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  • March 28, 2024, 08:34:34 AM

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Author Topic: Removing front seats  (Read 13219 times)

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Offline johnbendik

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Removing front seats
« on: October 18, 2014, 12:40:53 AM »
Am I right in assuming that I have to unbolt the seat tracks from the floor to remove a front seat?  That's the impression I get from reading the seat-related topics here, but maybe I'm misinterpreting things...

My driver's seat skews to the left, and I want to see if it's got a spring or two broken or disconnected.

Thanks,
John
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline profeagle

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2014, 06:48:18 AM »
Yes that is right, look for the rectangle U shaped washers on bottom, four per seat, 9/16" socket. - if I remember right  ;D

Happy Eagle-ing   :)

Offline profeagle

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2014, 08:52:45 AM »

Yes that is right, look for the rectangle U shaped washers on bottom, four per seat, 9/16" socket. - if I remember right  ;D

Happy Eagle-ing   :)

My bad, you need a 1/2" deep socket, plus extension & ratchet. I just went out and checked mine to be sure.  :)

Offline eaglefreek

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2014, 09:02:57 AM »
Yes, you have to crawl under the car and do it from underneath.
1986 AMC Eagle Wagon 4.2L/4.0L head, AW4,NP242, Chrysler 8.25" rear.
1981 AMC Eagle Wagon As Seen On TV  Lost In Transmission


 

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Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2014, 09:05:07 AM »
hi yes you have to unbolt the whole seat from under the car. 5 bolts per seat. to get to one bolt on the drivers seat, the t case skidplate needs to come off, no big deal really. If your seat skews, the track is probably worn, and or may have lost a ball bearing. If you find a small steel ball rolling around under there, don't throw it out! it can be put back in the track.  Taking the drivers seat out on the drivers side is a major pain, steering wheel in the way. best to pull both seats, and take drivers seat out through the passenger side, extra work, i know, but it gives you a chance to scope things out and lube the tracks.

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2014, 08:40:29 PM »
Thanks to all for your quick replies.  You probably saved me some futile knuckle-busting trying to just remove the seats from the tracks.

Re-doing the front seats will be this week's project.  I got some very nice looking seat covers from Seat Covers Unlimited. I'm going to take 'em out first  and see if I can spruce up the springs, etc., before I put the covers on.

John
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline captspillane

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2014, 09:15:31 AM »
I rarely unbolt them from underneath. It has always been faster to unbolt the four nuts that hold the seat to the tracks, especially when I don't want to get greasy reaching above the transmission from underneath right before going back up to work in the interior. Just mind the spring going from the track to the seat and use the seat to stretch the spring into place on the way back in, its not too bad. It is especially easy with the narrow body SX4 seats.
Currently Inspected and Insured as of Jan 2013:
-1985 Eagle Station Wagon 258 T5 Stickshift
-1980 Eagle Station Wagon 258 Auto Fuel-injected with GM TBI

Minor Repairs Underway:
-1982 Eagle SX4 258 T5
-1981 Kammback 2.5L Iron Duke T5

Restoration Efforts Near Completion:
-1982 SX4- 401 NV3550
-1983 SX4- 4.5 MPI NSG370 (6 Speed)

Restoration Efforts Underway:
-1985 SW- 4.0 MPI AX15
-1982 SX4- 4.0 AW4
-1981 SX4- SD33T NV4500 (Turbodiesel 5 speed)

Future Rescue Efforts- '85 Maroon SW, '87 Limited SW, '84 Limited SW, '87 4 door Sedan, '81 2 door Sedan, '88 White SW, '77 4 door Hornet, '74 2 door Hornet, '79 Spirit AMX, '81 Kammback.

RIP- Red '81 SX4, '84 4dr Sedan, '84 SW, '81 SW, '80 Spirit, '83 SW, '83 4dr Sedan

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2014, 06:44:40 PM »
I have to admit that I'm kinda stuck on this one.  I tried Captspillane's method, but I could neither see nor touch the bolts holding the seat to the track on my '84 wagon.  I have thick hands and fingers, and not a lot of flexibility, so maybe that's why.

I also looked into just removing the tracks, as others have suggested.  3 of the 4 nuts for the driver-side seats are easily accessible, but the right-front nut is located directly above the transfer case (on my 5-speed wagon) .  I couldn't get a socket on it.  I think I might be able to remove it with a ratcheting box wrench, but I don't think I could ever get it and the backing plate back on when I was finished.  I can just barely touch the nut with the tip of my finger, and even that took some serious contortions.  I can't see that I could spin the nut back on, while holding the backing plate in place.

How did you guys do this?  Is maybe the nut not blocked on automatic transmission cars?

Thanks,
John
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2014, 01:11:39 PM »
hi John  there are five bolts (studs actually) on an Eagle seat. 3 singles and a pair. the one above the t case is not as bad as it looks, but you HAVE to remove transfer case shield, five bolts of its own.  I think 5/8," this shield is easily removed..gravity!!, a little harder to put back, basically 'cause its heavy, get a friend to help, or lift with jack. With the shield out of the way,  you can access that last nut relatively easily, use a 1/2" deep socket, and a couple of extensions now you can also get your hand in there to put it back, to get nut started on stud, and if you just can't get it with your fingers, try a 1/4" drive palm ratchet. Also in this case, the "wobbler" extensions come in very handy. I just put my seat back last week, and I ain't getting any younger myself! good luck! gz

Offline Nightpath

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2014, 10:21:01 AM »
I've been debating tapping the studs out, threading a bolt in from the bottom and using a thin nut on the top between the rail and floor to hold the bolt in, then bolting the seat down. No more having to slink underneath to unbolt it.

Offline mudkicker715

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2014, 04:48:01 PM »
Pretty sure that long term the pressure points being smaller, will fail.



Manitowoc WI

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2014, 11:16:14 AM »
hi you can't really tap the studs out, they are welded to the tracks. that being said, I had a couple snap off due to rust, and had to grind/drill the seat channel mounting points for a hole. then you can use a regular bolt/nut. this actually makes things more difficult, as you now have to have a wrench both top and bottom for removal. has held up ok over the years though. btw I  have the "big" front seats, not buckets, and my car is automatic trans. front right bolt is still above tcase.  thanks gz

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2014, 05:21:07 PM »
I'm posting this to thank everyone who told me (basically) to just suck it up and remove the :censored: bolt (the one hidden by the transfer case).

I was able to remove it fairly easily, by using a 'wobble extension' on my ratchet as amcfool1 suggested.  Replacing it (with the backing plate) was much tougher, but I eventually got it done by using rubber cement to temporarily glue the backing plate to the nut.  I was then able to balance the whole thing on the end of my ratchet, snake it up to the stud using the wobble extension, catch it on the stud and start tightening.  Once the backing plate got within range of the bottom of the car, it caught on it with enough friction to break the rubber cement bond to the nut and freeze into position (as I'd hoped it would), and I was able to tighten the nut down properly.  Only took about an hour (and sacrificing the requisite amount of knuckle blood to the car repair gods, of course).

I was glad I didn't give up on it.  When I got the seat out, I discovered that 3 of the 4 front-to-back springs had long ago broken where they fasten to the back of the seat bottom frame.  Someone before me had tried to repair each broken spring with twine, believe it or not!  The twine had long since broken and unraveled, hence the sagging seat.  I couldn't find an easy source for replacement springs, so I used small hose clamps to bind each broken spring together.  I then used cable ties to cross-connect each spring to its neighbor at 7 or 8 places, just to tighten the whole seat bottom:


I'm not exactly proud of this rig, but I'm not too ashamed of it, either...

The two techniques together seemed to take most of the sag out of the seat.  I no longer feel like I'm leaning uphill to reach the steering wheel.

Thanks again to everyone for your tips and encouragement.

John Bendiksen
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #13 on: November 25, 2014, 01:23:38 AM »
hi john glad it worked out for you, looks like a good fix! GZ

Offline captspillane

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #14 on: November 25, 2014, 09:49:38 PM »
Unless I'm removing the rug I always leave the tracks behind. There is only four nuts holding the seat to the tracks. They are pretty easy to get at from underneath once you've done a couple. Its easy to stretch the spring on the side back when reinstalling them. On the narrow seats I pop the cushions off first and get to the four nuts from above through the frame. I always avoid getting greased up under the car going for the one bolts above the transmission when I'm working on interior stuff.
Currently Inspected and Insured as of Jan 2013:
-1985 Eagle Station Wagon 258 T5 Stickshift
-1980 Eagle Station Wagon 258 Auto Fuel-injected with GM TBI

Minor Repairs Underway:
-1982 Eagle SX4 258 T5
-1981 Kammback 2.5L Iron Duke T5

Restoration Efforts Near Completion:
-1982 SX4- 401 NV3550
-1983 SX4- 4.5 MPI NSG370 (6 Speed)

Restoration Efforts Underway:
-1985 SW- 4.0 MPI AX15
-1982 SX4- 4.0 AW4
-1981 SX4- SD33T NV4500 (Turbodiesel 5 speed)

Future Rescue Efforts- '85 Maroon SW, '87 Limited SW, '84 Limited SW, '87 4 door Sedan, '81 2 door Sedan, '88 White SW, '77 4 door Hornet, '74 2 door Hornet, '79 Spirit AMX, '81 Kammback.

RIP- Red '81 SX4, '84 4dr Sedan, '84 SW, '81 SW, '80 Spirit, '83 SW, '83 4dr Sedan

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2015, 04:34:12 PM »
hey john B, how did you like the seat covers you got? what style and price point. worth the money? fabric holding up a few months later? thanks gz

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #16 on: June 28, 2015, 07:15:23 PM »
gz,

I got my seat covers from Seat Covers Unlimited, in the fabric they call 'Madrid': http://www.seatcoversunlimited.com/Madrid-p-16174.html.  They offer two styles, Custom ($148) and Full Custom ($168), the difference being that the cheaper version uses some kind of stretch polyester for the backs instead of continuing the fabric from the front.  I got the Full Custom in their 'tan' color.



I'm pretty happy with them.  The 'Madrid' fabric is very comfortable, with a soft feel like velour.  They're warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and they're not showing any wear yet.  I liked the fabric so much that I went back and purchased a few extra yards from them to redo my headliner and to cover that rounded plywood barrier you can see right behind the seat.

The barrier is a piece of 1/2 inch plywood that I shaped and attached at right angles to the back of the bench seat, at the top edge.  With the bench seat down, it forms a barrier so that my elderly 3-legged dog doesn't get thrown onto the floor if I have to brake suddenly.  With the bench seat up, it lays on top of the rear wheel wells out of the way, and gives you a moderately-hidden storage space underneath it.  Works pretty well, but looks a little 'rustic', what with the varnished plywood and all.  I figured I'd cover it with the Madrid fabric to match the front seats and headliner.

JB

John B.
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #17 on: August 15, 2015, 02:00:54 AM »
cool! look good, I may get some. thanks, gz

Offline Murdoc1905

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #18 on: July 20, 2018, 10:14:24 PM »
Out of curiosity, how are the seats fairing after these 3 years?

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #19 on: July 21, 2018, 12:08:43 AM »
hi, well, don't know about three years, but I purchased a set myself, same fabric, but in blue, a little over a year ago, for my 84 Sedan, and I love 'em! comfortable, good looking, near perfect fit, and so far showing no signs of wear. Liked 'em so much even got a set, same fabric, for my wife's car, 02 Mercury Sable. to cover her once pristine, but now aging, leather seats. She no longer burns the back of her legs on a hot summer day, so, I highly recommend these covers. You get what you pay for, no more auto parts store cheapies, that fall apart in three months, for us! good luck, gz

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #20 on: July 21, 2018, 11:50:50 AM »
My covers are also looking good, with no appreciable wear.  And the fabric made a very plush headliner also!  http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=45734.msg354298#msg354298.

I will also add that the company (Seat Covers Unlimited) was very easy to deal with, with intelligent salespeople manning the phones.

JB
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline amcfool1

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #21 on: July 21, 2018, 08:26:39 PM »
yup, just to add to that, They email you back after every inquiry, a real email, not those "do not respond " types, and work with you. Trying to get a Hornet set made now, for which they have no pattern, but they are trying. Money well spent. later, gz

Offline drock87

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #22 on: October 10, 2018, 11:38:24 AM »
Just wondering....I was on their website, and they only show a "highback"....is that what you ordered?
My list of my cars/toys (or toys at my disposal!)

1985 AMC Eagle Sportwagon
2017 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic
1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
2016 Triumph Bonneville
 1962 Cruisers Inc Mahogany Outboard

I like to to tell people my Eagle is like a Ferrari. It's quirky, tempermental, border-line exotic, and something you don't see everyday.  See? Makes perfect sense....

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Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #23 on: October 10, 2018, 02:51:53 PM »
drock87,

I think so... I can't find my original invoice to be sure, but 'highback' sounds right.  They don't have a fully-customized template for the Eagle seat (because they don't have one to measure),  but the 'highback' worked pretty well on my seats.

JB
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

Offline johnbendik

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Re: Removing front seats
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2018, 11:21:58 AM »
Drock87,

Don't know if you're still considering seat covers from these guys...  I got an email from them that they are having an 'Early Black Friday' sale this week: 20% off and free shipping.  Use the code 'EARLYBIRD' at checkout.

JB
1984 Eagle Sportwagon
258 - 6 cyl
5-speed !

 

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