Seatbelt Failure!

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

Both I and the tractor are OK.

I was out operating my L45 doing some chores around the property. My property has quite a few hills so I make it a point to wear my seatbelt when I am operating.

I was picking up one of my firewood racks, in a pretty bad spot on one of the hills (I'm not putting racks in this location any more). I guess I shifted in the seat as I was operating along the hill and POP, the seat belt came apart. The buckle just pulled out of the latch. I checked it quite a few times after that, sure enough it pops out.

Anybody have any suggestions? Clearly this is dangerous. I don't see any screws or bolts on the seat belt buckle itself. I assume something internal is sticking. Does the plastic just pop off?

ac

Gary Fowler · Dec 16, 2012

Maybe a piece of trash got into the female part and keeping the male part from fully inserting. Try taking a blow gun with high pressure air to it and blowing it out. Maybe a water hose to wash out the dirt then blow dry it with the HP air followed by a bit of PB Blaster to lubricate. If that doesnt work, its new belt time.

BuzzardA91 · Dec 16, 2012

My wife had a similar problem in her car. Turns out there was a penny stuck inside of it and it wouldn't fully engage. It would click like it was working but a little force would pull the seatbelt apart. Maybe wood chips or dirt?

kcender · Dec 16, 2012

I had the same problem with the seatbelt on my L3240.I had it replaced under warranty,no problems since.If your tractor is under warranty I would get it replaced.If not,I would buy a new seatbelt.A seatbelt is something that has to work properly when you really need it.

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

Kubota is quite proud of the seatbelt: $107.

pedalstomper78 · Dec 16, 2012

I've had the same problem with my truck except for there was a spring that had no "sproing" left to it. Replaced it and worked great. Looks like Messicks has it and TractorHelp.com have it with the later one being a bit cheaper.
Kubota SEAT BELT, ASSY Part #K2561-56850
Replacement parts for the Kubota L45 Tractor

When it comes to safety stuff, I don't take chances. When I was racing bicycles a lot, an older gentleman gave me some sage advice...."You're only going to spend as much on a helmet as your head is worth."

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

I decided to pull the back of the latching mechanism off to see what was up. Of course the cover broke as I tried to get it open.

What I found was a rusty mechanism. I broke out the PB Blaster and freed it all up, cleaned it up the best I could with a wire brush and tried it out.

SUCCESS!

I followed up with a thorough Fluid Film application and used some RTV to "glue" the back cover back on. If that doesn't work, I'll give it a touch of crazy glue later.

I am adding the seat belt mech to my list of Fluid Film spots.

ac

pedalstomper78 · Dec 16, 2012

Always nice when the fix is just some lube and a few minutes of quality time in the garage. Can't ask for a much better ending than that!

creekbend · Dec 16, 2012

pedalstomper78 said:
Always nice when the fix is just some lube and a few minutes of quality time in the garage. Can't ask for a much better ending than that!

I agree. Much better than spending $107.00. I'm glad that everything worked out.

aczlan · Dec 16, 2012

Had the same issue on our B7500. A shot of WD40, then some exercise and a chaser of white lithium grease has made it happy for the last 3+ years.

Aaron Z