Seat Belt Question

Ok, sorry if this has been covered, I can't find it anywhere here!

I have a 99 OBS ECSB K1500. The driver and passenger seat belts simply do not "grab" when pulled rapidly, pulled when hard braking down an incline, going over RR tracks, you get the idea, never! It has been my experience with just about any year GM or other vehicle, the belts were designed to grab (some kind of weighted pulley system, or some such?!?). It concerns me that these belts are worn out. Being my daily driver, I'm sure I would want them to work right, if they would be needed! Just a side note on this, the two rear seat, seat belts, seem to work perfectly, grabbing when pulled rapidly.

I looked for belts in a yard on 4 donor vehicles, and all of them were the same as mine! I also found the belts (retractor and belt unit) as a "new" part, but they are fairly expensive. I don't mind spending the money if these belts would make everything right, just wanted other opinions and experiences before I do that.

Thanks

Mine are the same way (98 Tahoe and an extended cab).

My understanding is that there are two types of seat belt systems. One has a clutch, so it locks when you yank on it. Another has a pendulum that locks the belt when it swings past a certain point. Yanking on it will not lock it up.

I'm pretty sure we have the pendulum type in the front and clutch type in the back. The ones in the back of my Tahoe and truck lock when yanked. The fronts do not.


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east302 said:

Mine are the same way (98 Tahoe and an extended cab).

My understanding is that there are two types of seat belt systems. One has a clutch, so it locks when you yank on it. Another has a pendulum that locks the belt when it swings past a certain point. Yanking on it will not lock it up.

I'm pretty sure we have the pendulum type in the front and clutch type in the back. The ones in the back of my Tahoe and truck lock when yanked. The fronts do not.


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Thanks for the reply East. I took the passenger side belt and retractor off, and yes, you can see some type of pendulum. I hate to assume, but I guess I will assume they (the belt system) would work if needed.

No need to assume, go take it out on a dirt road, or a wide open empty parking lot, get it up to about 20mph or so and brake hard(safely). The seatbelts should lock then.

chipskittles said:

No need to assume, go take it out on a dirt road, or a wide open empty parking lot, get it up to about 20mph or so and brake hard(safely). The seatbelts should lock then.

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You know what, you were right. I did a 20 mph hard brake test, belts grabbed right away. Sometimes it the obvious thing that will get you, right??? I think I'm just so used to testing a belt's operation by doing the quick yank lock test, I just assumed the belts were not operating properly.

At any rate, maybe this will help someone else.