E30 Zone

Maybe this is another stupid, embarrassing question... so I'll just have to be embarrassed!

I was putting her back on the road after a few months lay-off over the winter - as usual a few wee teething problems; loose wiring, blown fuse... However the biggie is the seatbelts...

The drivers side seatbelt just froze, wouldn't budge. So I stripped it out and let it fully retract, hoping I could pull it straight up, freeing it off. Nope, didn't budge. Retracted fine, seemed intact, nothing obviously wrong, just wouldn't let the belt out. After an inappropriate application of force I managed to break it!

However, the passenger side worked fine, in-situ. So I stripped it out, and... damn thing done exactly the same as the drivers side! Except I haven't broken this one, it's sitting in the car until someone educates me as what to do with the damn thing which doesn't involve breaking it and throwing it across the driveway

It's fully retracted... how do I get it to work!!!???

Sorry, feel like a bit of a numpty here.

Your not parked on a hill are you ?

smithy318i wrote:Your not parked on a hill are you ?

Yes... the driveway is on a slope... why?

because there is a pendulum thingy inside the seatbelt which wont allow the belt to work when it isnt upright.

when you brake it swings and causes the belt to lock as smithy said if you are on a hill and its at an angle it will lock the belt

If you take the belt out and put it a gainst either a wall or place it on the floor which ever way it would usually be mounted then try puling it out. I had the exact same problem just before i sold mine!! Ended up breaking 2 seat belts and hunting at a scrap yard for one when the one i already had was fine!! very annoying. It should pull out once its mounted in the right position, bt make sure the car is level.

I tried holding the seat belt between my feet and pulling up... didn't work.

I also tried putting back in location, but that obviously didn't work due to the slope.

I'll try again, and again... I'll park her on the road outside the house, it's basically flat...

Thanks folks.

Hi You should try doing it in a Coach with 51 seats!!
I took one of the belts off and it sprung all the way in.I had to sit with the belt and jiggle it about and pull the belt out a wee bit at a time.It took ages to pull it all the way out,just make sure it does not slip back in or it is start again.I think it is a ball bearing that moves to lock the belt in place,so you are freeing the bb which lets you move the belt.A frustrating task.

For anyone who's interested I got the seat belt problem worked out yesterday

I tried everything people said, holding the belt and pulling straight up, putting it back in the car, parking on a flat... nothing worked! Then my neighbour pointed out that the whole reel mechanism was tilting whenever the belt was pulled... upon further investigation it seems the locking mechanism locks one side of the belt reel and, when out of the car, the other side kinks / tilits whenever tension is applied to the belt. Simply straightening the reel and putting a flat head screw driver in one side to keep the whole reel straight whenever the belt is pulled freed it up immediately! No excessive force, no hassle, took 30secs! Back installed in the car in 5mins! All that hassle and it was p*ss easy the whole time!

Once in the car the belt being fixed at the top and the reel fixed at the bottom keeps the tension even and the reel doesn't kink.

Oh well, all I need now is another belt to replace the one I broke first time round...

Will a 4-door, touring or E34/E32 belt fit the same? I don't see any reason why they would be different but thought best to check before phoning round the scrappies.

Hi I will have to remember that one and tell the mechanic at work.

Seems the E30 4-dr & E34 have different seat belts... so I'm looking out for a 2-dr seat belt, if anyone has one!?

garyp_E30_325i wrote:Seems the E30 4-dr & E34 have different seat belts... so I'm looking out for a 2-dr seat belt, if anyone has one!?

Yeah you need one with the loop to go on the bar so it can move with the folding seat...

and just to let you know, was in Fallons, AA autobreakers, and all the other breakers in Bellshill, Mossend and Coatbridge

not one e30

320Touring wrote:and just to let you know, was in Fallons, AA autobreakers, and all the other breakers in Bellshill, Mossend and Coatbridge

not one e30

Did you try the BMW specialists? MTEK in Rutherglen and ??? (sorry, I can't remember their name) just outside Linlithgow!

Also, Stewart's in Muirhead usually have a reasonable choice of older vehicles.

That's were I was planning to try.