Ford latch and sinking seat question

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #1

I just bought a Ford E350 van with captain's chairs type of things. I am having some trouble with the seatbelts because they aren't locking so we have had to do a locking clip for all of the car seats where there isn't latch and there are only two latch positions.

Question 1: my 5.5 year old is in a Radian SL. She weighs 44.2 pounds on our scale. Can I latch her? I don't know the latch limits on Ford, but the seatbelt install in the position she needs to be will be a BEAST!!

Question 2: my 22 month old, 25 pound daughter is rear facing in the front row so I can reach her, but that seat in the van seems to be sagging or at least compressing a lot when I install her seat. She has a tight install with her Radian but even with the incline adjuster she seems pretty reclined. Can I put a super thin board or something underneath her incline adjuster to make the angle better for her?

TIA

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #2

FYI, the picture was taken while parked on my driveway which has a small/modest slant and it reclines more when she's in it. I will try to get a picture of her in it...

 

tiggercat

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #3

Can we see a pic of the foot area without the arm rest in the way?

ETA, looks like your seatbelts may be locking latchplates.

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #4

Oops, yes you can. I'm not sure they are locking latch plates since they seem to get loose after I install without the locking plates. The belts are on the list to replace as soon as I can get the funds together...

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #5

Let me know if you need another angle or anything. I will get my hubby to hold the flashlight next time...

 

wavegal

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #6

What tiggercat means when she says you have locking latch plates means the belt locks at the latch plate by the buckle, you may need to flip the male end of the buckle so it doesn't slip. The shoulder belt portion will remain loose but the lap belt portion will lock.

The latch limit for ford is 48 lbs so you should be fine using latch.

The recline looks okay to me. If you want to try and get it more upright pull the seat back a little at the bight of the seat push down and tighten. It may help.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

 

tiggercat

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #7

Ok, so it looks like everything is positioned properly. It doesn't look over reclined as is, but I'll bet you can get it more upright with a little effort. Can you try pulling the Radian slightly away from the vehicle seat, and then pushing down on the feet area of the seat while you tighten? Try to compress those feet as far down into the vehicle seat as possible without pushing down on the bum area of the seat. Does that make sense? Also, make sure your tether is not too tight and affecting the install (you may also want to research whether Ford allows RF tethering in that vehicle).

Is there a locking bar on the underside of the latchplate? If so, it is locking and you just have to get it to sit at the correct angle to stay tight. You can try twisting down the buckle stalk (female end of the seatbelt, also called the receptacle) webbing up to 3 full twists to move the buckle out of the belt path. That might allow it to sit flat and stay tight. A pic of that install would help

I can check the latch manual tomorrow for your limit, my manual is not in easy reach right now. Remind me if I forget!

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #8

There is a bar, but it moved easily when I took of the plate cover to untangle the seatbelts when I got the van. Not sure if it is still locking or not. I plan to check tomorrow.

I can't find info specific to Ford E350 and rear facing tethering, but I see lots of threads about tethering in other Ford vehicles.

I have the other two rear facing Radian's in back seats and they touch the seat in front (no airbags or anything) They are still tight installs but I can't rear face the kiddos if they don't touch the seat in front because the seat backs are so high.

Is that okay?

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 13, 2014

• #9

Oh yeah, I can't twist the buckle stalks in this van...they are all stiff
Though that is good for my booster kiddos...

 

aeormsby

New member

• Aug 14, 2014

• #10

The bar is the locking mechanism in the buckle. It will move unless the seatbelt is buckled and at the correct angle. The easiest way to test it is to buckle yourself in the seat - if you have the belt snug so that the buckle is laying flat you can't pull on the lap portion to loosen it. If you tilt the buckle it will slide freely.

One trick for installing seatbelts if you can't get the correct angle (like not being able to twist the female buckle stalk shorter) is to twist the other end (male end) 180 degrees to buckle it, get it adjusted to the correct length, unbuckle, flip & re-buckle. The flip will help hold the tensioner in the correct position.

 

tiggercat

New member

• Aug 14, 2014

• #11

knlrachel said:

There is a bar, but it moved easily when I took of the plate cover to untangle the seatbelts when I got the van. Not sure if it is still locking or not. I plan to check tomorrow.

I can't find info specific to Ford E350 and rear facing tethering, but I see lots of threads about tethering in other Ford vehicles.

I have the other two rear facing Radian's in back seats and they touch the seat in front (no airbags or anything) They are still tight installs but I can't rear face the kiddos if they don't touch the seat in front because the seat backs are so high.

Is that okay?

Click to expand...

It is normal for the locking bar to move when there is no tension on the belts/the angle is not correct for locking.

Get permission from Ford directly rather than relying on word of mouth.

Diono allows some amount of touching, as long as it doesn't lift the bottom off the seat or change the recline angle of the seat. Contact Diono for more info (i've heard conflicting info on how firmly the seat can touch/be braced).

 

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knlrachel

New member

• Aug 14, 2014

• #12

Awesome help! Thanks so much!