dandaman

I don't know what else to call them but tubes. The vinyl or plastic tubes that keep the seat belt between the top and bottom part of the seat, the belt is fed through them to keep them in place between the seat cushions. Anyway mine in my 86 f150 are gone, broken with time and heat I imagine. Does anyone know where to get repo's or something that will work? Any help greatly accepted. Dan

Steve83

AFAIK, junkyard only, which will likely be as bad as yours. With some effort, you might get later ones ('87-96) to fit.

DFFECHSWU

I'm in the middle of replacing these so-called tubes, since mine evaporated for the very same reason as the OP's. I have captain's chairs, so it's a bit different than (what I presume to be) a bench seat, but I found the supports I needed at Bronco Graveyard. I went to some salvage yards and had no luck finding them. I didn't see a single cab with captain's chairs and the likelihood of finding them in a usable condition is low. There were a few with bench seats that looked reasonable. I think they're slightly more hidden from the elements being tucked in the seat.

The problem I'm encountering now is feeding the belt through the support. I didn't think too much of it as I was primering, painting and clear coating the supports, but the twist in the support near the bottom blocks the metal tab from passing beyond that point. I initially thought this task would be easy, as I tied a piece of twine to the tab to help draw is through the support. I felt like a boss for all of 3 seconds as everything worked to plan ... for about 3 seconds. I then tried to gently 'un-twist' the support, but walked away when I saw the paint starting to bubble and peel from the torque. Does anyone know how to feed the belts through these supports? I obviously don't want to take them apart, as I don't know if there's a specific thread or sequence required for safety reasons. Thanks for any help.

Steve83

Those tubes are used in all '80-96 (& '97 >8500-GVWR) F-series/Broncos with captain's chairs. The plastic is flexible - you just pull the metal plate through the twist. If your paint ISN'T flexible, you may have to strip it near the bend, and repaint it after the belt is in.

There's also a bare steel stiffening wire that goes inside the tube, with the belt. Each end has a ring eye, and the floor bolt goes through one.

DFFECHSWU

Shoot, I forgot about that stiffening wire. Thanks for reminding me. I'll have to look for it. I removed it when the OEM tube disintegrated, as I didn't want my passenger to get poked by a metal rod.

Steve83

The eye at each end should prevent any chance of getting stabbed.