How hard is it to dismantle the spring loaded seat belt retractors

[Yellow Submarine]

Cleaning up my interior for the short term as paint will be a while. Removed seat belts and found the zinc covered body of one of them must have had something hideous spilled on it in the past. That has caused heavy rust on about half the bracket. All other parts are in nice shape.
There is a c clip holding  the spring mechanism together. Is it possible to take these apart and put back together without a lot of aggravation and swearing dealing with the spring?
John

[roadman5312]

Cleaning up my interior for the short term as paint will be a while. Removed seat belts and found the zinc covered body of one of them must have had something hideous spilled on it in the past. That has caused heavy rust on about half the bracket. All other parts are in nice shape.
There is a c clip holding  the spring mechanism together. Is it possible to take these apart and put back together without a lot of aggravation and swearing dealing with the spring?
John

                      I wouldn't even consider it , send to a professional or replace.   

[1 Wild R/T]

Easy... Take the clip off, slide the pin out about 3/16" to release the knurled area from the slopes in the bracket, now it will unwind releasing the tension on the spring.... Count the turns so you can set it back correctly... Slide the pin out & look it over.... Piece of cake...

[GoodysGotaCuda]

Easy... Take the clip off, slide the pin out about 3/16" to release the knurled area from the slopes in the bracket, now it will unwind releasing the tension on the spring.... Count the turns so you can set it back correctly... Slide the pin out & look it over.... Piece of cake...

I may have to try this, my Warlock shoulder belts are weak to retract and don't lock-out.

[1 Wild R/T]

I may have to try this, my Warlock shoulder belts are weak to retract and don't lock-out.

Those may be a whole different animal, I know by the 80's they had gotten a whole lot more complex, inertia locks & such....   I would find a spare belt to dismantle first.... 

[Yellow Submarine]

Thanks RT.

[Racer57]

1WildRT is correct.  I took mine apart last winter. Very easy to do.

[Yellow Submarine]

Thanks guys , I'll give it a shot.

[73440]

Easy... Take the clip off, slide the pin out about 3/16" to release the knurled area from the slopes in the bracket, now it will unwind releasing the tension on the spring.... Count the turns so you can set it back correctly... Slide the pin out & look it over.... Piece of cake...

Thanks for the info, takes me about 15 pulls to get the belt pulled out far enough to lock, try slow then fast, ugh, maybe just need to look in there and see whats happening.