dead seat belt!
- Thread starter 16valex
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Boondox
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 3,885
- Location
- Craftsbury Common, Vermont
- Tractor
- Deere 4044R cab, Kubota KX-121-3S
That happens to mine on occasion when pine needles and other junk gets inside and jams the retraction mechanism. I just blow it out with compressed air and harmony is restored.
Pete
Pete
pemad
Silver Member
16valex said:
Try spraying it with a BreakFree. I had the same problem with my BX and just sprayed it then worked the button and I was back in business.
Bird
Rest in Peace
I took mine apart once when it wouldn't retract and found it was just dirt in there, so thereafter, I just blew it out with my air-compressor as Boondox said.
HomeBrew2
Banned
Yeh, tried the compressed air thing. Works good if you can run to the shop everytime it's not happy. On my BX, there's a rubber/plastic snout on the top of the belt unit that manages the belt position ... or whatever. In a fit of rage, when I NEEDED the freaking belt and it wouldn't budge, I yanked the snout off with the aid of my buck knife. MAN, it works first time everytime now!!! 
orangebluegreen
Gold Member
When I first got my B2410 I tried using the retractable seat belt while mowing. Found over bumps it would keep tightening as the seat would compress until you were forced to stop and loosen it or be squeezed so tight it was terribly uncomfortable. I no longer use it because of that and wish it were not retracting. Anyone have a solution for this problem? Like perhaps a way to keep it from retracting tighter once it is set through some type of stop on the belt?
N80
Super Member
Mine retracted in a twisted position and would not budge. Removed the whole thing (one bolt), pulled the rubber cover off, untwisted it, and it works fine now.
orangegreenblue, I don't drive if the seatbelt doesn't work. Mine is the retracting type too, but it isn't that sensitive. I think it would be fairly simple to buy and hook up any sort of basic seatbelt like the plain old adjustable ones. As long as it will keep you in the seat and you remember to keep it snug, it should do the job.
orangegreenblue, I don't drive if the seatbelt doesn't work. Mine is the retracting type too, but it isn't that sensitive. I think it would be fairly simple to buy and hook up any sort of basic seatbelt like the plain old adjustable ones. As long as it will keep you in the seat and you remember to keep it snug, it should do the job.
Taiser
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2005
- Messages
- 466
- Location
- Northwestern Ontario, Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota B7800 with Loader and Backhoe, Cub Cadet 2160
Seat belts are usually covered by a life time waranty, at least in cars. Take it off and bring it to the dealer, it may be covered for us tractor folks as well.
capt jack
Silver Member
orangeblueover green said:
I Don't know a sloution, But if you had seen the end result of the guy who hit a dip while mowing, came up out of the seat and went under the OPERATING shredder, you would wear that seat belt. BE SAFE FIRST, comfortable later.
Jack
orangebluegreen
Gold Member
Capt_Jack.
Kinda delayed here as I don’t always look at the forums but catch up eventually.
With the retractable belt if I had to use it mowing I would be stuck in crawl speed or stopping every pass to loosen it. It’s impossible to use mowing. The only solution I can think of is replacing it with a manual adjust belt.
That said, we all take our chances every day. Driving an automobile down a public road is probably the most dangerous thing any of us does and we don’t think twice about it. And this is coming from me who used to road race Karts that did over 115mph with no seat belts.
Kinda delayed here as I don’t always look at the forums but catch up eventually.
With the retractable belt if I had to use it mowing I would be stuck in crawl speed or stopping every pass to loosen it. It’s impossible to use mowing. The only solution I can think of is replacing it with a manual adjust belt.
That said, we all take our chances every day. Driving an automobile down a public road is probably the most dangerous thing any of us does and we don’t think twice about it. And this is coming from me who used to road race Karts that did over 115mph with no seat belts.
orangebluegreen
Gold Member
N80 (or anyone).
Just had a thought. On an automobile the retractable belts loosen if you move around and only grip to hold under a particular force.
On my tractor once they pull tighter they stay tighter and keep getting tighter with each bump that compresses the seat allowing slack to pull the belt in. I’m wondering if this is common operation on other Kubota retractable belts, or do your belts loosen if there is no sudden force applied? Hadn’t thought of it but perhaps mine aren’t operating as they should, that is loosening if not needed.
Just had a thought. On an automobile the retractable belts loosen if you move around and only grip to hold under a particular force.
On my tractor once they pull tighter they stay tighter and keep getting tighter with each bump that compresses the seat allowing slack to pull the belt in. I’m wondering if this is common operation on other Kubota retractable belts, or do your belts loosen if there is no sudden force applied? Hadn’t thought of it but perhaps mine aren’t operating as they should, that is loosening if not needed.
N80
Super Member
Mine is the basic retractable type. If it constricts, it stays there. However, mine is not overly sensitive so I don't really have any trouble with it. The belts in modern cars are inertial, they only grab if they are being pulled on suddenly or if you hit a bump. It would be easy to get a set out of an old car and install them on the tractor but I have no idea if the inertia 'settings' would be appropriate or effective in typical tractor applications. I think the easiest solution would be to install a set of basic adjustable ones. You set the length and it stays that length. It will just be important that you keep it tight enough to keep you in the tractor. I suspect that even in a slow roll the centrifugal forces on the body are pretty significant.
For those with belts that don't work, pull it off, pull the rubber cover off and the problem will probably be obvious. If not, take it in.
Riding in a car is indeed dangerous, but you still have to balance that with the necessity of driving and the odds of injury compared to time in the car. Most of us spend huge amounts of time in our cars without injury. We spend much less time on our tractors and I'd bet the injury/hour of use/ number of tractors in use would be pretty close to the injury/hour of use/ number of cars in use.
For those with belts that don't work, pull it off, pull the rubber cover off and the problem will probably be obvious. If not, take it in.
Riding in a car is indeed dangerous, but you still have to balance that with the necessity of driving and the odds of injury compared to time in the car. Most of us spend huge amounts of time in our cars without injury. We spend much less time on our tractors and I'd bet the injury/hour of use/ number of tractors in use would be pretty close to the injury/hour of use/ number of cars in use.
glennmac
Veteran Member
I had the same problem as the OP for a year. The lack of a seat belt caused me to avoid exciting tractoring, such a mowing all my cliff edges.
So I came back to TBN after almost a six year absence and read this thread, which motivated me to look for my puny old toolbox in the garage-from-hades.
I unbolted the retractor thing and pulled off the rubber cover. Didn't see any dirt or debris. I did see rust on the metal parts.
I don't have an air compressor. So I blew hard on the reluctant creature. Nothing happened. Now, like it, I'm stuck ... don't know what to do.
Well, how about prying off the little blue cap that says "Do Not Open", so I can see what's inside. Even though I can barely spell t-o-o-l, surely I will understand the secret mechanism if I pry open Pandora's box.
SPROING ... OING ... OING!
As soon at the blue cap opens, out like a jack-in-the-box jumps a rapidly uncoiling band spring ... immediately and hopelessly pretzled into a zillion twists.
Bye, bye, seat belt retractor.
Off to the dealer. Kubota makes me buy the female half of the seat belt even though that is a separate thing on the other side of the seat. $108. No thanks.
Bought a $15 manual lap belt (like on an airplane seat) at an auto parts store. Spent an hour installing it, mostly trying to figure out how to weave the belt ends through the slider grip.
Works just fine. Had fun driving hills and brush hogging 100 yards of cliff edges. (Well, they're actually creek banks, which I mow by backing the cutter over the edge.)
Now I've gotten rid of the pesky retractor forever and I've saved $93. Just enough to buy a gallon of Kubota Super UDT transmission oil.
So I came back to TBN after almost a six year absence and read this thread, which motivated me to look for my puny old toolbox in the garage-from-hades.
I unbolted the retractor thing and pulled off the rubber cover. Didn't see any dirt or debris. I did see rust on the metal parts.
I don't have an air compressor. So I blew hard on the reluctant creature. Nothing happened. Now, like it, I'm stuck ... don't know what to do.
Well, how about prying off the little blue cap that says "Do Not Open", so I can see what's inside. Even though I can barely spell t-o-o-l, surely I will understand the secret mechanism if I pry open Pandora's box.
SPROING ... OING ... OING!
As soon at the blue cap opens, out like a jack-in-the-box jumps a rapidly uncoiling band spring ... immediately and hopelessly pretzled into a zillion twists.
Bye, bye, seat belt retractor.
Off to the dealer. Kubota makes me buy the female half of the seat belt even though that is a separate thing on the other side of the seat. $108. No thanks.
Bought a $15 manual lap belt (like on an airplane seat) at an auto parts store. Spent an hour installing it, mostly trying to figure out how to weave the belt ends through the slider grip.
Works just fine. Had fun driving hills and brush hogging 100 yards of cliff edges. (Well, they're actually creek banks, which I mow by backing the cutter over the edge.)
Now I've gotten rid of the pesky retractor forever and I've saved $93. Just enough to buy a gallon of Kubota Super UDT transmission oil.
