the seatbelt, whilst
keeping it tort.

Ivan Vegvary wrote:

You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now own
an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way. Checked
with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed so you
could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and then
reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary



I used to have a similar problem with my '83 camaro and I got a piece of
flat 1/8" aluminum and cut opposing slots in it about 3/8" apart. This
went over the belt up near the retract so that it would stop whan the
"buckle" hit the retract mechanism. Worked nicely. If you can't figure
out what I'm describing, e-mail me and I'll make a drawing, scan it and
e-malil it to you. You just have to be careful to make sure there are
ABSOLUTELY NO sharp corners anywhere on it. Nylon under tension cuts
very easily.

Jim

On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 01:34:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
news:Fpq0k.98$Yx.8@trndny08...
You guys always have answers.

Bought a little Toyota Tercel (1995) over a year ago. (BTW, I also now
own an identical parts car)
Now, it turns out, we use it all the time for our run-around car since we
get an honest 30-34 miles to the gallon.

SWMBO rightly complains that her seat belt is strangling her. With every
move and wiggle the seat belt just gets tighter and tighter. The drivers
belt allows you to lean forward (reach things etc.) and only locks up on
sudden deceleration. The belts in the parts car act the same way.
Checked with the Toyota service rep and was told that it works as designed
so you could wrap it around a child-seat and not have it give.
Needless to say my Silverado truck does not have this feature on the
passenger side.

Can anybody think of a work around. A driver's belt would not work on the
passenger side because the inertia mechanism would be backwards.

It's really bad. I've sat there and it's a miserable way to ride. Every
five minutes or so, you end up unbuckling, letting the belt retract and
then reinstalling. Pain in the ass.

Any suggestions / modifications would be appreciated.

My wife has had the same problem in two of our cars over the years. I clip a
big spring-type paper clip on the belt where it enters the retraction
mechanism, adjusted so she can wiggle freely.
SWMBO used purpose built clamping devices for several years, of course
they always ended up holding the belt fully extended. One day,
arriving home in the midst of a downpour, I pulled in so that her door
was adjacent to the porch step. I her haste to avoid getting wet, her
feet got tangled in the dangling belt causing her to fall up onto the
porch, breaking her right arm at the shoulder. During six weeks in a
"collar and cuff" I learned all kinds of new skills, including how to
put a bra ON! Now she wears her seat belt as it was designed,
fortunately, on the Toy Car (Echo), the front seat shoulde vbelt
anchor point is adjustable. Icidently, the rear belts on this car do
have the lock feature where once extended the retracted slightly, they
will not extend again unless they have been fully retracted. As you
point out, this is for use on child seats.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...

snip

SWMBO used purpose built clamping devices for several years, of course
they always ended up holding the belt fully extended. One day,
arriving home in the midst of a downpour, I pulled in so that her door
was adjacent to the porch step. I her haste to avoid getting wet, her
feet got tangled in the dangling belt causing her to fall up onto the
porch, breaking her right arm at the shoulder. During six weeks in a
"collar and cuff" I learned all kinds of new skills, including how to
put a bra ON!

Oh, my God, what a coincidence. In February my wife was rushing to get in
the car with heavy loads in both arms; tripped on a curb and fell on the
driveway; and broke her left arm in four places and shattered her shoulder.
Since she returned from the hospital I had to bathe her for the next five
weeks (kind of fun, actually...), dress and undress her (there are worse
things...), arrange and rearrange pillows for her so she wasn't in constant
pain, do all the shopping, cooking, and cleaning, take care of the dog and
the house, and try to find time to work. After the initial few weeks it was
multiple trips to the doctor and four trips per week to physical therapy.
This all just ended less than two weeks ago, except for the doctor and
therapy, which will go on for months. And of course, I drive her everywhere
she needs to go.

So, we have something in common here.

--
Ed Huntress

On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:23:07 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:



Oh, my God, what a coincidence. In February my wife was rushing to get in
the car with heavy loads in both arms; tripped on a curb and fell on the
driveway; and broke her left arm in four places and shattered her shoulder.
Since she returned from the hospital I had to bathe her for the next five
weeks (kind of fun, actually...), dress and undress her (there are worse
things...), arrange and rearrange pillows for her so she wasn't in constant
pain, do all the shopping, cooking, and cleaning, take care of the dog and
the house, and try to find time to work. After the initial few weeks it was
multiple trips to the doctor and four trips per week to physical therapy.
This all just ended less than two weeks ago, except for the doctor and
therapy, which will go on for months. And of course, I drive her everywhere
she needs to go.

So, we have something in common here.
SWMBO went on one trip with her friend, said "never again" and learned
to manage PDQ
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada