Manual passenger seat stuck
- Thread starter skmattwell
- Start date
Zedebee said:Careful with that, you don’t want to bend the floor up.
Sorry, haven’t had the chance to look at the seats yet, they are buried under a garage reorg at the moment. I haven’t forgotten.
No worries, I've had a look at a few diagrams so have an idea of what's under there. I've accepted that they are doing to need to be cut out. Having a look at the diagram I'm thinking what I might do first....
I have undone the bolts on the far side of the seat circled in green, so if I were to cut the corresponding joints on the opposite side circled in red I could remove the seat? The rail would remain, but it would be so much easier to work with.
Hello mate, I’ve had a really good look at the seats on the bench and in the car. There is very little to obstruct the slider at the rear of the rail closest to the centre console. Assuming you can see right through to the locking mechanism from the front of the rail, it must be the locking mechanism itself that is jammed. Have you tried really manipulating (overtwisting) the locking bar?
So you have got the four nuts off from inside the rails (two per rail, see pic 1), but you need some space to wriggle the “legs” off the bolts. You need about a centimetre and a half. If you can lift the front of the rails enough to get them off the floor bolts, either both or one at a time, and then push the rails outwards (the carpets are pretty deep and you have a little space laterally, see pic 2), you should be able to wriggle the seats off the rail bolts maybe with the help of a big screwdriver to apply some leverage behind the leg where it goes over the bolt. Once you’ve done one side, the other side should be easy. If you can do this, you will be able to tip the seat back which will give you much better access to the locking bar. You may then be able to lever one of the rear legs off its bolt and Bob’s your uncle, you’re off the rails. . . . and you haven’t destroyed anything.
So you have got the four nuts off from inside the rails (two per rail, see pic 1), but you need some space to wriggle the “legs” off the bolts. You need about a centimetre and a half. If you can lift the front of the rails enough to get them off the floor bolts, either both or one at a time, and then push the rails outwards (the carpets are pretty deep and you have a little space laterally, see pic 2), you should be able to wriggle the seats off the rail bolts maybe with the help of a big screwdriver to apply some leverage behind the leg where it goes over the bolt. Once you’ve done one side, the other side should be easy. If you can do this, you will be able to tip the seat back which will give you much better access to the locking bar. You may then be able to lever one of the rear legs off its bolt and Bob’s your uncle, you’re off the rails. . . . and you haven’t destroyed anything.
Zedebee said:
Cheers mate, really appreciate the advise. The bit I'm stuck on is getting the four bolts off the inside rail, as I can only access the front two. Ive tried overtwisting as you suggest, but the lever prevents me from going any further than it normally would. With that in mind, should I break the link between the lever and the locking bar so that i can twist it further?
I’m surprised you can’t reach the back two bolts on manual seats, there looks like a lot of space (see pic) and they are not heavily torqued.
It shouldn’t matter in any case, if you can get the front ones off their bolts and tip the seat back, you will be able to get to the rears easy.
I don’t want you to break anything if you can help it, as the seat don’t have any readily replaceable parts.
It shouldn’t matter in any case, if you can get the front ones off their bolts and tip the seat back, you will be able to get to the rears easy.
I don’t want you to break anything if you can help it, as the seat don’t have any readily replaceable parts.
Zedebee said:
Ah you mean those ones. Yes all four of those are out. Will have a go pushing the rails outwards but haven't had much luck with that so far, as there doesn't seem to be enough movement to release the legs from the bolts. If it helps this seat is going in the skip afterwards, so I'm not worried about damaging it at all
A bit of progress! The front two legs are now off the bolts, the only thing in the way at the moment is the first aid box, any idea how that detaches or shall I start hitting it with a hammer 
Devon
MikeyH said:Don't break the first aid box, members pay good money for those on here
Please don't tell me how much
Oops - too late. :lol:
Don't worry, they aren't like Aero sills or M-Sport seats! I think I gave £30 when I bought a second one to go under the driver's seat. If you want a replacement it is the same part on E46 3 Series.
Good luck.
Don't worry, they aren't like Aero sills or M-Sport seats! I think I gave £30 when I bought a second one to go under the driver's seat. If you want a replacement it is the same part on E46 3 Series.
Good luck.
Zedebee said:
I realised this after taking my frustration out on it, and ironically injuring myself on the first aid box
Mr Tidy said:Oops - too late. :lol:
Don't worry, they aren't like Aero sills or M-Sport seats! I think I gave £30 when I bought a second one to go under the driver's seat. If you want a replacement it is the same part on E46 3 Series.
Good luck.
I have one on the seat that is due to go in, even with the original (but presumably now useless) first aid kit form 2003
skmattwell said:
My last update of the day, now I've got the front two legs disconnected from the rail I'm able to have a better look around underneath. As per the photo, the locking pin on the stuck side is definitely disengaging, so I can only presume there's some seriously stubborn rust build up holding it somehow. Here's a photo of the locking pin up and down. As you can see, the rail is in a poor state.
The rear legs are pushed tight to the rails and don't come close to being levered off. I'm guessing that just leaves the option of cutting through one of them so it can slide out?
Time for you daily update
I have successfully cut through one of the rear legs, allowing the seat to slide off the leg on the opposing side. The seat is officially separated from the car
Obviously the rail itself is still stuck in there, so trying to get that out is a task for the next few days. If anyone has any suggestions other than my last resort of cutting through the bolts, it would be appreciated.
My remaining questions are actually about the airbags. Currently my battery is disconnected and roof up. I seem to have enough room to remove the current seat without taking the roof down, but would I be able to put in the new sports seats in with the roof on? The reason being that I really don't want the airbags going off when I reattach the battery if one of the seats is disconnected. Unless of course having one seat disconnected doesn't trigger the airbags?
If I remember correctly, the manual roof release on the vehicle doesn't seem to work
I have successfully cut through one of the rear legs, allowing the seat to slide off the leg on the opposing side. The seat is officially separated from the car
Obviously the rail itself is still stuck in there, so trying to get that out is a task for the next few days. If anyone has any suggestions other than my last resort of cutting through the bolts, it would be appreciated.
My remaining questions are actually about the airbags. Currently my battery is disconnected and roof up. I seem to have enough room to remove the current seat without taking the roof down, but would I be able to put in the new sports seats in with the roof on? The reason being that I really don't want the airbags going off when I reattach the battery if one of the seats is disconnected. Unless of course having one seat disconnected doesn't trigger the airbags?
If I remember correctly, the manual roof release on the vehicle doesn't seem to work
Usel said:
Haha it really has been the most frustrating job I've ever had to do on a car
So at this point the seat is still connected, so I could take the roof down. It's just a nuisance as it means I'd need to get the new seats in before it goes back up, which might be difficult id the rail it being stubborn.
Good idea regarding drilling through, but it's right where the seatbelt connects to the base and is very heavy duty for that reason.
I think I'm going to remove the seat, remove the stuck rails, and then plug the old seat (which I know I can get in and out with the roof on) back in while I remove the roof. Then I can fiiiinally fit my sport seats like a normal person
Glad you got the seats out, I hope my suggestion was helpful.
Don’t worry, the airbags won’t “go off” if you reconnect the battery, but you might get an airbag warning light. This is easy to reset if you have a decent code reader. Creator C310+ will do it, you just need to know where in the menu to look.
Hopefully, with the seat off, the outside rail is free to slide so you should be able to remove it. Now you have access to the inside rail, you must be able to see where it’s jamming, but if not you can drill access to the securing bolt. Don’t do anything to damage the floor of the car or you will have difficulty fitting your new seats. Unlike the fronts, the rear fixings are bolts, not nuts.
P.s. if you are tipping the seats, can I have dibs on your headrests please?
Don’t worry, the airbags won’t “go off” if you reconnect the battery, but you might get an airbag warning light. This is easy to reset if you have a decent code reader. Creator C310+ will do it, you just need to know where in the menu to look.
Hopefully, with the seat off, the outside rail is free to slide so you should be able to remove it. Now you have access to the inside rail, you must be able to see where it’s jamming, but if not you can drill access to the securing bolt. Don’t do anything to damage the floor of the car or you will have difficulty fitting your new seats. Unlike the fronts, the rear fixings are bolts, not nuts.
P.s. if you are tipping the seats, can I have dibs on your headrests please?
skmattwell said:Usel said:
I think I'm going to remove the seat, remove the stuck rails, and then plug the old seat (which I know I can get in and out with the roof on) back in while I remove the roof. Then I can fiiiinally fit my sport seats like a normal person
That' what I meant