Got Mondial 3.2. 1988. Front seat seat belts won’t release ... any ideas?
Is it fully locked (ie literally stuck in place), or does it move an inch or two and then lock? Mine came with the latter problem (driver side only). I was told they’re not really safe to rebuild and NOS belt systems would be $500-1000 each — *if* you can find them. I ended up figuring out how to get mine to release by pulling gently and slowly and, most importantly, *straight out*. I actually reach behind the driver seat to do it. Not really a solution, but I thought maybe it might give you a measure of hope....
My '85 QV Cab driver's side belt won't retract back into its housing. I can still use it fine when I'm driving, and it isn't tight against me. Seemed like the typical old car issue where if I spent the time to slowly pull it out little by little and let it retract back in it would eventually work. Not sure if there are any tricks or if a new tensioner would be needed (not going to bother with it).
Get it removed and see if you can get any WD40 into the mechanism, then work it to see if it frees up. Not tried it my self but has to be worth a go. Is it just dry on the lub side or has the spring gone bang. My Rav4 belt did the same but just fitted a new one as cheap enough.
I have this exact scenario with my passenger side belt. It needs to be pulled straight for 3 or 4 inches at a time before it "re-locks". Haven't yet gotten around to opening things up and actually getting some WD-40 in there. Otherwise, the belt works fine.
The tensioner is working just fine. The belt retracts ok. And it locks as it should when decelerating.