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Replacing the Front Seat Upholstery - What to do while you are at it
Hi, all. Gave myself and my ride a very nice Christmas present and ordered replacement leather for the front seats from Classic9. (I tried to repair the original leather the best I could, but it was deteriorating so rapidly it was a losing battle.) The leather should be coming in today, so I'm excited!
So I'll pull out the seats and replace the leather, of course. However, what are some other good things to do while the seats are out? Anything I should do to the seat electronics or mechanics?Anything interior-wise?
I welcome your suggestions as I plan to do the update over the next several months, as weather allows.
it depends on the seats. My experience is with 1986+ seats but it may apply to others
1 refurb the seat control switches. Take them apart and clean and protect the contacts with DeOxit. this is a lot easier to do with the seats out.
2 if your seats have memory, repair the solder joints on the circuit board
3 remove the bottom foam and clean/lube the seat pivot for the backrest. I found paint thinner and a long bristle brush works good. I flush it by putting thinner in a spray bottle. Use a good synthetic lube as well. Try the same technique on the sliders and worm gears if you have them.
I just pulled the seats out of my 128K mile '87 yesterday, in preparation for a new carpet installation.
If your seat mechanisms are anything like mine, work on the fore/aft adjustment power screws (PS) is in order. The rear PS support bushings are gone, long deteriorated away, as are bushings around some of the PS nuts, leading to a lot of slop in the action.
I need to do some research to find whether any of these items are available, or whether I have to engineer my own. I also broke one of the fore/aft motor drive cables, so I'll have to get that resolved.
As suggested above, clean the switches. Not hard to take them apart, easier to do when the seats are out. Beware, the little ball bearings can go sailing off into the distance. Some suggest opening the switches inside a ziplock bag. They can also be a bit 'fiddly' to get back together.
Clean & lube the screws that move the seat forward/back. They're exposed & accumulate a lot of crap. The elevation system is sealed, so that's not an issue. Pulling the cables out of their sleeves, cleaning & lubing them is also an option.
If you aren't already aware, be careful unbolting the seats. The bolts go into 'nut plates', small square plates with threaded holes in them. IIRC, the back ones stay captive in the lower rails, but the front ones can slide to an opening and fall into the space under the floor. A finger under the rail will hold them and allow you to slide them out. If you screw up and drop one, tweezers, a small hook pick, magnet retriever and small needle nose pliers can be used to get it back (BTDT).
Also, it can be a bit 'enlightening' to see what's accumulated under the seats over the years.
Replace the front engine harness while the car is down?
HA! You don't know how right you are, Jeff. While not a part of this particular project, I have Sean's harness sitting at the ready for a spring install. Both will happen around the same time.
Thanks for the tips, everyone! There shouldn't be too much crud beneath these seats, as I would take them in and out for the track seats. I had done some seat cleaning before, but I think the area that i didnt deal with was the seat memory and electrical underneath. I know i have had some times where the electrical would cut in and out so I thought that might be a something to look into, however I'm not too sure on the steps there.
Thanks for the tips, everyone! There shouldn't be too much crud beneath these seats, as I would take them in and out for the track seats. I had done some seat cleaning before, but I think the area that i didnt deal with was the seat memory and electrical underneath. I know i have had some times where the electrical would cut in and out so I thought that might be a something to look into, however I'm not too sure on the steps there.
As suggested above, clean the switches. Not hard to take them apart, easier to do when the seats are out. Beware, the little ball bearings can go sailing off into the distance. Some suggest opening the switches inside a ziplock bag. They can also be a bit 'fiddly' to get back together.
Clean & lube the screws that move the seat forward/back. They're exposed & accumulate a lot of crap. The elevation system is sealed, so that's not an issue. Pulling the cables out of their sleeves, cleaning & lubing them is also an option.
If you aren't already aware, be careful unbolting the seats. The bolts go into 'nut plates', small square plates with threaded holes in them. IIRC, the back ones stay captive in the lower rails, but the front ones can slide to an opening and fall into the space under the floor. A finger under the rail will hold them and allow you to slide them out. If you screw up and drop one, tweezers, a small hook pick, magnet retriever and small needle nose pliers can be used to get it back (BTDT).
Also, it can be a bit 'enlightening' to see what's accumulated under the seats over the years.
While cleaning a buddies 928 (lived in SoCal) we took the seats out and found mushrooms growing under his seat. Super gross. Also Carls Jr fried (dried) zucchini, fries, chips, m and m's.
My Fore/Aft seat adjustment mechanism fix instructions
Perhaps this may be helpful to some with similar seat problems.
Word of caution: the left side and right side power screws/nuts are different (threaded oppositely). Put them back on the same side they came from, or the seat will travel backward when the switch is selected to forward - ask me how I know....
Last edited by Geza; 03-07-2019 at 08:14 AM.
Reason: Added caution to the post
01-19-2019, 01:01 PM
Replacing the Front Seat Upholstery - What to do while you are at it
