E30 seat repair - seat recline

[EthirtyIS]

M5james, you need seat shocks, each sport seat has 4 shocks, i have a few sets in stock for 150 for both seats.

[Tollroad_Playground]

I had the same issue! Passenger seat fell all the way back 100 miles into a 1,500 mile road trip. Had to jam all our bags behind the seat to keep it up.

I was able to clean the gearing without taking the seat apart. I just removed the seat and seat back and started putting drops of 3 in 1 oil into the mechenisim while rocking it back and forth. The motion got a lot smoother, the gunk flowed out and the springs started pulling hard enough to lock it in position. After 15 minutes it was reliably locking up. Haven’t had any issues since.

My shocks are gone, but you can pull the seat up to adjust. I’ll replace them when I do a full re-cover/re-build job. The simple VW twist-to-recline system is SO much better. 4 shocks and a complicated mechanism assymbled with rivets? Come on BMW! Still, all is forgiven because these sport seats are amazing.

[ClearwaterBMW]

Shameless Bump...

Great fix, worked perfect on my new (to me) 1990 convertible

[Quickit]

Bringing the thread back from the dead.
So I replaced all 4 worn out seat shocks on a sport seat and the seat cushion lifts up as originally intended but it doesn't lock in place. The seat cushion just bobs up and down as I apply force to it. Are there any teeth on a gear or mechanism that wear out? So you guys are saying just cleaning the seat mechanism with brake clean and then lubing it back up will fix the issue???

[EthirtyIS]

Quickit, yeah not only one hell of a resurrection but on a dead platform nonetheless… lol.
correct, spray the internal with brake clean, move the levers and arms while spraying the internals. Then lube it up with some type of spray lube or tri flow.
if you have more questions you can pm me on Instagram or FB
NineStitch.

[E30_Chris]

Also resurrecting this post from the dead. I had the issue of my passenger seat only locking in maybe one position when it wants to and falls back with weight.

Shocks weren't this issue since I replaced those recently. Didn't see the teeth gummed up with too much but i sprayed the mechanism with some white lithium grease and let sit for a couple minutes and it locks in every position now. Glad it was a simple fix for me ha.

[EthirtyIS]

E30_chris, glad you were able to get sorted, just know those teeth that lock together although extremely strong are very small and it doesn’t take much to get them slipping.