Seat Belt Receiver Removal

[Dan66]

Hello all,

Tried a search on this but came up empty...

1996 Explorer XLT: The Receiving end of my driver's seat belt has given up the ghost (won't clasp onto the male piece any more).

Wondering what's involved in replacing it... Does the entire seat have to come out? Are there special tools needed?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[IZwack]

Yes the seat has to be removed but its no biggie -- 4 bolts to the seat and 1 bolt connecting that part fo the seatbelt to the body of the vehicle. The only special tool needed is I think a large (I forget the size) TORX socket (for the thing tying the belt to the body).

[techieman33]

Yeah it's pretty easy to do it, the torx bit is a t-47 btw

[Dan66]

Thanks for such quick responses, guys. S'pose I'll finally get the floor clean under the seat now!

While we're on the subject: is this a part best bought new from Ford or is a used eBay purchase typically alright? I've seen them for $25 or $30 used – but if brand new, what's a ballpark price?

[techieman33]

It's about $75 for a new one as fastpartsnetwork.com (a site sponsor)

[Joe Dirt]

T-47? I've always used a T-50... Make sure so you don't shred the inside of the bolt...

[marragtop]

I had the same problem with my belt receiver on my 95. As it turned out, a dime got lodged into it and was keeping the belt from latching. I was eventually able to twist it around enough to get it upside down, press the button and pull the dime out with a very small screwdriver. It's worth a shot before pulling the seat out.

[Dan66]

Wish it could be that simple! The problem with my receiver is that the button stays in the pressed-in position - and very loosely, at that. There's no spring action that returns it to the red button back to the surface level.

I've inspected it with a flash light and believe it's simply shot. I guess there's only a finite number of clicks we can expect from these things!

[DoubleTap]

Hi Dan,

I have this same problem. Just started a couple of months ago. How did your replacement go?

Do you think this is something a total car rookie can do?

Hope it went smoothly for you.

Ernie

[Dan Whitaker]

Originally Posted by DoubleTap

Hi Dan,

I have this same problem. Just started a couple of months ago. How did your replacement go?

Do you think this is something a total car rookie can do?

Hope it went smoothly for you.

Ernie

Very simple to do. just need the right tools.

[Spdrcer34]

I just had to do this on a friends `95 Explorer.

My swap was a LITTLE more involved, as he has a Brown (EB) interior, and the replacement belt was out of my old Grey (Ltd.) interior. So I had to swap the ' plastic cover too.

There are 4 bolts on the floor board, I think they are 13mm. And the T47 (T50 works) bolt on the transmission tunnel.

Don't forget to unplug the Seat Belt Sensor plug, and power seat plug, if applicable.

Once the seat is free from the car, there is 1 (one) 10mm Bolt, and 1 (one) 10mm nut that needs to be removed from the seat to remove the 'L' shaped rail that the seat belt slides on.

There is a little white plastic 'christmas tree' that needs to be tapped out of the way to remove the seat belt bracket from the rail.

If you got the WHOLE bracket, just slide it on and install in reverse order.

If you only have the seatbelt receiver, you need to get the old one off the bracket first. The nut is only 'spot welded' in place, and the nut MAY be totally round, or it may be a real 6 sided nut. I used an impact gun to remove the bolt. It made it A LOT easier.

Ryan

[MountaineerGreen]

A interior removal how to including the seats:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...27#post2086527

[2lefthands]

Thanks to all who posted above for the helpful hints.

I've purchased a replacement receiver for my 1996 XLT, and have successfully gotten the seat removed, and the receiver bracket off of the rail.
Now I'm stuck trying to remove the Torx bolt from the receiver bracket, which doesn't provide enough surface space to hang on to while trying to crank the bolt with a socket wrench.

I haven't got the option of hitting it with an impact wrench - any suggestions on how to go about removing this pesky bolt?
I've tried using clamps to attach it to a worktable in my garage while I crank the bolt with no success, stepping on the metal while I try to turn it, and using a screwdriver through the bracket to offset the direction I turn the bolt. Nothing seems to work.

Side note: I'm following the "lefty loose-y, righty tighty" rule; this bolt doesn't go opposite, does it?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[marragtop]

Can you put the bracket in a bench vise while you turn the bolt? Also, are you sure the bolt isn't spot welded in?

[95Bauer]

Replaced mine on the driver's side today. No need to remove the seat at all. The center console removes very easily and provides plenty of room to access the torx screw head. The only difficult part was applying lots of torque to get the screw loose. After that, it was simple.

Purchased the buckle assy from Ford Dealership parts counter. $66.14 after a discount off the $72.00 list price.

Anyone having difficultly with this - you're welcome to PM me w/ questions. Just want to pay-back the many good tips I received here.

[DR]

On my 1993 I did it my way. I didn't remove the seat or the console. My way may take longer but less is tore apart. Work slow and patient. Unplug the seat belt switch. Position the seat and seat back to aid in getting the job done. Remove the number 50 torx head bolt that holds the back of the seat belt rail to the floor. Give yourself all the room you can by putting something between the seat cushion and console. I rolled up a rug. The side of the console is rough so take note. It will skin the back of your had real easily. Small hands work best. Back out the number 10mm bolt head that mounts the seat belt bracket to the seat. A small 10mm box end ratchet makes the job go faster. It could be an off set box end ratchet would help. Last is the number 10mm nut at the front of the slide rail that mounts to the seat. At this point all comes out as a unit. By placing the seat belt welded nut in a bench vice remove the number 50 torx head bolt to replace with a good new or used seat belt receiver. Put back together in the reverse. Thanks to all of you guys for your input to make the job easier. Good luck, Don

[ghh97eb]

Hello all,

Using the info provided in this thread, I recently replaced the driver's side seatbelt reciever in my good old 97 Eddie. I have done a number of fixes using the helpful hints from this message board (curise control switches, replace high mount brake light with LEDs, replace stock subwoofer with larger subwoofer, fix blend door actuator, and fix LOM, to name a few) and this one was the easiest of them all! Took me a total of 20 minutes to remove the driver's seat, replace the seat belt reciever, and then re-attach the seat.

I know that there is an alternative method of removing the center console instead of the seat. However, in my opinion, removing the center console is much more labor-intensive. There are more screws / parts to loosen for the center console, but more importantly, I did not like the idea of having to hit the metal bar inside of the center console with a hammer to get it to dislodge from the transmission hump (keeping in mind that in the Eddie Bauer, there is a 6 CD changer unit housed within the center console and that CD changer units don't respond very well to intense shocks). The driver's seat was surprisingly light and very easy to unbolt from the frame. One thing to keep in mind, though--disconnect the power to the power seat mechanism only after you have moved the seat back and forth to allow easy access to all of the bolts holding the seat down. Then, reconnect the power as the first thing you do after replacing and reattaching the seatbelt reciever to the seat. Also, make sure that you have the right tools -- I used a socket set that has both metric and standard, and I also used my Torx bits. Piece of cake! 8-)

[5.0]

.

I removed the center console... just 5 bolts and pull back on it.

Also, if sourcing your replacement receiver from a junkyard, it may be a lot easier to remove the center console since the electric seats won't work.

.

[TanKs]

Originally Posted by DR

On my 1993 I did it my way. I didn't remove the seat or the console. My way may take longer but less is tore apart. Work slow and patient. Unplug the seat belt switch. Position the seat and seat back to aid in getting the job done. Remove the number 50 torx head bolt that holds the back of the seat belt rail to the floor. Give yourself all the room you can by putting something between the seat cushion and console. I rolled up a rug. The side of the console is rough so take note. It will skin the back of your had real easily. Small hands work best. Back out the number 10mm bolt head that mounts the seat belt bracket to the seat. A small 10mm box end ratchet makes the job go faster. It could be an off set box end ratchet would help. Last is the number 10mm nut at the front of the slide rail that mounts to the seat. At this point all comes out as a unit. By placing the seat belt welded nut in a bench vice remove the number 50 torx head bolt to replace with a good new or used seat belt receiver. Put back together in the reverse. Thanks to all of you guys for your input to make the job easier. Good luck, Don

this is the way to go fellas. on my 97, just take the 10mm bolt that mounts the seat belt bracket to the seat, then move up the seat all the way to the front. there's plenty of wiggle in the rail so you can take out the T-50 bolt.

thanks for all the help here!

[Jay Cee9276]

Thanks alot to all of you!! I replaced my seatbelt receiver with (sumwhat) of an ease! DR and Tanks are right.. you don't need to remove the drivers seat or center console Again thanks alot for the help!