Baby seat

[737jet]

Hello, another weird problem.

Got a baby on the way, real soon. Bought a car seat and thought I'd mount it. Now, I own a 98 xpy and here's the problem.

I want to mount the seat in the center second row seat. It has a lap belt there. This is fine for the baby seat provided you can tightent the lap belt.

This is where my mind turned into a bowl of soup. There is no adjustment. Read the manual and it shows a manual adjustment. Maybe I'm the only one taking crazy pills. this seat belt has no extra material to pull tight. It just comes out and goes back into the seat as it pleases.

I've been t boned twice where I live ( richmond BC ) and there is no way in hell I'm mounting that seat by the doors.

So anyone have any ideas?

 

[davesexplorer]

What exactly do you need to adjust. Are you having problems getting the child seat tight to the expedition seat? Or is the seatbelt just not long enough? Mine has a different design than yours otherwise I'd just go out and try and figure out what you are talking about.

If you have the problem where you're seatbelt doesn't lock then you need to look into a belt shortening clip, looks like a locking clip but is more stout. If you pull it out all the way does it lock, allowing you to let it retract and stay taught?

I am a NHTSA certified child passenger safety technician so if you elaborate on the problem I will help you out as best as I can.

Hello, another weird problem.
Got a baby on the way, real soon. Bought a car seat and thought I'd mount it. Now, I own a 98 xpy and here's the problem.
I want to mount the seat in the center second row seat. It has a lap belt there. This is fine for the baby seat provided you can tightent the lap belt.
This is where my mind turned into a bowl of soup. There is no adjustment. Read the manual and it shows a manual adjustment. Maybe I'm the only one taking crazy pills. this seat belt has no extra material to pull tight. It just comes out and goes back into the seat as it pleases.

I've been t boned twice where I live ( richmond BC ) and there is no way in hell I'm mounting that seat by the doors.

So anyone have any ideas?

 

[98EXPY 5-0]

I have 3 kids, the oldest is 6. I have some experience with car seats.


The trick to getting it tight, is to put your weight on the seat to compress the foam. Then when you let up, the seat belt is holding the seat down and the foam is pushing up.

I found this works better with the fixed length belts where you pull the extra webbing through the end, but it works ok with the retractables as well.

Of course if its not locking properly, my method won't work either.

 

[737jet]

Davesexplorer, The problem is the seatbelt in the truck itself. It's a retractable lap belt. There is no strap to adjust the lapbelt. So I was pondering how to tighten the baby seat into the backseat if you can't even tighten a strap on the truck's lap belt.

98EXPY 5-0, your tactic worked. I went to the truck and installed it your way. I put all my weight onto the baby seat base, fed the lap belt back into the seat and pulled it tight to engage the retract lock.

once I took my weight off, the baby seat base got tight. The base also comes with a level adjustment. When I cranked that to level it, it tightened to the lap belt even more.

The funny part is that the dealership told me they hadn't heard of the lap belt being that way and that I should mount the baby by the rear doors to use the lap/shoulder belt.

I'm glad I don't have to.

Davesexplorer, I hope this is the approved method for installing the baby seat/base to the backseat.

Thanks again guys! works like a charm.

 

[davesexplorer]

Glad it worked out for you, that's what we do every single time, put your body weight on the seat to compress it down. With leather we'll often times stick the shelf liner down to prevent slipping and to protect the leather.

Glad the kiddos will be safe

 

[98EXPY 5-0]

In my house, we move car seats around a good bit. Sometimes to one of the grandparent's cars or between mine and my wife's. I am the only one that puts them in because I am the only one that can get them tight. My father in law asked once, "does this wiggle too much?" When I am done, mine doesn't wiggle at all.

My wife took her old car to one of those State Police safety checks for car seats. They said to level some seats, due to the shape of the back seat, you can roll up a towel or use a section from a Fun Noodle (pool toy). That works pretty well too.

 

[Jsomedaysoon]

i'm glad i found this... i've got a baby due in october and when i bought my truck two of the seat belts were not even working. i went to a junk yard and got the new buckles but i was looking at that retractable center belt thinking thats not going to be able to hold a car seat tight. we actually bought this truck just for the baby haha. well thats my excuse anyway. we have a monte carlo and my girl said she wanted a 4 door so i talked her into the expedition haha. its a win win for everybody.

 

[MobyDick]

We have had 4 installed over the years by the local Fire Department. These guys are trained in the proper installation and they have used the LATCH system NOT the seatbelt. They often have free clinics where they will check to make sure it is still tight, etc.

 

[peterwatson]

Many of us fancy having baby seat cover after bringing a relatively better baby car seat. The reason to have it is the hip and attractive design that attracts you towards keeping it up with you. We need a better means of service provider than a baby car seat.

Baby Seat

 

[BigDaddy]

We have had 4 installed over the years by the local Fire Department. These guys are trained in the proper installation and they have used the LATCH system NOT the seatbelt. They often have free clinics where they will check to make sure it is still tight, etc.

This is not always the case. They are only trained IF they have taken the NHTSA class. In my department, I am the only certified tech.

Dave was right on with his explanation and 98Expy is also correct, the Fun Noodles are great for leveling car seats. If you guys have any questions about baby car seats, feel free to ask. As a father of 4 and a certified tech for several years, I will be glad to answer them if Dave does not beat me to it, lol.

 

[ELVATO]

Is the center lap belt like the other belts in that if you pull it all the way out and retract it, it'll click and lock in place?

 

[Racenut]

Is the center lap belt like the other belts in that if you pull it all the way out and retract it, it'll click and lock in place?

It is that way on my '02 EB I wish the expy's had the hard metal anchor bars in the seats, but have found that the belts hold really tight as long as you do as stated above ( putting all your weight on it to compress the foam ).

There is a section in the owners manual that covers the baby seats, and which seats have anchors for the larger seats with the strap over the back.

 

[nvycrmn]

the other thing i do for the anchors on my baby seat, since we dont have actual anchor points (lame), is i run the anchor strap through the seat (where the bottom meets the back) and hook it to those velcro straps on the back of the 2nd row. that helps stabilize it a little too.

 

[Racenut]

the other thing i do for the anchors on my baby seat, since we dont have actual anchor points (lame), is i run the anchor strap through the seat (where the bottom meets the back) and hook it to those velcro straps on the back of the 2nd row. that helps stabilize it a little too.

Thats a good idea, I had never thought about that.

 

[nvycrmn]

i was just tired of going around a turn and the carseat tipping to the side. not too comfy for the kiddo i would imagine!

 

[05EBExpy]

i had a 97 EB Expy and used the center for a car seat. first i had the dealer install a anchor point,(the part # is listed in the owners manual and it is free they will not charge you) then you need to pull the lap belt all the way out, run the belt through you car seat and lacth it while placing your knee in the car seat and putting all of you weight on seat. let the seat belt retract as much as possible while you kneel in the seat. when all the slack is taken up let up on seat and it should be tight.

it has been a couple years since i needed to this but that worked well for me. hope it helps
Tom

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

Many of us fancy having baby seat cover after bringing a relatively better baby car seat. The reason to have it is the hip and attractive design that attracts you towards keeping it up with you. We need a better means of service provider than a baby car seat.

Baby Seat

What is it with all the spam lately?

 

[firefighter407]

Went to Ford and got the anchors for my truck, but the dealerships now charge and hr. labour to install them now.

 

[05EBExpy]

WOW... i thought it even stated in the manual that it was free of charge. i could be mistaken though, it has been a couple years since i had it done and i know they didnot charge me..guess times are tough all over!