Please help with seat belt problem

[ksgibbens]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post on stangnet, and I need your help or advice. I have a 2002 Gt that I bought new and I have 56K on it, so out of warranty. The passenger side seat belt has retracted into the retractor and will not come back out, no matter how hard or how many times I tug at it, which makes it completely unusable. Today I decided to try and fix the stupid thing but I don't know how to access the retractor. I have tried to remove the panel that it is behind but it seems that I have to remove the rear seat to remove the panel and this is where I am stuck. How do I remove the rear seat so that I can pull the panel out? Is there an easier way to tackle this problem?

Thanks,

Kim

 

[GDawg]

On my car (yours may be different) you first have to remove the bottom rear seat. If you feel under the seat you'll find two plastic clips about 1/3 way in on either side. You can use a screw driver to push in the clips and the lower seat will release. Pull up and out. Then the rear portion of the seat is held on by to screws on the bottom at either side. You can see them now that the lower seat is out. Unscrew and then pull the rear seat up to get the two tabs out of the slots at the top. Then you can remove the plastic push pins that hold the side panel on. Good luck with the belt mechanism. I haven't had to mess with mine.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

you are in for a VERY long process. i had to remove the same panels to access the screws holding my side scoops. you will have to dissassemble almost the entire rear of the car. it is a major PITA. good luck with it.

 

[RedDaemon]

its not THAT bad, i had to do it for my rear seat delete. just keep in mind that there are lots of tabs behind the panels

itll take u an afternoon to pull it all out, hopefully the retractor is fixable

 

[Shiroelex]

I just had to pull the panel off to fix my passenger seatbelt. My seatbelt had gotten twisted, and retracted in all tangled up-like. The little plastic dot thing on the belt actually broke off of mine, and screwed some crap up. A little piece of advice is to get a blow dryer and heat up the panel at all of the tab mount points. I had tugged on the panel a bit to get it off, and the plastic strained too much; now I have a white mark showing through the plastic.

Also, I think there is a TSB on the seatbelt guide (The part that the belt runs through at the top that swivels). Ford has a replacement part that comes stock on newer 'stangs that has some piece of plastic wrapped around it that makes the belt move smoother through it, and not bind up at all. I really need to go get that done, because not one passenger in my car has ever left the belt all twisted and jammed up.

 

[ksgibbens]

Thanks for the quick answers and support. I was able to pull the side panel out enough to access the mechanism without having to pull the seat out. It was a major PITA to say the least, spent the better part of 7 hours getting it apart and fixing the mechanism. The thing that really had me tied up were the clip and plastic pin that are on the side of the door, once I got them popped loose I could pull the panel back enough to work on it. This is something I never hope I have to do again.

Thanks again, you guys make this forum great.

Kim

 

[SaleenGT2001]

i'm glad you got it fixed. maybe you wont have to mess with it anymore.

 

[01Steeda]

I am glad to hear this.. I have had this problem for awhile but havent looked at it. sounds like ill be working on it thursday.