Any ideas how to solve this? I haven't tried the passenger side but the driver side seatbelt retractor (OEM New) hangs up and won;t release the belt when I first get in if it is very cold. Gotta think if this is an issue you guys in cold climates would know about it. It works fine no problem if the temp is above 40 which is usually is here. Once I get it extended enough so that I can put it on and drive It works fine after that. Guessing I;d say using the heater is helping in that.

 

I'm going to bet old grease in the retractor, but no, I haven't seen that being temperature specific.

RwP

 

what color belts? Is this a club cab? I don't know if club cab ones and reg cab ones are the same, but IDK why they wouldn't be. It just so happens that I went junking to the U pulls today, just for a whole set of belts as somebody cut the ones in the 96 that I just got last week.... I had to pick between 3 trucks to get a whole set.... between some that would not retract and others that I stripped the torx head out of the bolts,
I wound up with 2 whole trucks worth of the retractors.... all charcoal.
I think I only need fronts in this truck, but as I was pulling them I discovered that the fronts and backs on each side were the exact same part number.... and it appears the rears were never used in any of them. I got extras of some of the parts, just to be certain that I had enough.

Not to start a fight here but personally I am NOT a fan of seat belts in the 1st place... but between my nagging wife and the local cops that like to use this as their local "cash cow", I have to have them functioning. The only part I had a hard time finding good ones of, is the female parts for the front seats. the part that bolts to either side of the tranny tunnel.
These ones I got today were all out of 95s and 96s.

I think I still have a whole truck's worth ( toffee brown) out of a 92 that I got in a pile of random misc. parts from a local guy that swapped out his whole interior because he didn't like that color. If you need some retractors let me know. I'll go thru what I have, and verify exactly what-all I do need, and what's left, will just collect dust in the attic.

 

Thanks Ralph and volaredon. Just figured out your name as I typed it
Volare the retractors I have now are brand new this summer. I think this one is the one I got from a dealer in Texas who gave me a "deal" for $115. Maybe I know why now. I have the old set I'll take one apart to find the problem. I think the catch is some sort of expanding part in the mechanism that causes it to lock down and the expansion from the freezing of the grease as Ralph points to as the likely prob may be causing it to catch as I try to unreel it. I let it warm up today instead of fighting it I came in and posted this. Once the interior was warm it worked fine as I have said. I guess once I take the old ones apart I'll know how to change the grease out.
I have the female buckle for the bucket seat (New) if you need one.

 

I don't think that grease in the seat belt mechanism was ever meant to be lubed after it left the factory.
i could probably dismantle the old ones that were cut, once I get them swapped over. They're junk anyway.
On the new female part for a bucket seat truck, I'll have to keep that in mind especially if I find out that the seats from a 97 can be made to fit w/o too much hassle. there's a set of them w/o tracks on Craigslist a couple of Craigslist areas away down near a buddy of mine.

 

It's just a theory on the grease being the why. I figure it's the mechanism that reacts to sudden spin and catches the belt in a crash that is being affected by cold. I was hoping I could figure out a fix that doesn't involve keeping a blow dryer and cig lighter plug/converter in the truck every winter It's only the one bucket buckle. I found/bought it after a dealer gave me the wrong part number.

 

I found the credit card bill and the email for the purchase 9-26-16. The email just came back undeliverable. I have left two messages and will now look for the website of Toliver Chrysler Dodge, Corsicana TX. So I looked them up and called, A different Dave not the Dave whose email failed is there now. We agreed it is odd the cold causes this and decided it is probably that the cold exposed an existing defect. He has ordered me a new part and I will return this one when I get the new one. I'm glad because it was even worse this morning.

 

that's cool... and on the female buckle portion that you offered me, that may be OK as these trucks are too small for 3 across seating anyways even though mine came with a lap belt for a center seating position..... I'll let you know once I go thru and see what all I was able to get/still need....
I do know that I will end up with at least a couple of the shoulder harness left over. I did play with all that I got from the yard to be sure that they retracted and that they didnt stay "stuck" out,
It's a good thing that dealer stood behind your purchase, it would have been so easy for them to say "well too bad"

 

The buckle I mentioned is a bucket seat buckle. It is hard plastic from the mount to the buckle itself and stands straight up alongside the seat. It would not easily work on a bench seat as it does not twist at the buckle end. I have the old center buckles and they come with the middle seat belt attached to one and the middle seat buckle attached to the other. They cost me more new than the retractors did new. All the plastic on mine had turned to dust so I replaced them I also put new to me better interior trim in from a 95 and a wood grain dash panel/cup holder from a 93.

 

I have what I think they called "60/40" seats, with a slot between driver seat and spot for the guy in the middle, it might. I got one of those bucket seat ones while at the yard, that's all that was still good of those.