Loose Sport Seat Front Rail Bearing

[e30Chris]

Im surrounded by seats and seat frames and am having trouble seeing a) how that part can wear out since it only gets wear when you tilt the seat back for rear seat access and b) if it did get worn that it would cause a noticeable problem.

Typically they are stuck tight and have to be coaxed out rather than being loose so I am curious to see if this solves your problem

Interesting. My seat is definitely worn out here, it rocks back in forth on acceleration and braking at this point. I can even hold that point with my hand and feel the seat move off the seat base. I've also taken the seat out to verify that the piece is in fact worn out. If it matters, these are in my 1991 318is.

It does appear to be a load-bearing part of the seat, as in, once it's off and the rear disconnected, the seat comes off the base. I get that the most wear would occur when the seat is being tilted forward or back, but somehow mine's worn. I bought the car from the original owner in November who was a small 87-year old German guy. Unless he was constantly folding the seat forward and back over 20-years, I'm stumped as to how it wore out. We'll see if the new bearing tightens things up there. I'd love to have the seat stop rocking.

[Swanny]

So its safe to say the mounting points are sturdy and its just this bearing thats worn? Ive had a seat mounting bolt rip out of the floor after it was moving like you described. Unlikely the same issue but wanted to give you a heads up.

[e30Chris]

So its safe to say the mounting points are sturdy and its just this bearing thats worn? Ive had a seat mounting bolt rip out of the floor after it was moving like you described. Unlikely the same issue but wanted to give you a heads up.

Yea, thanks for the heads up, but I double checked all the mounting points hoping they were the cause. They're all tight. I can actually feel with my hand the seat rocking at the bearing point on acceleration and braking.

[Sean]

Digging up this old thread. Did the pieces from the comfort seats fix this wobble?