QuestionI have a 2000 Discovery, and the middle rear seat belt is locked to the point I can not get enough slack in it to release it. How do I take the part apart so I can release the seat belt? Thanks in advance.
AnswerHi Dallas,
About a year ago, I tried to repair the passenger's seat belt on my Disco. I had the same problem that you describe. I contacted several of my 'sources' and all said not to play with it as it was too important a part to be serviced by a DIY'er. All said that I should just buy a new one. OUCH.
Somehow, after toying with the belt for some time, it freed itself up and I was able to get enough slack to loosen it up.
Recently, my wife was complaining that the belt did not retract fast enough and that it was getting caught on the door latch. I decided to take a closer look at the problem. I lubricated the belt assembly axle(?) using a fine oil spray. It lubricate so well that the belt full retraced and I could not get it to pull loose.
Here's what I did afterwards:
the belt assembly is plastic riveted in 4 spots and has several frame clips holding the cover together. You have to make sure that the cover you remove does NOT reveal the high tension spring mechanism. IF you open this side up you've just ruined the belt assembly. I doubt very much that you can rewind that spring by hand.
With the plastic rivets drilled out, you can pry off the cover and reveal the locking mechanism side of the belt assembly. On my '95 Disco, a ball-bearing is used as a counter-weight to lock the belt (should the need arise). I moved aside the ball-bearing and saw the locking tooth drop down. I could then pull out the belt. I suspect that this ball-bearing or the locking tooth may be jammed and thus the belt is locked into place. *
You could avoid all this by trying to put the belt assembly in its proper position and lightly tapping on the assembly. Perhaps this will jar the ball-bearing loose and allow the locking mechanism to become free enough to pull out the belt.
This would be ideal as you would avoid having to reassemble the belt assembly and cut in new rivets or bolts to hold the cover on. That's what I had to do. It was not an easy task, believe me.
I hope this helps. It could be the way your belt assembly works. That's about all I know about it. I'm almost sure that my sources will tell me to just replace it. Easy for them to say and I guess safer for us to do. Makes sense this time.
Best of luck,
JohnMc
NB: * the ball-bearing, when moved due to an accident or sudden shifting, releases a tiny plastic tooth that jams into a small plastic wheel on the seat-belt assembly. If you really look at this whole process...that tiny single tooth is the only thing that's holding you in your seat. Its an amazing little gadget but it could make some people feel very insecure. I would think most N.American cars would be using some sort of metal alternative. I wonder if US DOT or Transport Canada even know that LR does this?
Interesting.
