I purchased a '96 LX450 a few weeks ago. Both power seats were hung up, but the motors were working. I bought the Gamiviti replacement gears and end cap and installed on the driver seat without any trouble. I dropped the seat back in and it worked fine... for a few minutes. Once again the gear drive was stripped. I pulled the seat and confirmed that the gear was trashed. I removed the entire assembly and cleaned out all the ground up plastic then installed the second gear (intended for passenger seat). I didn't tighten the nut on the end of the worm gear as much this time thinking it would allow the gear to turn more freely, but ended up with the same result. I don't see anything else that appears to be out of spec. Seems like an easy fix, so I'm not sure what's going on. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Power Seat Eats Replacement Gears (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MidMO450
- Start date
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You're on the right track by not over tightening the nut. I made that mistake once, loosened it the second time and no problems since.
Also make sure both rails are parallel; get the seat either all the way fore or aft to start before reinstalling. May need some vise-grips or channel locks. That's what happened the first time I put a set of gears in; basically the seat was racked by two screws and chewed up my first set of gears.
x2 on getting both rails lined up. I bet this is your problem. I just reworked both of mine while adding the LT seat brackets.
You might need to remove the seats to see what needs to happen. My rails were not lined up after the little white cap popped off the slave motor. With the cap off the powered motor moved one rail, but the slave motor was slipping, allowing the two rails to no longer be aligned. I used a battery (14.4 v drill batt) to power the seat motor while it was out (so as to get them lined up again). Then I put the cap back on.
You might need to remove the seats to see what needs to happen. My rails were not lined up after the little white cap popped off the slave motor. With the cap off the powered motor moved one rail, but the slave motor was slipping, allowing the two rails to no longer be aligned. I used a battery (14.4 v drill batt) to power the seat motor while it was out (so as to get them lined up again). Then I put the cap back on.
FJ809496TLC
80 series addict
Alignment and lubrication.
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I wish there was a way to convert these things to manual....
x100 on alignment.
If they aren't perfectly square, it is amazing how poorly they work. If installed right, the holes on the rails should line up almost perfectly with the holes in the floor. If you're having to force/fight/twist - they're aren't lined up right.
If they aren't perfectly square, it is amazing how poorly they work. If installed right, the holes on the rails should line up almost perfectly with the holes in the floor. If you're having to force/fight/twist - they're aren't lined up right.
Id pull the seat out where you can work on it easier. MIke
- Thread starter
- #9
Based on what I'm hearing it sounds like alignment may be the culprit. I don't think alignment would be a big issue as long as they are close until you hit the stop on the left and the right keeps going. Ordered another set so we'll see what happens this time.
Same thing happened to me, had to order another set from Gamiviti. This time before I screwed in the cap flush I used some white glue around the threads and added some duck tape for added security. It's been about month, the cap hasn't fallen off nor has it stripped again, knock on wood.
- Thread starter
- #12
So I ordered a second set of gears/caps from Gamiviti and worked on the driver's seat again this weekend. I pulled the entire assembly, lubed it very well, made absolutely certain the rails were aligned in the full rear stop and put it all back together. I pushed forward on the controls and it worked perfectly. I thought I had done it... finally. However, a few minutes later I went all the way to rear stop and it hung up again. I didn't want to force it, so I helped the left rail along (this is the side that eats the gear) with a ratchet as I went forward with the control. Long story short, I'm right back where I started. If anyone has ideas/thoughts let me know. I think I could do the repair blindfolded by now and am frustrated, as I don't see any glaring reasons for the continued malfunction.
Just added my Cooter avatar, so maybe that will help. I'm open to anything right now.
Just added my Cooter avatar, so maybe that will help. I'm open to anything right now.
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Cooter would refuse to work on it unless he could replace it with a metal gear. Plastic? Really?!?
Until I saw your post #12, I'd have said alignment as well. I trashed my first replacement gear also because the alignment wasn't right. While it's not difficult, it certainly is a PITA to take the seat out and put it back in. Second gear, knock on wood, is doing just fine.
- Thread starter
- #15
I agree with you harrydunn that I wouldn't have this problem if both the worm drive and gear were metal. How about you start up a business that manufactures the gear from metal?
I too have just wasted money on the gears and time to fix this. In my opinion the Gamiviti gears are too brittle. I spent quite a long time making sure the rails wear parallel with a ruler even and from the first movement the left side stripped. All this with the seat not installed but upside down with just the electrical connector inserted. It couldn't even move the the rail with no weight in the seat. To boot, the Gamiviti cap even stripped out when I installed it.
I can not and will not recommend Gamiviti gears to anyone I know asking. Waste of time and money.
I can not and will not recommend Gamiviti gears to anyone I know asking. Waste of time and money.
Okay, so where are you going to get the gears then? That's the only place I know of. Just curious because I need to fix my gears.
Wondering if the placement of the plastic gear on the metal rod has anything to do with it. If you didn't get the plastic gear far enough "down" then it wouldn't engage fully with the ?worm gear? inside. It'd be working off of the top of each of the teeth
on the plastic gear instead of biting into the thicker part of the gear.
Just wondering.
Wondering if the placement of the plastic gear on the metal rod has anything to do with it. If you didn't get the plastic gear far enough "down" then it wouldn't engage fully with the ?worm gear? inside. It'd be working off of the top of each of the teeth
on the plastic gear instead of biting into the thicker part of the gear.
Just wondering.
gear
I have the same problem and agree that the Gamviti gears are not the highest quality, but what else you gonna do? I'm ordering some more today because I'm about 3" too close to the wheel and the damn thing won't go back!
I have the same problem and agree that the Gamviti gears are not the highest quality, but what else you gonna do? I'm ordering some more today because I'm about 3" too close to the wheel and the damn thing won't go back!
I am looking into sourcing a nylon helical gear that matches the tooth profile and pitch. However most helical gears have hubs. So if I can find a gear to work it may still need to be modified i.e. removing the hub. If I am successful I will post up my results.
In the meantime I will reset using a boxend wrench.
In the meantime I will reset using a boxend wrench.
Replacing those gears is a very finicky process and if it's not all "just right" stripping the new gears is very easy to do. In mine, it turns out the threads where the little end cap fits were stripped. Once that pops out, it's certain death for the new drive gears. I finally gave up and disconnected the mechanism from the stripped side (removed the screw-drive rail assembly.) The remaining rail can drive the seat back and forth, but I've just put the seat into its rear most position and strive to leave it there. My wife is the passenger 99.999% of the time and she's happy to have it all the way back. If I need to move it forward for some reason, I can move the seat forward without the passeger sitting in it to keep the load light on the remaining single rail. A hack, but less frustrating than dealing with that crappy little gear anymore.
