seat belt buckle disassembly

[markbob]

Hey guys and gals....

am trying to freshen up my seat belt buckles.....

is there an easy way to disassemble them so I can repaint them and then reassemble them?

thanks,

Mark

[bull]

This is something I'd like to know too but I've looked mine over pretty good and am not seeing a way to do it. Seems as if the chrome pivot buttons/pins/whatever were possibly pressed together. Not sure but it doesn't look easy, and it doesn't look like they'd go back together very well either.

[Chatt69chgr]

I tried to figure out how to get mine apart and finally gave up.  It does look like they are pressed together.  I wonder how Snake-Oyl gets them apart.  Might be worth it to get some junky ones from an A-body or C-body and destroy them to learn the secret----if there is one.

[bull]

I tried to figure out how to get mine apart and finally gave up.  It does look like they are pressed together.  I wonder how Snake-Oyl gets them apart.  Might be worth it to get some junky ones from an A-body or C-body and destroy them to learn the secret----if there is one.

I've got some extra ones I could mess around with. It'll give me something to do tonight.

[bull]

Well, it took about 30 seconds to take one apart but after 30 minutes of trying to put it back together I decided to take pics of it disassembled and post the results. It is indeed a press fit and looking at the buckle from the back the button insert is on the right. Basically you just get a flat screwdriver under the button and it will pry right out. The shaft has a groove and hole; the groove is for the spring and the hole retains the button.

[bull]

Anyway, that's how it comes apart... not sure what to tell you about putting it back together yet.

[tan top]

 good  detective  work      

[Ghoste]

Would a small press enable you to put it back together Bull?

[bull]

Would a small press enable you to put it back together Bull?

I did eventually get it back together but there's no spring to it anymore. Seems like it's been rassembled correctly but obviously something's wrong.

[Ghoste]

Could the spring have "unwound" a turn?

[Nacho-RT74]

how is the other end of spring ?

[bull]

how is the other end of spring ?

It looks basically like the letter G with the end of the spring tucked into the groove.

Here's a crappy Paint drawing:

[bull]

Could the spring have "unwound" a turn?

Possibly. As soon as it came apart the button fell and I was worried more about finding it than watching the spring. It was a real pain to get it back together as it is, I can just imagine how much of a pain it would be with an extra wind in the spring.  Maybe you could somehow rotate the pin one turn before putting the button back in place.

[mauve66]

Could the spring have "unwound" a turn?

Possibly. As soon as it came apart the button fell and I was worried more about finding in that I was thinking about the spring. It was a real pain to get it back together as it is, I can just imagine how much of a pain it would be with an extra wind in the spring.  Maybe you could somehow rotate the pin one turn before putting the button back in place.

you said you had several extras sooooooo............. keep trying

[Nacho-RT74]

how is the other end of spring ?

It looks basically like the letter G with the end uf the spring tucked into the groove.

Here's a crappy Paint drawing:

then thats the reason why the groove on shaft

[bull]

how is the other end of spring ?

It looks basically like the letter G with the end uf the spring tucked into the groove.

Here's a crappy Paint drawing:

then thats the reason why the groove on shaft

Yes.

[bull]

FYI: tonight I tried my idea of turning the shaft end to create tension on the spring by turning the fixed end clockwise and it worked but there were a couple of problems.

First, I should not have tried to remove the button end again before doing this because the small gnurled shaft that holds it in place broke off inside the groove of the pin. Looks like removing it is probably a one-time deal and in retrospect I don't think you need it out to do the job. If/when you disassemble your seat belt buckles I recommend the reassembly be done in these steps: 1. put everything back together except for installiing the button end. 2. turn the shaft to create spring tension. 3. install the button end last.

Second, I marred the other end of the shaft (the fixed end of the pin) while turning it with a pair of Chennellocks to create the tension. Granted this is a junk belt so I didn't care if I marred it but when you do it for real you need to find a way to turn the pin without screwing up the chrome end.

That's about it. The buckle now has the proper amount of tension and the pin is snug enough inside the holes that it should not come unwound (I hope). If I were you though I'd try to locate at least one junk buckle to practice on.

[mauve66]

i knew you would come through