BX25 SEAT BELT FAILURE

[Snobdds]

I guess you did not read it...
It would NOT come unlatched, PERIOD.
Reread it.

I did read it and it's not supposed to come unlatched, PERIOD.

 

[Mace Canute]

While a seatbelt should never come undone unintentionally, or during an accident, why is it necessary to make the latch inoperable unless there is no tension on the belt?

 

[dragoneggs]

While a seatbelt should never come undone unintentionally, or during an accident, why is it necessary to make the latch inoperable unless there is no tension on the belt?

A lot of good engineers been doing this for awhile now. It's not inoperable... but it's not easy either... by design. Maybe it should be voice activated?

 

[NorTracNY]

I'm glad the OP is safe and didn't get injured. The seatbelt clearly worked.

Reminds me of two stories...

An aquantance was all upset after getting in an accident. She said her car got hit and was totalled. It looked horrible. She thought her car shouldn't have sustained so much damage from the hit. I asked her if she was hurt at all. No, car's crumple zone worked perfectly!

A coworker rear ended someone. He was pissed that his airbag system failed to deploy. I asked him if he was hurt. No. I offered to punch him in the face if he really was upset the airbag didn't deploy as that's what it would do. The airbag worked perfectly. It's not designed to deploy unless a threshold of force is experienced.

 

[ultrarunner]

I bought racing belts for several pieces of older equipment...

They are simple and no issues and well worth the $45 I have been paying.

One negative is they do not retract.

 

[boggen]

glad to hear you are able to walk away.

it is scary hanging upside down, and not able to release yourself. at least it was for me. though more likely i was in more shock than anything from crushing my right hand.

for many farmers out there, it is single person out in middle of no were. trying to scream for help is only going to get the critters excited to come hunt down your blood and cell phone reception is null and void.

elders have "fallen and can not get up buttons"

toss it on lesson learned of falling flat on face. *been there done that way to many times to count*

=========
might toss a ledder opener style unit in the TLB. i would end up stabbing myself with a knife as much as i twist around in the seat to operate backhoe

 

[aczlan]

I would highly recommend spraying the inside of the latch with some dry lubricant (such as dry chain lube, or garage door lubricant), that will help make sure it latches and unlatches as expected.
Its just metal and springs inside, so it will rust and corrode inside.

Aaron Z

 

[4shorts]

I would highly recommend spraying the inside of the latch with some dry lubricant (such as dry chain lube, or garage door lubricant), that will help make sure it latches and unlatches as expected.
Its just metal and springs inside, so it will rust and corrode inside.

Aaron Z

Poor advice Aaron. Spray nothing inside the seat belt. It will attract dirt and dust and cause failure. Replace the seat belt but don't spray anything in it.

 

[aczlan]

Poor advice Aaron. Spray nothing inside the seat belt. It will attract dirt and dust and cause failure. Replace the seat belt but don't spray anything in it.

That is why I suggested a dry lube like a dry chain lube, or garage door lube.
Our B7500 and L3830 have both had the latch start to bind and not latch/unlatch. Spraying the dry lube into there took care of the problem and they work as expected with a yearly application.

Aaron Z

 

[4shorts]

That is why I suggested a dry lube like a dry chain lube, or garage door lube.
Our B7500 and L3830 have both had the latch start to bind and not latch/unlatch. Spraying the dry lube into there took care of the problem and they work as expected with a yearly application.

Aaron Z

A seat belt has no maintenance to be performed on it. You will find nothing in a any service manual to suggest otherwise. You've taken upon yourself to suggest otherwise that could cause injury or death by tampering with a safety device.

Someone on here who don't know the difference could do what you suggested and be injured or killed. Now tell me, is it worth trying to be right?
Replace your seat belt.

 

[Wagtail]

Putting some 'over-night' thought to the situation... I put it to the discussion that, whilst the installed seat belt mechanism worked as designed, perhaps the latching/buckle system is the wrong type for tractor applications.

Generally a tractor seat belt does two things: both keeping the operator in the seat. One deals with the up/down/'jouncing' of going over rough terrain and the other is keeping the operator in place during a roll onto its side (due to ROPS).

In the former situation (bouncing around) a standard vehicle seat belt configuration works fine.

In the latter situation and due to an operators weight putting full force onto the latching mechanism, it is very difficult to release unless the tension of the weight is eased. In other words, the operator cannot apply sufficient pressure on the 'button' to overcome the tension holding the buckle together.

The only type of 'practical' ($) buckle (that I can think of) would be a lever type of locking mechanism; such as what is employed on passenger aircraft seats or what was used when safety belts were first introduced in cars. A lever would be able to apply more force to unlock in a roll onto your side situation.

 

[houser52]

The seatbelt on my L3600 was in pretty rough shape. I ordered an orange one with a paddle type latch so I could unlatch it with gloves on. Easy to install, works great.

Lap Seat Belt, Chrome Lift Latch, 6 Inch Length

 

[Wagtail]

The seatbelt on my L3600 was in pretty rough shape. I ordered an orange one with a paddle type latch so I could unlatch it with gloves on. Easy to install, works great.

Lap Seat Belt, Chrome Lift Latch, 6 Inch Length

That's a nice looking site! They're using the name/terminology of "Lift Latch", which describes what I was calling a 'lever' type.

They even have a 2-point retractable lift latch buckle set. :cool2:

 

[ultrarunner]

That is a good price and much less than I paid for my racing belt.

 

[dodge man]

The Seat belt on my BX broke. It's been a few years but I posted pics at the time. No accident, I assume fatigue. The metal on the latch side just broke. I replaced it and e mailed Kubota pics if it thinking they should give me a new one. Never heard a thing.

 

[dodge man]

Here is a pic of mine that broke, glad it didn't happen during a roll over.

 

[JRobyn]

That is a good price and much less than I paid for my racing belt.

I think that's the same vendor that I got my replacement belt for mine from. I got a push-button style because that's what Kubota originally supplied (retractable). I got the non-retractable. Much simpler, less expensive, wife prefers it.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Cannot believe some of the thinking going on here...........seat belt worked

If you need to get out that fast may I suggest the ACES II ejection system or a Martin Baker system

David

 

[crazyal]

Think of it this way, instead of a slow roll onto your side what if it happened on the side of a hill and you rolled several times. Would you want that seat belt to unlatch if, say a stick or something else hit the release button in the middle of rolling? I would say not. A seat belt is a compromise, like most everything in life. It can either hold you securely in the seat no matter what or risk releasing too soon. Sure there are times when it can be a real issue, say rolling into a pond or if your tractor catches fire and you need to release the belt but that's the price to be paid for a system that wont fail during a roll. Also seat belts were designed for cars to prevent injury in accidents involving more than just rolling over then were adapted to equipment like tractors.

 

[Jeepnford]

I rolled my jeep once, I couldn't get the belt released without trying a one-armed hand stand. I wasn't too worried though, I had lots of company. I replaced the belt.