Frickin wobbly sport seats!

[Sean]

DRIVE ME F-IN NUTS!

The damn things have been wobbly, and I thought I had gotten it fixed by an upholstery guy in Boise.

Nope, I got to Dubuque, and the whole damn seat wobbles back and forth a good 10-15 degrees or so. Not to mention when I stop and accelerate, some metal on metal "tapping" is felt thru my ass, and it frustrates me every single time it happens. lol

I have the seat out and I'm getting ready to take it apart. But really, I haven't an idea why it's wobbly. While looking under the seat it SEEMS like the wobbly part of the seat is stemming from the area pictured in this thread:

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=135844

The pic he talks about in that thread - the shaft/bar directly above it moves back and forth quite a bit. Any pointers on how to fix this piece?

Hurry! :P

Thanks,
Sean


PS:

I found this page: http://www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/318isseat.html but it really does not address my issue.

[bmw325csi]

I welded up my rails at the point where the top half mates the bottom, and pretty much anywhere else i could without messing up to movements. Worked like a charm

[Sean]

Where in particular did you weld? I'm to the point where I'll drop my seats off somewhere and have them fix the damn things again. Pulling this apart, my upholstery guy really didn't secure everything real well. Blah.

The top of the bar I mention is a pivot point for the seat, that needs to move freely. Problem is its not very accessible without tearing off the leather, which is a bitch and a half. Did you weld that part?

-Sean

CORRECTION: Took a closer look at the walkthru I posted above, and the "seat pivot" looks to be what he's talking about. Any easy way to get in there?

[Sean]

NEVERMIND - seat pivots at the back - not my problem at all. will post vid

[Sean]

GO HERE FOR PICTURE AND VIDEOS:

http://e30.electrontek.com/seats/

Let me know what you're all thinking...

[td325ic]

I'm thinking you need to ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE!



hehheh, but seriously, the play in that hinge is pretty common on most of the seats I've worked on but it looks like yours is pretty bad.

That hinge is really difficult to access and is not meant to be taken apart. I believe it's riveted in there. You may be able to use a c-clip and shove it in the gap which may eliminate the play.

Really probably the easiest way to solve it would be to buy another sport seat bottom and swap over the upholstery, which isn't difficult.

Last idea, if you can't think of anything else and you're just fed up with it, is to epoxy that hinge in place. If you're the only one who drives your car then that seat function is rarely used once you get it set. If you're tall you probably have the seat at the lowest height anyway. Not the first route I'd take but may relieve the annoyance of the problem in the short term.

Well just a few ideas, hopefully the c-clip idea works for you. If not, and you need a new sport seat bottom then let me know.

-Todd

[dude8383]

Boy am I glad I came across this thread. I have the issue with my seat and holy crap its annoying!!!

Definitely going to see if I can fix this!

[Sean]

Shit, I had an entire reply and for some reason it didn't get posted! LOL

I said - it's good to know I'm not the only one. I think I know what happened - I have a C Clip in there now and it came loose. I moved it around and it tightened up again. I bought one today for the other side, I'll see if I can get it to fit in tonight.

I ran by a pretty hardcore upholstery shop this afternoon - brought in just the seat bottom with no rails and they said there was nothing they could do. The rivet really is impossible to access. I said there's not much that can be done with a 20 yo seat - they looked at me like I was nuts for even attempting. LOL

In addition - the epoxy idea is a good one. I may end up doing that, as it only moves up and down when I remove the seat - and it COULD be removed without being raised (I'm 6'4")

Thanks again, Todd! Dude - good to know there's someone else out there. And...IT IS ANNOYING ISN'T IT?! lol

[Sean]

Mother of all videos!

http://e30.electrontek.com/seats/seats_suck.avi SO DAMN LOOOSE!

I messed around with it, and now the C clip wouldn't hold it anymore. I yanked it out - there's the movement. WOW! I realized there's a hole for the rivet in the metal on the side - so I made a hole in my leather and I'm going to try pounding the bitch back in. Think that will work?

Sounds like the epoxy route is coming...LOL

[td325ic]

I can get you a replacement used sport seat bottom for probably under $50 shipped, so keep that in mind.

Actually when I mentioned c-clip I was really thinking of a snap ring. Give one of these a try and I think that would do the trick.




BTW, if you put the handle back on then that will allow you to move that hinge into a better position for gaining access to it.

I have a seat bottom that I'll play around with and see if I can figure out any other solutions

[Sean]

Oh ya, cause it's got that spring in there, huh??? Hmmm If I can get that into the open, I COULD put a snap ring on there. Never thought of that! GOod call, I'll have to play with it tomorrow. Let me know what you find out!

[dude8383]

Oh ya, cause it's got that spring in there, huh??? Hmmm If I can get that into the open, I COULD put a snap ring on there. Never thought of that! GOod call, I'll have to play with it tomorrow. Let me know what you find out!

haha most annoying thing on the planet man. every squeak and rattle bugs me...its an old car so its a given that there will be noises, but that won't stop me from trying to track em down!

let me know if that c-clip works, i have a whole case of those things :)