Thanks Roger.  I will look into this, and almost certainly will take your advice.  I may consult with a seat belt guru, if I can find one.  Thanks, David

---- Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> dear seat belts
>
> ya know ... i am not a mechanic ... but ... i have twisted off a lot of
> bolts and nuts ...
> over tourque of a bolt or nut can cause lots of problems that will not =be
> evident until they are required to do their job ...
>
> vibration will worry the threads until they back out and become loose or any
> variety of situations ...
>
> there are many well documented situations of airplanes flying many hours
> with known stress situations that are gambled on til they fail ...
>
> speaking from the point of view of a fellow who rolled the T25 at christmas
> in whyoming and came away with only minor scrapes and bruises to wife in
> passenger seat ...
> i would suggest seat belt bolts torqued to twice recommended ft pounds is
> asking for a disaster at the very time you want them to work
>
> i would suggest you follow the advice of lucas and re-tap the hole and
> replace the bolts with new superior grade bolts ...
> just a suggestion from a fellow who has required his seat belts to work and
> they did when required
> yours
>
> On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 5:52 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > ---- "S. Lucas Valdes" <lucas@gowesty.com> wrote:
> > > David,
> > >
> > > It sounds like the threads on the bolt and maybe the hole are buggered
> > up.
> > > The thread is a 7/16-20. You can get a replacement bolt at any hardware
> > > store. Try a new bolt. If it does not thread in easily, you will have to
> > get
> > > a tap and chase the threads.
> > >
> > > There is not spacer utilized there.
> > >
> > > Lucas.
> >
> > Lucas, thanks again for your response.  Following the advice of David
> > Beierl, who is a participant in the vanagon.com mailing list, I cleaned
> > the bolt and bore threads with brake cleaner, and put antisieze lubricant on
> > the threads.  I then screwed the bolts in, tightened them up, and snugged
> > them down on the fittings.  The tightening did require more force than the
> > 35-45 ft lbs your instructions recommend (I discontinued using my cheap
> > torque wrench for fear of breaking it, but it would not turn the screws in
> > at 60 ft. lbs, so I went to a regular socket wrench.  The screws were
> > clearly turning in properly, just required inordinate force.  They set
> > properly, there is no damage to the bore, the nut, or the surrounding parts.
> >  The screws did not twist, they turned in and set properly.  I had been
> > advised by someone else that the screws require a great deal of force to
> > turn them in properly.   Before cleaning them and applying  the antisieze
> > lubricant, I was unable to turn them in, but I could tell at that point that
> > they were turning properly, not stopping because of bad threads.
> >
> > Thanks again, David McNeely
> >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: mcneely4@cox.net [mailto:mcneely4@cox.net]
> > > Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 5:02 PM
> > > To: support@gowesty.com
> > > Subject: seat belt replacement
> > >
> > > Hello,  I recently bought several seat belts from you, and replaced a
> > jumper
> > > seat belt with a 3-point, and both rear seat belts (this is in a
> > Volkswagen
> > > Vanagon GL Campmobile, 1991) with 3-point belts.  I also replaced one of
> > the
> > > receivers for the rear, as it was worn and the buckle did not work well.
> > >
> > > When I removed the fitting under the middle of the rear seat to replace
> > the
> > > receiver (female end to receive the male buckle), first I found the bolt,
> > or
> > > machine screw to be very hard to turn, but it came out ok.  Putting it
> > back,
> > > I find I cannot get it snugged down to the fitting, so the fitting is
> > loose.
> > > The bolt turns very hard, and eventually it seems to just stop as if it
> > has
> > > reached the end of it's travel.  That leaves some 3/8" of the bolt still
> > > exposed, and the fitting is not snugged, though it was originally.  The
> > > screw is not cross threaded.  I have removed it and replaced it several
> > > times now.  I even put it into the nut without the fitting to see how it
> > > behaved.  Same way, stops turning part way in.
> > >
> > > It is conceivable that there was a spacer under the fitting, but if so I
> > did
> > > not see it at all.  So, what do I do?  Take the thing to a professional?
> >  If
> > > there is supposed to be a spacer, I'm sure I can get something that is
> > just
> > > as good as the original, or maybe you sell such a thing.  Please advise,
> > as
> > > I do not consider the installation to be adequate or safe as is, with the
> > > fitting not snugged.
> > > --
> > > David McNeely
> > >
> >
> > --
> > David McNeely
> >
>
>
>
> --
> roger w
> From Proverbs:
> Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a
> servant who becomes king ...
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--
David McNeely