Seat belt height ajustment assembly - b pillar

pfflyer

Well-known member
I thought I was actually going to contribute something useful this weekend. I took my drivers b-pillar off and I was careful but a spring flew across the van and a black part fell straight down. Found the spring and discovered both came off the seat belt height adjustment. There are three parts that came out. A spring, a black plastic part that the bottom of the spring goes onto and a shinny metal part that looks like a boot. It was pretty easy to figured out how the plastic part and spring goes back into the assembly. Its the metal boot shaped part that was a mystery. After fooling around with it for about an hour I took a break and searched here on the forum. Found several results but none that showed my simple mind how the boot went back in. One post by Geek said the following:

Dave: what sprintguy said...

B-pillar: Once you've removed the torx and d-rings give it a pull.. there are 4 "pressure tabs" that hold it on about half way up - they will let go with enough of a tug. The slider over the seatbelt adjust slides off.. be VERY careful you don't hit the little tab in the seatbelt adjust very hard.. it'll pop apart and a spring and bunch of little bits will go flying DAMHIK.

If you do release the seatbelt configuration it is quite a fiddly job to put it all back together.


with this picture
http://topgeek.smugmug.com/Other/2011-Mercedes-Benz-Sprinter/i-DfV8PqQ/0/M/smugshot4286289-M.jpg

The next post by Cedarsanctum said

I wish there was an easy way to describe how to put the seat belt bits back together. It is fiddly to the maximum, and every time i do it, i have to re-learn how.
Jef



So after lunch I thought I would document how it all went back together to help the next person out complete with pictures and everything. I hardly ever swear but I said at least two years worth after lunch. I think but cant (won't) swear it goes in the way Geek is holding it in his picture, by the toe. That is way I started after lunch and think after another hour of "fiddling" (and taking apart the passenger side) it went back and worked like it should. So I still haven't contributed much because the above quote by Geek and Cedarsanctum pretty much sums it up.
Bottom line when taking the b-pillar off take Geeks advise above and be careful.
 
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ehallspqr

Member
Would be interested in what you figure out. I took my door pillar trim off both sides and all the seat belt bits came tumbling out. After lots of head scratching, trial and error and some cussing, I managed to install them back like they where. I think. Passenger side works fine but the drivers side never has worked quite right since. It's "sticky" and doesn't re-track cleanly.
 

hein

Van Guru
I fiddled with them too; then tried to forget the experience.

One thing I now remember, is the part of the metal L that sticks out
has to go between two lugs coming off the plastic actuator button.
And the cover fits in some guides but not very well and can easily
come out. Any one or both of these things can happen while you are
trying to put the B-pillar cover back on.

If installing insulation. Keep it well clear of the seatbelt mechanism.

More. The little metal clips that hold the pillar cover on can stay
in the body. They need to be removed and installed on the cover
before it can be put back on. They may be bent so may need to
be tweaked with some needle nose. Coat them with a little light
grease so they go into the body easier.
 
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1109

New member
Thanks for all the input. All I want to do is locate the screw in points for a grab handle and I know the ac lines for the roof top run up this pillar.
Thanks I guess I'll just pull it part way until I see the nuts and hope not enough that the seat belt slider flies out.
 

SRE

New member
think but cant (won't) swear it goes in the way Geek is holding it in his picture, by the toe.
You saved me! So as a new subscriber I'd like to give back:

One reason we all have trouble re-installing the B Pillar trim is that the button used to release the height adjustment falls down when not hooked on that boot-shaped part which this thread shows how to replace. Before removing the trim, tape the adjuster in place!

As for that boot-shaped part, it really IS hard to describe the insertion procedure. I shot a video of me taking it out and putting it in, but there doesn't appear to be a way to upload MP4 files. (Let me know if that can be done or if it's OK to insert links to other websites.) Grab the toe of the upside-down boot with pliers, tilt the HEEL in first, engaging it under and behind the small steel plate in my photo, then tip the top of the boot in so it rests vertically. The toe will then be slightly above where the pivot arm of the external plastic piece snaps in. The video really says that a lot better. Hope this helps the next person.
SeatBeltHeightAdjusterSpring.jpgClipFollowsBoot.jpgAdjusterAssembled.jpg
 
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IanG

Member
You saved me! So as a new subscriber I'd like to give back:

One reason we all have trouble re-installing the B Pillar trim is that the button used to release the height adjustment falls down when not hooked on that boot-shaped part which this thread shows how to replace. Before removing the trim, tape the adjuster in place!

As for that boot-shaped part, it really IS hard to describe the insertion procedure. I shot a video of me taking it out and putting it in, but there doesn't appear to be a way to upload MP4 files. (Let me know if that can be done or if it's OK to insert links to other websites.) Grab the toe of the upside-down boot with pliers, tilt the HEEL in first, engaging it under and behind the small steel plate in my photo, then tip the top of the boot in so it rests vertically. The toe will then be slightly above where the pivot arm of the external plastic piece snaps in. The video really says that a lot better. Hope this helps the next person.
THIS SAVED ME! Thank you!
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
.... I shot a video of me taking it out and putting it in, but there doesn't appear to be a way to upload MP4 files. (Let me know if that can be done or if it's OK to insert links to other websites.)
The way to insert videos is to upload them to YouTube, and then insert the video's address in a post

We'd love to see it...
--dick
 

IanG

Member
I just had to do this. I was afraid of dropping the spring, so I lightly glued it on to the little plastic thing. In the end, this prevented me from getting the little plastic thing in place. So here are the steps I will do next time.
1) Insert metal "boot" thing
2) Insert little plastic thing
3) Install spring carefully
 

Bikes!

Member
You saved me! So as a new subscriber I'd like to give back:

One reason we all have trouble re-installing the B Pillar trim is that the button used to release the height adjustment falls down when not hooked on that boot-shaped part which this thread shows how to replace. Before removing the trim, tape the adjuster in place!

As for that boot-shaped part, it really IS hard to describe the insertion procedure. I shot a video of me taking it out and putting it in, but there doesn't appear to be a way to upload MP4 files. (Let me know if that can be done or if it's OK to insert links to other websites.) Grab the toe of the upside-down boot with pliers, tilt the HEEL in first, engaging it under and behind the small steel plate in my photo, then tip the top of the boot in so it rests vertically. The toe will then be slightly above where the pivot arm of the external plastic piece snaps in. The video really says that a lot better. Hope this helps the next person.
Old thread, but thank you. The pictures were really helpful. The spring popped off and was never to be seen again, so I bought a generic spring pack from Home Depot and one of those worked. Taping the plastic piece prior to reinstallation was a huge help for getting everything to seat correctly. Funny how the simplest things turn into the biggest headaches!
 

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