rear seatbelt bolts some gold and some silver

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ozmatt, Jan 7, 2021.

  1. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    hi all, how about this? have taken the rear belts out of two cars this week and both cars had different colour bolts in random locations, mostly silver bolts but the od gold one and in different locations for both cars.

    I would not be the first to take these cars apart and because both cars had the gold bolts in different locations, i want to get them back in the correct spots if they are supposed to be in particular locations :)

    Man its amazing how clean filthy old belts come up when you hit them with the pressure wash
     
    #1 ozmatt, Jan 7, 2021
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    ... or even just soak them for 3-4 hours in a bucket of laundry detergent, then rinse and dry.
     
    #2 dolj, Jan 7, 2021
  3. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    IF the bolts have the same dimensions (length, thickness, thread, and head/washer), then the color doesn't matter. It's just a different type of plating on the bolt to prevent corrosion- likely from a different supplier. Arrange them in whatever order you want.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #3 mr_guy_mann, Jan 8, 2021
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  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It has been sort of conventional on SAE, not metric, fasteners for the yellow chromate finish to be used on Grade 8 fasteners, and the clear to be used on Grade 5 that you might find in the corner hardware store. Of course it's just a color coding convention (the yellow finish doesn't make the bolts stronger), but it kind of told you something.

    Toyota uses a pattern of little pips on bolt heads to indicate the strength class of bolts. Do you have some pics of the bolts you've got, showing the heads?
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Jan 8, 2021
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  5. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Pretty sure that if one were to test this system via a series of crashes at increasing speeds the result would be that the seat belt would have applied lethal force to the occupant, or failed itself, long before even the lowest strength steel bolt would have failed. At least that will be the case if these bolts are of the size of every other seat belt bolt I have ever seen, and they don't have a defect like a crack running most of the way through. Personally I would be more concerned about wear of the webbing or buckle, or rust anywhere near the attachment points.
     
    #5 pasadena_commut, Jan 8, 2021
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  6. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    Thanks all

    Hi Dolj, yes soak and scrub can work okay for belts that are just a little grubby, but when they are filthy the pressure wash will make them as new again, it would have taken me literally all day to get half the result that the pressure washer offered in about 15 minutes! and my poor old hands would have been stuffed if I scrubbed these things they were totally rank

    I still have one old belt I could do for fun, will upload before and afters when I get a chance.. it's amazing

    Back to these bolts, thanks everyone for the comments, I'm not convinced that color doesn't matter, maybe? sometimes it's a way to address the bolts strength or grade, maybe the factory use gold where there is only one bolt but use two silver in locations where there is two? maybe it's just a production line thing.. I'm really not sure that's why I wanted to ask because correct bolts in seatbelts is not something I want to get wrong for safety (and legal) reasons, the car may or may not get sold after I have my way with it! I like to fix one up now and then just for fun

    This is a photo of the rear left, top..

    IMG_20210109_083533_430.jpeg

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    #6 ozmatt, Jan 8, 2021
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Both heads have the pip pattern of a Class 8T as used by Toyota. Neither one looks like a generic hardware store replacement. In this case I guess I would relax and figure Toyota sourced them in a couple different finishes.

    I think the yellower finishes used to involve chromium in a form disfavored for the environment; maybe these were from a supplier transition period?

    It's entirely possible that you're right, and that the moment of greatest danger with a bolt of the wrong strength would only come when you're trying to tighten it to the specified torque.

    Still, if it were my car, I would opt for the specified Toyota bolts for the seat belts.
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Jan 8, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2021
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  8. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    Hey Chapman, perfect mate thankyou very kindly, makes sense, I can now proceed with putting the poor old thing back together without this nagging me :)

    Cheers

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #8 ozmatt, Jan 8, 2021
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