marinesniper0318

Hello, apologies I searched and googled but for some reason cannot find any instructions on how to remove my S4 front seats...

Can someone please point me to the right link...I just got my Sparco seats and want to install them correctly which requires removing the stock ones correctly first : )

thank you,

Sniper

928Myles

Assuming you have electric seats:
Move seat to front. Undo two allen head bolts in rear channels (1 each side).
Move seat to rear. Repeat process with bolts in the front. (Note location of bolts so you get them back in the same holes.)
Tilt seat back to see what you are doing, reach under seat and undo electrical connections.
Lift seat out of car.

Repeat for other side.

Reverse process for installation. Might pay to tape the 'captive' nuts at the front in place before you put the seat back in.

Myles

jpitman2

As above, but :- For the rear bolt access, set seat at maximum height to improve access to bolts. Access is best with a hex key bit driven by a flat ratchet style 4" spanner, but be ready for them to be VERY tight!. Spanner like this one:-
with a set of 1/4 hex to metric allen bits can enable you to get into very tight spaces.
Note that early cars have 4 bolts, late cars seem to have 6. Note sure when the change occurred, my car has 4 bolts. In my car some of the 'captive' nuts fell out, but its not hard to hold them in place - mine were just rectangles of mild steel with bevelled edges to fit the undersides of the rails, with a threaded hole in them.

jp 83 Euro S AT 55k

FredR

I use a hex bit embedded into a quarter inch square drive socket. The problem comes if some chump has rounded the allen bolts heads [easy when using an allen key] and you cannot get any traction- you then have to resort to more desperate measures to get them undone.

Also, a point to note, when you have all the bolts out and you come to lift out the seats, be careful how you deck them when out of the car or you will trash the 14 point connector assembly- ask me how I know!

Regards

Fred

Mike Frye

And.....

Lift with your legs. They're HEAVY (and awkward trying to maneuver them out through the door while leaning forward into your car.

Bilal928S4

+1
To what Fred said. I shove the connector under the the spring of the seat to keep it out of harms way, otherwise they come under the rails and crack. New ones are expensive and not exactly like the originals.

ROG100

On the early cars - up to 83 IIRC - that have power operation. If you lose power there is a manual override handle under the seat towards the back. While sitting in the seat reach under and move the lever and you can then move the seat backwards and forwards to gain access to the bolts.
On the later seats there is an allan drive at the front to allow manual movement.

marine928

Be careful if you have to go the manual allen drive route. The gear is plastic and being 25+ years old is briittle just like the odo gear. Ask me how I know,...

dr bob

Also-Also: If you plan on working on or restoring the seat while it's out, or in the OP's case maybe storing it, do your setback angle and all height adjustments --before-- you disconnect the power connection.

MjRocket

I'm assuming you broke yours, as did I... What would one do in this case to get the seat out?

MJ

auzivision

A common problem when removing seat bolt is the Allen head tends to strip... (I believe because thread locker is used). So it's a good idea to apply some heat, penetrating oil and few good taps with a hammer prior to loosening. Then when that doesn't work, just use a drill bit to remove the head and a pair of vise-grips to remove the remaining bolt after the seat is removed.

Mike Frye

+1 to what Kurt said, but I would add that another complication is probably that the bolts are sitting upright so you get sand and whatever else is under the seat (for decades) filling up the allen head of the bolt. You need to blow this out with compressed air and/or use a pick to clean it out completely and make sure your allen head is completely seated. I think this is at least as much of a reason as any other for them starting to strip.

Wisconsin Joe

You can disconnect the cables and turn them individually by hand (or drill).

The side with the gear has two little bolts holding the plate that the gear is on to the motor. The other side has a spring clip.
It's a lot easier to understand if you can take the other seat out and get a good look at it.
On mine, the forward/back screws on the driver's seat were out of snych. One was up against the stop, but the other still had travel. So the one up against the stop was really tight. It didn't help that the backward function still worked, but the forward didn't, so every time someone played with the switch, it got tightened a little bit more.

It took a bit of force to get the tight one loose (pair of vise grips on the end of the cable), but once it was free, I put the cable into a cordless drill and went slowly to move the seat.
You have to move both sides together or it will bind up.

marinesniper0318

late reply, thanks guys doing the seat replacement tonight, my new Sparco Chrono seats came in with mount kit and bolts...I will do the passenger seat first in case I screw something up I can always drive it to the mechanic... : )

Sniper