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MG MGB Technical - Dangerous stuff!!


About 3 years ago, on my Roadster, I get tired of twisting seat belt webbing, as it rewound, because the Securon units were mounted vertically.
These replacements came from a good supplier, they were neat and mounted horizontally.
They worked reasonably well till last week when they, (both) just jammed up. The car was level so not a pendulum or ball in cup issue, and it took a great deal of teasing to get the belt out, even a few inches!

Taking the end cover off revealed the Pawl (blue plastic injection moulding) was permanently engaged with the ratchet, with the ball in the bottom of the cup!!. The vertical part of the Pawl is 0.036" thick, so far from substantial. I can only surmise that use has flexed, and therefore deformed it, to the point where it couldn't release the ratchet.

There are no indications, inside or outside, of who built these things, or where they were manufactured, except the letters "TSE" on the conformity label.
I'll be on the phone to the suppliers tomorrow!!!.

The worrying thing to me is, if this functioning part is so badly designed and manufactured, how good is the part which is supposed to stop you becoming airborne??

Static belts are on order!!!






Allan Reeling

Twisting is one of the reasons I wouldn't use Securon even the ones with the control knobs that allow the belt to exit vertically, instead I used the 'simpler' ones that have to be mounted horizontally using a right-angle bracket on the inner arch of the roadster. On the GT the Securon need a double mounting bracket on the right-hand side as the control mechanism sticks out too far. The brackets in that image look a lot flimsier than the factory ones.


paulh4

Paul-
I've been using the Securon seat belts in my car for many years, but the driver's belt is starting to become baulky in its release and retraction. Do you know if there is a better unit that I can purchase to replace them?
Stephen Strange

For some reason Chuck Berry comes to mind :-)
J K Chapin

Stephen - I've stayed with the type the factory used, not tried other types, but I known of others who have had problems where the belt exits vertically for some time. On the roadster it's exacerbated by using some commercial wind blockers and alternative seats.
paulh4

When one looks at the Securon units with "The Bowler Hat" on the end, one wonders why they can't be produced "handed" !
As a temporary fix I mounted an old pair of Securons on 90 degree brackets so the webbing unwound horizontally, and found the driver's side unit worked well upside down!

Chuck Berry wasn't prepared, and thus carrying an 11/16" AF spanner.
Allan Reeling

The original source of the failed, and unbranded belts was the MGOC.!!!!
Allan Reeling

Multiple exclamation marks not justified in my experience. They almost certainly source their stuff on the same basis as most others i.e. largely price. I've had duff stuff from them in the past, and had bigger 'discussions' to get it sorted compared to some of the other big players. None are immune, it's how they react to complaints that stays in the mind.
paulh4

Oh I'm in agreement Paul, I stopped using them years ago due to their attitude.
The supplier where I obtained the belts, took up my concerns with MGOC, and they admitted, in the end, they had had problems with these units.

Fortunately the supplier was very understanding!
Allan Reeling

This thread was discussed between 16/10/2022 and 18/10/2022

MG MGB Technical index

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