Blazer Forum - Chevy Blazer Forums - How to fix annoying squeakbelt noise. (squeaking rear seat belt anchor/swivels)

So for about as long as I've had my Blazer, I have had a really annoying persistent squeaking from the rear of my interior, I had believed it to be flimsy trim panels flopping about. However after poking around a bit, I think it might actually be the rear seat belt anchor. There is a little foam "washer" between the trim piece the anchor bolt goes through, and the trim panel behind it. I found that the foam piece would make a squeaking noise when the swivel moved. My old foam washer/grommets were very degraded, it appears that they actually had a collar that would have went into the hole on the trim panel and held them in place, however on my driver side the collar was completely gone. And on the passenger there was barely anything left of the collar. I intended to replace it with a nylon washer, or fiber washer, or maybe even put some felt on both sides of a nylon washer.
I couldn't find any of the above in an appropriate size and shape at the store I went to (Home Depot), however I did find a 5/8 grommet that fit the bill nicely. I got 2 of them to do both sides, even though my passenger side wasn't making noise-but I wanted it to stay that way. As a test, I rubbed the old washer/grommet on the trim panel to see if it sounded like a mouse, it did. I tried this with my new grommets, they did not, now I used neoprene grommets, so I can't confirm if rubber would work or not.

So the fix is as follows, bear in mind seat belts ARE a SAFETY item, and I am not responsible if you don't tighten the anchors back down properly, do this procedure at your own risk.

Tools needed:
-1/2" T50 (Torx drive) socket
-1/2" ratchet
-more muscle mass than your gf OR 1/2" breaker bar in lieu of the former

If you are concerned about re-securing the seat belt anchors properly:
*Torque wrench
*Loctite

Parts needed:
2x 5/8 grommet (Mine were neoprene, rubber might work, but test it before you leave the store if you decide to go that route) I purchased mine at Home Depot, their sku is: 588689

Any hardware or automotive store should have the necessary tools and parts.
Step 1: Confirm that yours are squeaking by moving the swivel around.
Step 2: If they are squeaking, pop up the plastic cover hiding the torx bolt, you should be able to by hand, if not, a flat head screw driver will work, don't scratch the trim with it.
Step 3: Remove the bolt
Step 4: Remove the seat belt anchor, it may have come off with the bolt, either way doesn't matter
Step 5: Remove foam washer, notice how there isn't much left
Step 6: Place bolt back through seat belt anchor, then place grommet over the bolt
*Step 6.5: Put a bead of red or blue loctite down the length of the threads on the bolt if you choose
Step 7: Reinstall with the grommet on the bolt between the trim piece, and the seat belt anchor, you will have to put slack in the belt tensioner to put the bolt in straight
*Step 7.5 tighten to whatever the factory specified torque spec is
Step 8: Tigthen to 2 ugga duggas. If you haven't been wrenching long enough to have a feel for how tight things should be, refer to step 7.5.
Step 9: Snap the cover back down

Now this is only one possible/potential (probable) squeak source, so there is every chance that even if you have a squeaking seat belt anchor and fix it, you will still have squeaking back there. Also, the roads atm came out of a dog's behind, which isn't very conducive to me verifying that this squeak is sufficiently remedied, however as I said above, moving them by hand they are no longer squeaking, so it should be fixed.

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