Rusty Seat Rails

[Blackthorn]

Hey yall, im trying to deep clean my new dirty 30 and iv come across a snag. While trying to take the bolts and nuts out to pull the front seats I discovered that the rails are stuck and rusted. Now i tried using some penetrate lube and my body weight to move it back and forth but no go. I was reading on here it might also be the mechanism inside the seat. Im going to fool around with the mechanism tonight and see if she'll give it up to me. However, i figured id ask if anyone knows any tips or tricks to get those bolts out. Thanks yall!

[Blackthorn]

tt any input would be greeeaaaaat.

[jeffnhiscars]

It's not clear if the bolts securing the seats frozen and you can't get the seats out or is it the rails that don't slide ?

Either way get some PB Blaster and treat the problem for a couple of days. If it's the seats stuck in the car don't be careful inside and try to find where the bolts,come through the undercarriage and treat it from there as well

[AndrewBird]

Pull the sliders off the seats and soak them in either vinegar or citric acid. You can buy citric acid in powdered form at brewing supply places. Vinegar will also work, but much slower. Either will remove all the rust without damaging the metal. Some light scrubbing may be required.

[Blackthorn]

Well my issue is getting the bolts out. I have access the the front 2 on the driver side but the rails completly cover the years. To the point where i cant fit anything in there to turn the bolt. Then the passenger has the opposite problem where i can take out the rears but not the fronts.

Is there a way to remove the seat from the rails while in the car so I can have more space to work with?

[Blackthorn]

Just realized i double posted this and put it in the general area but since im now working on my auto to manual swap it would be nice to be able to pull the carpet out before trying to take the pedal assembly off. Anyone have any other ideas?

Bump Bump

Here are some pics of the culprit. Iv got one side out but this other one is difficult. One rail will move freely but this other wont.

http://i.imgur.com/CnatNs2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hG3bvwR.jpg

[lucone]

Just realized i double posted this and put it in the general area but since im now working on my auto to manual swap it would be nice to be able to pull the carpet out before trying to take the pedal assembly off. Anyone have any other ideas?

Bump Bump

Here are some pics of the culprit. Iv got one side out but this other one is difficult. One rail will move freely but this other wont.

http://i.imgur.com/CnatNs2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hG3bvwR.jpg

How did you resolve this in the end? I have the same problem!

[cory58]

How did you resolve this in the end? I have the same problem!

If your seat rails look like the OP's pics, I'd recommend to start by removing the seats from the car. Then coat the surfaces of the rails where they move against each other with large amounts of PB Blaster or similar. Let them sit and recoat them several times for a few days. Then some very gentle whacks with a small rubber mallet may free them up. Also search the web for E30 sport seat disassembly/rebuild videos and DIYs. Learn how the seats work, so you can tell what should be moving when you move the handles. Here is a DIY I used when first learning. There are many others out there.

http://bmw.e30tuner.com/articles_seatfix.php

[Panici]

Ran into this on my miata four years ago.

Freed up the stuck driver's seat rails (would not slide) using PB Blaster and a hammer. Knocked a bunch of rust scale out of the rails (as pictured on the ground). Lubed up with white grease afterwards