front seat gear swap (Broken Seat/Missing Cap Issue, pt. 2)

[nakman]

Right, you kind of get in there at an angle and pry the plastic back a little.. you'll get it!

And thanks again everyone for trying these things out, I'm glad they have been helpful to virtually everyone who has purchased them. I'd like to say I'm now posting from my yacht in the Bahamas but alas no, I'll need to come up with a few other gadgets before that one's a reality. Stay tuned..

 

[wob]

I had the back seat out already - tilting the front seat all the way back made it easy.

Thanks guys...

 

[99UZJay]

You still making/selling these things? I am in dire need of some.....

 

[nakman]

You bet! It's all on the web site now, click in my signature.. everything is in stock and available to ship, thanks!

 

[SiRaDuDe]

Payment sent...

I ordered 2 set of caps... I hope I odnt need gears becuse they run fine when fingertip used as a cap.

 

[bdruff]

Just purchased and installed.

Easy paypal. fast shipping, not tax bs. $20 flat. took a little over an hour to install. Followed this guide. Very easy and good as new.

I'll add one thing. I wanted to make sure the two sides were perfect. I backed the screws all the way out so the seat was as close as possible and then turned the brackets three times. I then counted the spines to make sure they were exactly the same on either side. I figured if it was off just by one or two splines, ,it could bind and either burn the new gear or just not slide up and back smoothly. I don't know if this helps but it was very easy to install and works great.

Thanks to nakman, my wife can now reach the pedals!!

 

[cyclocrossen]

Just wanted to say thank you for the fast shipping and great product. Took less than an hour and I am back and running. Well, my wife is anyway. Thanks again.

 

[1972FJ55]

Thanks nakman! Got the parts and did the install the day before leaving on a 1000 mi trip, and wanted the seat to adjust-it was stuck all the way forward. Easy install and works great. Thanks!

 

[Plymouthian]

I'm stumped. It appears that there is no way to get to the screws to remove the plastic piece of step one from my seat. My truck is a 96, just like nakman's.

Anyone else have this problem?

You have probably figured this out already but, I took the seat cushion out of mine. You take the protective covers off the seat hinge (3 screws per side), then the 4 bolts that hold the seat cushion in.

I then propped the cushion up to give me the needed clearance. It was just like doing the passenger side after that.

 

[95Fantasma80]

Finally Fixed my seat.....

Took me more then it had to because I messed it up and accidentally stripped one gear, but now I think it should work out as I took everything apart and lined up everything and the motor does seem to sound like a slight skip, but hopefully as I use it more it gets smoother.

Thanks Nakman

 

[AshNZ]

I ordered a set of plugs from Nakman last night.

In the mean time, my passenger set was stuck fully forward making it unusable to all over 5 ft tall. I unscrewed the drivers side plug, and after some fiddling about screwed it into the passenger side (tight fit, you need a very short screw driver (or other device)) and after a bit of buzzing, the seat got back on its track and I slide it back.

Informed the fiancee not to play with the seat, then put the cap back into the drivers side. Took all of 5 minutes.

 

[PabloVTA]

Ordered mine last weekend.
Paypal'ed him the dough, and BAM! they arrived in the mail on Tuesday.

glad I got both the cap and the gear, since my gear was so stripped off, there weren't any teeth on it left.

Awesome! The wife is happy.
bonus: i must have freed up something by taking out the old french fries and gas reciepts stuck in the seat since 1998, now it goes up and down way more than it used to and reclines more!

If you had a sticker, my wife would want to paste it on the rig, it's her favorite mod so far.

tip: it only took about 3 seconds of the torch heat on the jaws of the vice to pop the glue and set the gear free. I put it back on without any heat or glue.

The threads were stripped on the cap, but not in the body where the cap goes into, so when I first put in the new cap, I thought to myself "I got lucky!" , but then after it moved about a half inch, it stopped, that's when I knew the gear was shot as well.

I used a dime in the slot to thread it in, before I removed the seat.
Don't forget to raise the seat all the way up so you can get the tiny Philips head screws off that hold the front plastic cover in place.

Thanks again. I'll be getting some of you Mic Holders now too.

 

[concretejungle]

anyone else using glue to set the new piece in? I did, just because the old one kept working it's way out, so i figured put the new one in and let it stay in. So far a year and some change later no problems.

 

[95Fantasma80]

Don't forget to raise the seat all the way up so you can get the tiny Philips head screws off that hold the front plastic cover in place.

JAJA! Nice tip! it would have came in handy... Those stupid screws were so annoying. Wish I would have known about raising the seat

That should help someone.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

What did you use to fabricate a new rubber washer mine is also a sticky gooey mess it looked like the white part of a century egg.Century egg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="Century egg sliced open.jpeg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg/220px-Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/6/63/Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg/220px-Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg At first I thought it was dried remnants of grease I can't believe that black rubber could turn yellow and clear like that.

Unfortunately I have other issues besides the end cap and gear, I kinda figured it wasn't going to work when I saw the gear was perfect except for a few small chips, but I changed the gear and cap anyway. The operation is the same it will travel for a few inches and stop, let it rest and it will start to move again. I took the motor assembly apart and with no mechanical load on it it will only turn for about 10 seconds and stop, when I opened the motor case I found that the brushes and rotor were a sticky carbonized mess. I think when the cap fell out it just jammed and then the motor arced. I'm going to clean the motor up today and report back, I'm determined to fix this!

George

UPDATE: The motor is fried I changed the brushes from a good window motor with no luck. Looking for a new one, anyone got one? Nakman thanks for taking the time to fab up the seat motor pieces, Ill hold on to them if my DS seat develops problems. If anyone is missing a white cap I definitely would get some its a real easy fix, and great price too.

George

 

[nakman]

Guys as always thanks for all the positive comments on this, again I'm glad I'm able to give back in some small way..


CJ I haven't glued mine, but 2+ years and all is well, I'm not so worried about losing it now that I've got a white cap bush in the back yard.. I know some have had a problem with the seat binding by cranking the white cap in too far, so if anyone else chooses to glue it please test your seat first to make sure it's working ok. Then glue away...

Jersey someone recently told me they used a garden hose rubber washer as a replacement, I haven't tried it but it makes sense- if yours is fubared then this would likely be an upgrade. I'd try cruiserparts.net if you decide your motor is fried and want another one, he's not that far from you.

And one quick solution that hasn't been mentioned yet, is if you're in a hurry or just don't want to buy anything is you can steal the cap from your passenger seat and move it to the driver's seat. Just put the passenger side where you want it, then remove it, and steal that cap (next to the tranny hump). DON'T hook up the power to the front/back control when you reinstall it, that way it won't get damaged.

 

[jafo9]

just finished the install on my passenger seat. the tip to raise the seat all the way was VERY helpful. even so, the little screws were still a pain. all-in-all a pretty easy job. thanks.

 

[Oscar2]

I just did the install on the gear and end cap. Thank you very much for a very much needed set of components, and for the quick response.

Some installation notes you may want to consider adding to cap_gear_installation.pdf:
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1. Prior to unplugging power from the seat, raise its height to maximum.
2. Removing the allen bolts from both the left and right sides, not just the side being repaired, makes the job much easier.
3. Removing the old gear. I did not heat it and it cracked when it came off. That seems ok (and less work than heating ).
4. Pressing the new one on had me nervous but turned out to be easier than I expected. Just be careful to line everything up and keep it lined up until the first light blow gets the gear started on the shaft.
5. Before completing the reassembly, it's important to line up the jack screws. Even if careful in disassembly chances are, especially if a gear was stripped, they are no longer aligned. To line them up:

a. Prior to putting the nut on the end of the jack screw, the plastic piece at the other end, and prior to final tightening of the two 12mm bolts that hold the jack screw in place (also, it helps if the seat is upside down for this).
b. Plug in the seat and use the motor to move the seat close to one limit or the other, but not all the way. Leave a few threads showing.
c. It will be apparent if they are not aligned. For example: one may have 3 threads showing and the other 4.
d. Remove the two 12mm bolts, lift off the jack screw, adjust it, reinsert it.
e. Visually verify that both are now lined up.
f. Give a final test that it arrives at its destination on both sides at the same time.
g. Run it all the way to the other end and ensure that all is well there as well. For example, there might be hair or other junk wrapped around a jack screw, limiting full travel.
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One other item of note, regarding the rubber washers inside the housing: Mine differed from the example in that both were on the same side of the gear. Just wondering if others were like this?

 

[nakman]

Great stuff guys, and thanks again. I've got a link to this thread from the .pdf so putting this stuff here is almost just as good... even better in ways since it's real time.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Just ordered a set for caps and gears for my passenger side seat

Had one cap fall out last night and after sticking it back in, it works smoothly going forward, but feels a bit rough and gets pushed out going backwards if I don't keep my finger on it