Driver Seat Back Rotation

[syberdust]

Hi Folks,

I have an "88 B2 XLT and looking for comparisons of others' seat back forward rotation angle.

In my younger days, I ordered new from the factory, a 1990 model XLT and had no trouble fully rotating the driver seat forward to the steering wheel for entry and egress to rear seating area.

This 1988 seat will not rotate more than 10 or 20 degrees forward and there is no room to enter the back seat, even with the seat track full forward, yet the passenger seat travels about 4 inches further forward and rotates the seat back fully forward to the instrument panel.

Is this a broken driver seat track or cable issue, or do all the 1988's not have ability for entry and egress to the rear seating from the driver side? Just need someone to confirm, as it is rather irritating and I'd sure like to get it fixed if it is not the intended design limitation in 1988 that may have been changed by the time I ordered my 1990 model.

Thanks!

 

[BroncoII87]

As you might guess from my username, my B2 is an '87 and I think it is an XL model since it has manual everything and short back front seats. If I slide my driver's seat fully forward and release the lock for the back, the back will tilt forward leaving roughly 3" of space to the steering wheel. My front seat is more like a bench seat with just a center fold down armrest. Access to the backseat would be okay for a small child or to place something like a briefcase or a laptop bag on the floor.

------- Jim

 

[syberdust]

Jim,

Thank you, that is quite helpful! Appreciate the response!

I pick up my B2 from the specialty repair shop tomorrow and will let you know what they found. The initial inspection opinion when I dropped it off was that the seat was not traveling all the way to its full forward position and that can be a result of a broken cable or something misaligned.

Either way, there is definitely something wrong with the travel and I'd sure like to get it rectified, as I am rather short-statured, so its a bit uncomfortable with my foot reach on the gas pedal. More tomorrow. Thanks, again!

 

[syberdust]

Wanted to update everyone on the above seat track travel issue. Picked up my B2 from the specialty shop for auto upholstery yesterday and was very pleased with the repair.

They indicated there was a spot of "slag" in the track where a wald was made. It appears the slag was original from when first manufactured. They were able to work to remove the slag and restore full track travel.

I am shocked this was never discovered during production or even previous owners, but I am short, so perhaps I am the only one who needed the seat to travel full forward. Either way, I am so very pleased to be able to drive it comfortably now!

Final cost = $150 for the labor to r/r driver seat and remove slag to restore travel. Yes, I could have done this myself, but they told me it was quite hard to remove, so am glad I had a professional perform the work, despite!

Pics before and after shown below. I still can't get myself into the rear seat area, but I can put packages and store things. A child could enter and egress easily, however, so I'm satisfied with the added flexibility now, as well!