91 escort shoulder belt

[Lewis_17]

i recently purchased a 91 escort lx wagon for $200, and it runs and drives fine. it has a few minor problems, and one of them is that the drivers side shoulder belt does not move. i thought it was the motor, so i went to a junkyard and got a motor from another 91 escort wagon, but that didnt solve the problem. i think that theres a kink in the cable. what i am wondering, is it better to try and fix it, or go back to the junkyard and get the whole track assembly?

[eimrad]

I have the same problem and so does my father's escort. So if anyone can help that would be great.

[KimMG]

Find out what is really wrong and repair it.

[fantastimo]

I had this same problem, and I figured the motor was bad. Once I actually took everything apart to see, though, it was actually that the cable that the seatbelt runs on was rather frayed and worn, so it had clogged up the sensors and the track that it moves on.

Basically, the whole seat belt arm is one one cable with a winch-type system that moves it back and forth. The cable (from what I"ve seen on older models - including mine) is often worn. If this happens or if the plastic jacket covering the cable gets a cut, it will continue to get worse. I just took mine out and lubed it up very very well, and got all of the old plastic junk from the sleeve out that I could. It works now, but it's a bit slow sometimes and I have to wait for a few seconds after I open my door for the seatbelt to let me out. Just take the track out and clean it, it'll be a bunch of grey junk.

To the first person who asked... You'd honestly be better off to get the whole assembly, if it's one that is in better shape.

Good luck!

[AzTumbleweed]

I've had the same problem. I finally just left the harness in the locked position and whenever I get in the car I just put the harness on manually. Mine had a messed up cable. If your's isn't doing anything then check the switches. I think they are at the rearward end of the cable track. Mine used to stick and cause it not to work. If your harness is stuck in the open position and you need to retract it to use it then you can do so down near the motor. There's a round piece of plastic that you pop out. You'll see a bolt with a torx head. Turning it will move the harness. If you try this and it moves freely then your cable is OK. For me it was a lot easier to just unhook the motor and put it on manually.

[Lewis_17]

i decided to tear it apart, because i was planning on getting one from a junkyard anyway. so i tore it apart, and what happened was that the cable broke and got all bunched up in the housing, and thats what was preventing the motor from turning. so today, i am going to a junkyard to hopefully get a different track assembly.