Seat bent

[Vefu]

The other night me and my cousin were driving around, and when my cousin went to lean back and he the seat made some loud popping sounds and now the sea back is bent. I was wondering if there is any way to straighten this out myself or if I have to take it somewhere to get it fixed...

I took a picture to show what happened. Facing the seat the top right side is bent backwards and isn't flush with the other side of the seat.

Thanks!

[jim325]

The seat probably isint "bent". Does the messed up side of the seat move up and down if you grab the middle and try and pull it up?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82306

Check those pictures. It's possible one of the c-clips broke and the seat back came detached from the seat bottom.

Pull the recliner handle off the side and the trim cover.

2 Small philips head screws at the bottom and then you can pull up on the cover on the back of the seat.

Check those pivot areas for missing pieces, broken bolts, broken welds.

[Vefu]

Thanks for the quick response, I went out and tried to grab the middle and pull like you said and yes on the bent part of the seat it was able to lift slightly unlike the other side. I hope this makes the problem easier to diagnose. Unfortunately I was not able to take the seat apart but I plan on doing that tomorrow.

Thanks again.

[bloodshot-e30]

did it also sound like a spray paint can with a hole in it?

could have been one of the shox busting.

[Vefu]

I have no idea what that sounds like so I honestly don't know. I hope it isn't because I would rather have an easy fix on my hands.

[bloodshot-e30]

sounds like a long blow off valve lol

[Vefu]

No that isn't what it sounded like at all. I can't really describe what it exactly sounded like, so sorry.

[Vefu]

Alright, I had finally had a chance to take the seat out and apart but I cannot find anything visibly wrong with it, other than the piston on the broken side being extremely bent and not attached to anything. Does anyone know where I should inspect specifically? The seat is able to move up and down unlike the drivers seat like Jim said, so I assume this should lead me to the problem.

[E30m42cab]

The screw headed bolt that holds the seat back to the seat base probably worked itself out. You should be able to see it looking directly at the back of the seat. If you can lift the back of the seat up, that screw/bolt is out. It's probably lying on your carpet or still lying in the material or frame of the seat itself.

[Vefu]

I can't really check this yet because I am unable to get the back of the seat off. The handle on the door side of the seat wont come off but I managed to get the housing around it unhooked from the seat but now it wont come any further off due to the handle. Any tips on getting it off? I think it is glued on or something and trying to pull it off has not helped me.

[jim325]

You just gotta pull on that sucker pretty hard. It's not attached by anything. Maybe somebody had the seat apart at one time and put glue on it. Maybe it's just really on there. Maybe push the cover back, put a pair of vice grips behind it, NOT around it, and give it a few little hits. It should come off.

Edit:Im sure your gonna replace that bent shock. Let me know where you get yours from if you do. I have heard they are kinda pricey :/

lol 2nd edit: I am actually going to go take my drivers seat back out of my car to fix some of the reupholstery I did. Ill try and take a picture of the bolt or clip or whatever that is missing and where it should go. See if that helps you at all.

[jim325]

Here are a few. Doesn't look like there is really anything that hold them down. Just the compressiong of the shock itself. Maybe your stuck fully decompressed?

Please excuse the picture quality, just an iPod. And yes, my car is dirty and the seat track is rusty. One of a few reasons it's coming out.

Hopes this helps.


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[Vefu]

Ah, thanks for the reply. Yes unfortunately the shock is stuck fully decompressed. I might have another go at it tomorrow and i'll post the results afterwards. Hopefully this time I can get that handle off the seat.

[E30m42cab]

see that brass screw in the last picture above? That's likely what has come loose. Push the black plastic thing back on by the seat folding handle, put a long screwdriver behind the handle and pull on the screw driver with both hands instead of pulling on the handle itself.

[Vefu]

Thanks for all the help guys, after finally getting around to taking the seat apart it turns out the frame was slightly bent. All it took was just some brute force to bend back into place.