Seat belt buckle

The plastic casing around the buckle of my 05 XKR's passenger side seat belt cracked and basically fell apart. I want to fix this, because it looks bad, even though it still works. I can't find a replacement part. ANY IDEAS OR RECOMMENDATIONS for replacement???
Thanks in advance for your input...
w

 

"PLAYGROUND" parts on ebay will have the replacement,,, as will "AUTORESERVE" in the UK... AUTORESERVE will be less expensive and possibly, cosmetically, better look'n...

 

Have you tried to glue it back together? I did so to the drivers side seat belt buckle casing years ago using a good quality epoxy and multiple rubber bands placed around it overnight to ensure a tight bond. Still looks great and works perfectly today....

 

Try Safetyrestore.com

They specialize in repairing the seat belt mechanism and the webbing, but they mention buckle repair on their website. It's worth a shout out to them.

They were fast, efficient and good in the repair of my '97 XK8 seat belt mechanism.

 

Truck Graphics,

I just emailed Safetyrestore.com and they answered Stating: We only repair Seat Belts damaged due to an accident! All I want is a new Buckle, as the Plastic has broken!

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

Comment from left field: I noticed for the first time the other day that the red release button on my passenger-side seat belt buckle has ben bleached to a much lighter color than the driver's side. The passenger belt is hardly ever used, so it stays exposed to the sun when the top is down (often). Somehow the sunlight must get blocked from the driver's side bucklet. Big color difference.

As you were.

 

I appreciate the help!! Unfortunately part of the casing was gone, prob vacuumed out by detailers, before I noticed it was broken! That ruled out a repair. I will reach out to the resources y'all mentioned and let you know what happens.....
thanks again
w

 

Jwr, what color is it?

John

 

Johnken,

Both JRW and I are in the same Boat!! The shell (Plastic) is old and part of the Buckle has disappeared! I know I want a New Buckle, if possible! eBay shows Buckles but they ate all Black (Universal Buckles) do you have any other suggestions for a Jaguar one?

Thanks!

Billy Clyde

 

Have you tried Jaguar Heaven in Stockton, CA? They got me a correct colour (AGD Oatmeal) half-moon cover for for the seat belt shoulder anchor on my 01 convertible for a couple of bucks plus shipping.

 

Billy, just looked at ebay, 4 or 5 buckles available look tan or oatmeal. Disappointed in the prices - almost $100 each! Whew.

To all, as far as matching paint color, its bloody easy, especially for interiors' components. FWIW I bought a small bottle of oatmeal (AGD) from Magic Mender brand intending to use it for leather refurb. Good news it matches AGD perfectly plastic or leather! It took a bit longer to find Antelope, an accent color in my car. But I took a pice of plastic (triangular vent cover on top of dashboard to Home depot. They matched it perfectly!

Guys I thought I had a spare buckle around somewhere, but just looked and came up empty. I replaced a buckle a few years ago with the help of one of our esteemed members Bob Roy. Now that I see the prices on eBay, I figured Bob deserved another Thank You and public recognition. He's a good man.

Hey if you guys get in a jam - need to go to inspection/lending the car to your daughter or something say so. I'll post a picture/ brand of a temporary replacement buckle I used for that week or 2 gap. It looked like ****, but worked and cost about $10.

Hey, just thought of something. With a plastic welder, I bet you'd be surprised at how well you could put your buckle with the missing piece back together. If this was in an obvious place I wouldn't suggest it, but who's going to ever see / notice a square patch of plastic welded in after you repaint it to correct color?

I bought a plastic welder at harbor freight (approx $12) after reading recommendations here on our site. Easy to learn. I just repaired a hanging overhead console where all the plastic female receptacles broke. Welded in replacement, fixed and functional. Think on it. The fis will not be invisible, but like I said who's going to notice?

John

 

John,
While I was digging around under the Seat, I found the Plastic piece that broke-off.....I'm going to Harbor Freight in a few minutes and get one of those Plastic Wielders...Maybe I can fix it! Thanks for all the suggestions! I found one in oat Meal for $100.00 in England.....I guess it was Dollars but you never know, it could be Pounds! (I always wondered how those Guys over there carried 10 Pounds around in their Pocket!)

Billy Clyde

 

Us Brits are made of stern stuff Billy.......

 

Billy, when using the hot iron to "weld", it can start 2 look rough. Normal. Good news is, just use the flat part like a clothes iron to smooth her out.

In case you didn't realize, you've got plastic all over the house you can use to join, to fill gaps if you need a specific shape or stiffness. The personal products on your bathroom shelves are a treasure trove. Pretty much all of it is encased in plastic! ( I can see it now: Billy's wife: "oh Billy did you see where the oatmeal colored tops to my expensive lipsticks go? Strangest thing, I thought they were right here!" Billy thinks quick and responds: "did you say lipstick? Ooh I just read something about that. . . Um not a recall, but something about defective latches? Yeah that's it. They just fall off! Driving ladies crazy! I'll um help you look after I do the dishes tonight!"
At this point she's so shocked at the offer she forgets all about it . . .or flags go up she turns into Sherlock holmes ( your busted)! ;-)

Billy all joking aside - file this one away. I was using the welder to embedded magnets in my buddy's F150 console after his latch broke. Well I learned the hard way: wanna turn a magnet into a lump of plain old shiny metal? Heat it up with a plastic welder!

Hope it works for you, please let us know how you did.

John

 

Oh yeah a "plastic welder" (whatever it is) sounds like a great idea. Is it gas or arc? Do I need a hood? Over the years, I've discovered that quick set epoxy, while useful for many repairs, can also be used for unintended purposes like gluing parts to the workbench, the floor, etc, etc. There's also the danger of using just one part of the two part epoxy which does not result in a successful repair. Even worse, as you get older, may forget where the repair was happening (usually the garage where the car is) and mistakenly head to the master bathroom to glue things like the cap on your wife's lipstick so that it can no longer be used.

 

My car is the same exterior color as Billy's car with an oatmeal interior. The buckle casing color I need is a tan/oatmeal color. I have no pieces to reconstruct it. I'd like to get an OEM piece since the seat belt buckle is wired.
No luck so far.....
w