I liked David B's idea of a thorough cleaning and drying.

I might treat the reel mechanism with silicone spray lube.
Might not be officially kosher ..
but I would.
but clean the belt thoroughly first !

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard A Jones" <jones@COLORADO.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 7:10 PM
Subject: seat belt retraction

> '87 Syncro Westy.  The driver side seatbelt needs help
> to retract.  I popped off the cover and inspected.  It is
> not very dirty.  But what I did see is that the belt winds
> to one side and I think it is that rubbing that makes
> the retraction so slow.
>
> Oh, I'll angle the belt windup mechanism slightly to make
> up for the slight angle off perpendicular that the belt
> path takes.  Well, no, the whole thing has a pin plus the
> big bolt, so there is no adjustment.
>
> Any experience with this?  Ideas?  There is a reasonable
> amount of spring-i-ness if the belt just wound in the
> center and didn't rub on the side.
>
> I think.
>
> Richard