Aftermarket Seat Belt, buckle won't fit between seat & center console

[jess4mwashington]

I have a 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ, just bought a couple months ago and in the process of re-vamping the inside to make it legal to drive on the road. The seat belts were trashed, so I purchased aftermarket 3-point retractable ones off-line. At the same time, I also purchased a new center console (that came recommended from many other YJ owners on FB) and first put in the new center console before tackline the seat belts.

Well fast forward to after the new center console has been put in, I go to put in the new seat belts, and now the space between the center console and the seats themselves is very very snug, and I cannot fit the seat buckle between them. I have been looking at seat belt extensions but I don't think those will work because the female buckle that came with the new seat belts I purhcased is already 12" in length, and even if I bolt it directly to the body of the jeep, the extender will still have to fit between the seat and the center console...which it won't.

Any suggestions? I was thinking of trying to find a different female buckle that is clothe instead of thick wire, plus longer so that it can slide easily in the snug space of the center console and the seat..but I dont know. Am I better off trying to find a different center console? I like the look of the one I have, and I am not really a fan of the tuffy one...

 

[Chief Hof]

Evening! How wide is that console compared to the factory unit? If it's the same width, your aftermarket seats may be the issue. If you're having no luck you might want to ditch the center console all together and go for an overhead unit. Quadratec sells them for around $170.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/14139_1110_07.htm

 

[JKP]

What do your seatbelts look like?

I just put new Bestop seats in my 92 with a Tuffy console and no issues with the belts.

 

[machoheadgames]

The problem is that 87-90 seats were spaced further apart than 91-95 seats, and not all aftermarket product manufacturers got the memo. Therefore they make a console and list it to fit all years. The 8" consoles don't fit properly in a 91-95 YJ. I bought that console you have 12 years ago and had the same problem. Fixed that issue by ordering a 6.5" Tuffy instead.

This is pretty obvious when looking at the OEM consoles for the different year splits. 87-90 is noticeably wider than 91-95.

87-90



91-95

 

[GoFundMe?]

What do your seatbelts look like?

I just put new Bestop seats in my 92 with a Tuffy console and no issues with the belts.

View attachment 124118

Are there cup holders? Are they bigger and deeper than stock?

 

[machoheadgames]

Are there cup holders? Are they bigger and deeper than stock?

Cup holders are way better on Tuffy than stock. I couldn’t even fit a coke can in the stock 91-95 console. Terrible. A large fast food cup fits easy in the Tuffy.

 

[GoFundMe?]

Cup holders are way better on Tuffy than stock. I couldn’t even fit a coke can in the stock 91-95 console. Terrible. A large fast food cup fits easy in the Tuffy.

Thanks. That is big part of issue with one in there. Other is I lift passengers seat and belt is jammed back. PO had put in new seats. Good tip.

 

[JKP]

Are there cup holders? Are they bigger and deeper than stock?

Yes, 2 on the front with the option to put 2 on the back, IIRC. I only have the front ones.

The Tuffy comes in 2 widths, I have the narrower one, and there's no spare room between it and the driver's seat because the driver's side seat bracket leans toward the console.

 

[machoheadgames]

Yes, 2 on the front with the option to put 2 on the back, IIRC. I only have the front ones.

The Tuffy comes in 2 widths, I have the narrower one, and there's no spare room between it and the driver's seat because the driver's side seat bracket leans toward the console.

Does yours lean at all? Mine ended up leaning right from my install 12 years ago. Being so close to the left seat made it not really sit right on the tub. Tried to redo the holes when I got the radio version a few years ago and I still couldn’t really get it any better than I have it.

 

[JKP]

No. I mounted it as far to the passenger side as I could.

 

[machoheadgames]

No. I mounted it as far to the passenger side as I could.

My problem was the floor hump. I forget the details but I got mine as good as I felt like I could get it, and still don’t like it. Oh well, it works, just bothers me a bit looking at it.

 

[dan.john]

The stock center console on the later YJs is quite narrow and tapers. Here's some pictures of mine (95) for reference.