'88 B2 Seat Repair - questions

[88B2EB]

My driver seat backrest has the typical inward slant and it's killing my back. The truck still has the original EB seats so I'd rather try to fix em rather than just swapping in a junkyard seat from something close. Anyway, I got a good start today but wanted to step back and ask a few questions before I break something.

- It's definately the backrest frame that's twisted. I could probably just bear hug the thing and rack it back into shape. Is there a better way?

- Is the lumbar system 12V? I'd like to test it while everything's apart.

- My seat pad is worn badly on the edge and I'd like to find a junkyard replacement. My guess is a passenger side pad would be less worn but are the two sides interchangable?

- While the seat cover's off can/should I throw it in the clothes washer?

 

[b2legnick]

i cant offer any good advice but ive been told if the seat cover is in good shape throwing it in the washer on a cold wash should do some good. And let me know how the seat frame repair goes i have the same problem i just did the redneck rig and folded my back dr. seat down to support my seat for now.

 

[88B2EB]

Thanks b2legnick, will do.

80 views and nobody's able to help???

 

[Brownie Mobile]

Thanks b2legnick, will do.

80 views and nobody's able to help???

Well this probaly isnt an incredibly common thing and sometimes youll have to be the guinea pig as the guys on here like to put it lol. Just try it and let us know also instead of finding a donor foam maybe get some new foam and cut it to size i did seat repairs on my dads old toyota camry and we just got some foam from home depot and cut it down using a bread knife. I see no problem with washing it either but i would go cold like B2legnick suggested. Also for the seat frame maybe try reinforcing it some how because if it bent once its bound to do it again especially now with weak metal. Maybe drill a metal shim into it and fasten it on where the seat is bending. The thing about using junk yard seats is that they tend to get wet in most vehichles so id stay away from it. But what id do personally is ditch those seats and pick up some out of an explorer. As far as the lumbar control i have no idea. But i would be interested in seeing pics of how it works in the seat.

 

[88B2EB]

BrownieMobile, The lumbar system was surprisingly simple really, It's basically just a balloon in the backrest with a small compressor under the seat and an inflate/deflate switch. I was able to confirm with my tester on the supply harness that it is 12V so I wired it to a spare battery and it tested good.

For straightening out the seat here's what I did (see picture). With the cover and foam off the backrest I bolted the seat back into the truck so it was locked in place. Then I used a length of 2x4 to carefully twist the backrest straight. It's hard to see in the pic but I also connected one end of a ratchet strap to the backrest's left side and the other end to my garage rafters. This kept the left side from bending back while I bent the right side forward. Kind of a rig-job, I know, but it worked really well for me and my seat's straight now! If anybody else happens to try this just BE CAREFUL! It would be easy to barrel through it and break the seat or put the 2x4 through the windshield.

Thanks for the comments on cover washing, I'll try the delicate cycle on cold. Can I say delicate on a truck forum?

There was still a slight bit of play in the hinges so I'm digging into the bottom part now (the seat) to find out what's going on there. Once the pad's out I'll take a look at it, if it's symmetrical chances are it'll be the same as the passenger side (It's nice to know I can cut my own but I'm ok doing some extra searching to find an original pad if I can).

This has been a great learning process! I had hoped somebody here had done it already but I guess being the guinea pig is fine. If the only outcome is that we learn what not to do then at least I was able to help.:icon_cheers:

Josh

 

[88B2EB]

Tonight I took the seat portion apart as far as I could and found that the seat cover, pad, & box spring are put together in the factory and basically aren't meant to be taken back apart. The dimples in the seat cushion seem to be glued down into the pad and the box spring is definately interwoven with it so it looks like that's about as far as I can take this project. Darn. While everything was apart I sanded/repainted the track bottoms and will be cleaning everything up. Here's a couple more pictures showing the lumbar compressor and the seat pad where it wears out.

 

[Harley]

i know this is an old thread but im interested in the slanted seat fix....i have the exact same seats...

 

[richard booth]

I got 1st gen explorer high back seats that are in great condition, just a suggestion, switch mounting frame and hing and wa la no twist problem just no lumbar support, my 2 cents.