Today I decided to retrofit some rear headrests into my uncles 325iX Touring, thought it might be a good idea to post a DIY, since there is limited info for the Touring model.
E30zone.net has a article about this already but they retrofitted these inside of the car, I found this to cumbersome so I decided to remove the seats which made it a lot easier
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/inde...Rear_Headrests
I've had a hard time sourcing some beige/natur headrests. When after a while, some popped up in Germany with the whole rear bench/seating parts. Unfortunatly these had a different pattern on the fabric. This ment I needed to swap the headrest over to his original seats, I couldn't just swap the seat themselves.
I had already removed the rear split seats completly on my own Touring, but forgot how. After tugging and pulling, I decided to remove the seats one by one.
You just have to pry the handle on the sides of the seats far enough to release the seats from the bushing on the rail where the seats hinge on. (Unfortunatly I don't have any pictures of this step)
For reinstalling the seats, I laid the seats flat with the pin that faces to the inside of the car, pushed in the bushing on the middle of the rail. Then pushed the outside pin in it's bushing. For some reason it's easy when the seats lay flat than when the seat is upright.
Once you have the seat on the bench, you should be able to pull the rear trim panel towards the bottom of the seat, it's hold on with some clips that slide in the the metal frame.
After removing the back panel, you can now remove the seat frame. This is hold on by some clips that clip on to some metal tabs on the seat foam. I used a big trim removal tool to pop these of from the tabs. Sliding the tool between the cushion and the frame, just next to a clip and pry it up, it's pretty easy.
Backside of the seat frame, showing the white plastic clips
Now you shoud be left with just the seat cushion.
I made a pucnh out of some round bar which I grinded a sharp edge on to, by placing the cushion on it's top on a table and hammering a hole in the fabric. I used the pre molded foam as a guide on where to punch the holes for the trim pieces.
Then you can fit the guide pieces for the headrest into the metal frames, I decided to use the frame from the spare seats as the latch system was in better condition than the originals.
Finally, it's just a matter of fitting everything back together and voila!
E30zone.net has a article about this already but they retrofitted these inside of the car, I found this to cumbersome so I decided to remove the seats which made it a lot easier
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/inde...Rear_Headrests
I've had a hard time sourcing some beige/natur headrests. When after a while, some popped up in Germany with the whole rear bench/seating parts. Unfortunatly these had a different pattern on the fabric. This ment I needed to swap the headrest over to his original seats, I couldn't just swap the seat themselves.
I had already removed the rear split seats completly on my own Touring, but forgot how. After tugging and pulling, I decided to remove the seats one by one.
You just have to pry the handle on the sides of the seats far enough to release the seats from the bushing on the rail where the seats hinge on. (Unfortunatly I don't have any pictures of this step)
For reinstalling the seats, I laid the seats flat with the pin that faces to the inside of the car, pushed in the bushing on the middle of the rail. Then pushed the outside pin in it's bushing. For some reason it's easy when the seats lay flat than when the seat is upright.
Once you have the seat on the bench, you should be able to pull the rear trim panel towards the bottom of the seat, it's hold on with some clips that slide in the the metal frame.
After removing the back panel, you can now remove the seat frame. This is hold on by some clips that clip on to some metal tabs on the seat foam. I used a big trim removal tool to pop these of from the tabs. Sliding the tool between the cushion and the frame, just next to a clip and pry it up, it's pretty easy.
Backside of the seat frame, showing the white plastic clips
Now you shoud be left with just the seat cushion.
I made a pucnh out of some round bar which I grinded a sharp edge on to, by placing the cushion on it's top on a table and hammering a hole in the fabric. I used the pre molded foam as a guide on where to punch the holes for the trim pieces.
Then you can fit the guide pieces for the headrest into the metal frames, I decided to use the frame from the spare seats as the latch system was in better condition than the originals.
Finally, it's just a matter of fitting everything back together and voila!
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