How to unlock rear seatbelt retractor

I have a 95 Corola with a twisted rear passenger shoulderbelt. The
belt had gotten twisted just inside the frame, and the retractor was
locked, preventing me from pulling the belt out and untwisting. My
Chilton's guide didn't have any ideas, so I came up with the bright
idea of unbolting the retractor from inside the trunk and yanking the
belt through, assuming that the retractor would unlock at some point.

Unfortunately but predictably, that hasn't helped. The retractor took
up all the slack I could give it, but never unlocked. Now I have a
locked retractor all the way flush to the front of my trunk, and I
can't figure out a way to unlock it. Any ideas?

Thanks,
SP

<scary_penguin@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1163689205.544126.185650@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I have a 95 Corola with a twisted rear passenger shoulderbelt. The
> belt had gotten twisted just inside the frame, and the retractor was
> locked, preventing me from pulling the belt out and untwisting. My
> Chilton's guide didn't have any ideas, so I came up with the bright
> idea of unbolting the retractor from inside the trunk and yanking the
> belt through, assuming that the retractor would unlock at some point.
>
> Unfortunately but predictably, that hasn't helped. The retractor took
> up all the slack I could give it, but never unlocked. Now I have a
> locked retractor all the way flush to the front of my trunk, and I
> can't figure out a way to unlock it. Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> SP
>[/color]

There are several different types of retractors, and in sounds like yours is
the type where the seat belt has to retract all the way before you can pull
it back out again.

While you have someone maintain tension on the problem seat belt from the
back seat, remove the back seat bottom and back rest so you have some
maneuvering room, then feed the seat belt all the way in to the retractor to
release the locking mechanism.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)