Chris C.

Hi All:

Any advice on removing the rear seats (upper and lower) in our cars?

The lowers appear to be glue (!) in place. Uppers seem straight forward.

(Upgrading my rears to leather, in case you're wondering why)

TIA for any help.

Chris C.
98 993

jhb

My 86 911 rear seats were glued, not sure about the 993.

Dbltime

I removed the seat backs and trim panels. I was told the seat section is slid back into a bracket. So sliding the pad forward will release it. I could not get that to work. You better check with a dealer if no better posts show up.

Kevin

The rear jump seat cushions are glued is. It works so good I wish Porsche used it for the engine sound mat in the engine compartment. It takes a little time but you can get it 1 inch at a time. I use a razor blade to cut the glue goo, while peeling the seat cushion back.

Chris C.

Kevin:

What about the re-install then? What kind of glue is this and where can it be found?

Thanks!
Chris

Chris C.

OK got that one answered, it's upholstery glue (thx Robin).

Last challenge: There is a large flat head screw (about 18mm)--that's right not a bolt but a flat screw--that anchors rear upper seat in place via the outboard mounting point. Cannot break it with my largest screwdriver...looking for suggestions.


Someone must have taken the rear seat tops out before--help!

Chris C.

jebia

I removed mine with an impact screw driver, make sure the impact driver screw bit (a set usually comes with two or three) fits snugley, and give the impact drive a hit with a hammer. Make sure the drive is set to counter clock wise setting.
jon

Kevin

Jebia has a good procedure, I use my large screw driver, and put a wrench on the screw driver shaft to help rotate the fastener. Good luck

Jarg1

I started to remove my rear seats also and am not sure what I need to remove the 4 anchoring points. I was thinking of getting drag link sockets like these for the flat head side: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-4-pc-...p-00934299000P

I am embarrassed to admit I haven't figured out what the other side is. I tried hex bits but nothing seemed to fit correctly and I cannot get it to turn.

I did a search on the forum but didn't find any info. Any further suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Busta Rib

I'm in the same boat and need to remove my rear folding seat backs. I bought a drag link socket similar to what is pictured in your link from Sears to remove the large screw on the outboard side. My understanding is that you only need to remove the large screw and the seat will slip out. The inboard anchor just slips in, if that makes any sense. I am awaiting arrival of the socket in order to attempt the removal and will report back.

Jarg1

That is very helpful, thanks.

Busta Rib

OK, I just finished my folding rear seatback swap. I went from cashmere to black seatbacks. It is fairly easy if you have the drag link socket. I bought a used Snap-on 3/8" drive 11/16" socket off of Ebay for a couple bucks. The 11/16th" size is the right width for the screw head but the breadth of the blade on the socket was not thick enough so I used some paper over the blade to fatten it up a little to remove some play in the screw head.



Here is the basic DIY for removing the folding seatbacks:

Tools needed: small phillips screwdriver, 11/16" drag link socket and driver, 3" ratchet extension, flashlight, plastic bag for holding screws, PB Blaster, some patience due to tight quarters, and one beer.

Difficulty: 1/10 (7/10 if you don't have the drag link socket)

Total time required: 30 minutes

1. Sprayed some PB Blaster or other liquid wrench product on the outboard screws 24 hours before removal to help loosen them up.

2. With the seatback folded down, remove one retaining screw that goes into the upright/backrest pad. Make sure you grab the collar that goes underneath the head of the screw. This will loosen the pad enough so you can get underneath it and remove the tail of carpeting on the seatback that is underneath the pad.

3. Remove two small retaining screws that secure the tail of carpeting on the back of the seatback to the body of the car. Make sure you grab the collars that fit underneath the heads of the screws. Now you can pull the carpeting attached to the seatback from underneath the upright pad/backrest of the car. Place all screws and collars into a plastic bag so you don't lose them.

4. Finally, remove one screw that secures an elastic band to the carpet. This band extends from the bottom middle of the seat back. Again, make sure you grab the collar for the screw.

5. Use your drag link socket on the outboard screw anchoring the seatback and make sure there is no play in the blade. Again, I used some paper over the blade of my socket to fatten it up so it seated properly in the screw head. I used a 3" ratchet extension to better get my driver square with the screw head. All you need is a firm crank on your ratchet driver and it should loosen up. Remove the large screw. Make sure you do not lose the two plastic collars that sit between the seatback anchor and the carpeting. One collar nestles into the second collar and they are not secured to the carpeting and can fall easily.

6. You can now remove the seatback. The inboard side of the seatback is only secured by a plastic pin that slips into a hole on the inboard anchor. Pull the outboard side of the seatback toward the front of the car and the inboard pin should slide out of the anchoring hole.

7. Installation of seatbacks is the opposite. When tightening the large screw on the outboard anchor, make sure to not over-tourque the screw so that you can easily remove it again if necessary. As brilliant as Porsche engineers are, I don't understand why they used a large screw to secure these seatbacks and why they torqued them down so much. Totally unnecessary.

8. Now have a beer and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Sorry for lack of pictures but it is pretty self-explanatory once you start tackling it yourself.

Jarg1

Thanks for the detailed explanation. What an awesome forum! I'm sure the DIY will be a big help for other mechanically challenged users like myself.

I wonder if a socket in better shape will fit without your paper trick?

Busta Rib

I looked at that one but was worried it would be too thick. It's Amazon, so try it and if it doesn't work, you can return. Let us know how it goes.

Jarg1

Update. I am making progress on the rear seat removal. The drag link socket I ordered was too thick to fit in the slotted bolt that holds the seat in (see photo 1). After 5 minutes with an angle grinder, it looked nasty, but fit like a champ. (see photo 2). After breaking it loose with the socket, I used a large screwdriver to remove the bolt, and the seat backs are out (see photo 3). And the interior doesn't look bad. I will leave the seat cushions in for now. (see photo 4). Next up, removing the rear seat belts.