Upon replacing the seat gear parts to a different vehicle, I made sure to fish out all the broken teeth from the chewed up nylon gear.
front seat gear swap (Broken Seat/Missing Cap Issue, pt. 2) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter nakman
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Once back in the truck, set it in place and plug in the power first, then test it a couple times just to make sure it works. Mine took a couple times going front & back before it kicked into its groove, not sure what was up so I removed it and loosened the white cap a little (something that made the DS work a little better). Put it back in and it was better, so I bolted it up.
Remember when you're installing any seat, get all 4 started before you tighten anything, otherwise it takes twice as long as it needs to. total time start to finish was about 1 hour. To test it, I sat in the seat and lifted my feat, then rode the seat forwards all the way and back all the way about 10x. After the first couple it seemed to run a little smoother, maybe they needed a little break-in period or something. That's probably the most that seat has had to move in 5 years though, usually it's just a little tweak here and there, often with months of no adjustment. So really not sure how long these will last, but if they're not abused I suspect they should last a long time.
I've got a couple test subjects who will be receiving their gears in the next couple days. I look forward to them posting up their results, and at that time will decide if these are for sale as-is, or if further development is required. But for now, I'm pretty satisfied and actually pretty psyched this all works.
ok, on with the comments..
worked great thank you
I marked the ends with a magic marker to make sure it lined back up.
Heres how mine went.
Power seat adjustment fix in a 1994 FZJ80
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Received 2 sets of the gamiviti caps and gears.
Started with the passenger side and stripped the new gear good and proper...not sure what happened. The seat wouldn't even move forward.
Anyone encounter this problem? The seat moved prior (albeit awfully) but now it's just stuck. I put the old gear back in and it still won't move.
I'm hesitant to try this again with the other gear I have since I need to use it on the driver seat and these things are quite pricey for being a piece of plastic. Speaking of which, why Toyota, why? Is this so something else isn't the weakest link? Anyway, part of me wants to just get manual seats.
Started with the passenger side and stripped the new gear good and proper...not sure what happened. The seat wouldn't even move forward.
Anyone encounter this problem? The seat moved prior (albeit awfully) but now it's just stuck. I put the old gear back in and it still won't move.
I'm hesitant to try this again with the other gear I have since I need to use it on the driver seat and these things are quite pricey for being a piece of plastic. Speaking of which, why Toyota, why? Is this so something else isn't the weakest link? Anyway, part of me wants to just get manual seats.
Mattl, If you look at older posts in this thread you'll find were other members have done the same thing. The problem you may have is both power seat Acme feed screws, one on each side of the seat frame, are not equal in length. That's causing one side of the seat frame to cock, and bind when you apply power, and that can strip your new gear. If you read some of the older posts in this thread, they'll tell you how to check, and adjust the feed screws to make sure their both equal in length before you install your next gear.
Thanks Rifleman, I hadn't seen those, I search and check them out. Much appreciated!
Round 2. Same story as round 1 but didn't force anything so the gear should still be okay. However, the seat is just bound.
Rails are aligned, I was able to spin the worm gear assembly (metal worm and nylon wheel) using the hole where the pipe thingy feeds in. No binding and spun freely both ways. I greased it all up good and sealed the assembly. I then turned the pipe thingy on the motor side which spun freely and moves the rail forwards and backwards. After putting everything back together (including cap) nothing moves.
I'm wondering if I torqued the shaft nuts too tightly. Just to confirm from page one, these go on at 17 in-lbs? Does it seem possible this could cause the seat not to move? Thanks!
Rails are aligned, I was able to spin the worm gear assembly (metal worm and nylon wheel) using the hole where the pipe thingy feeds in. No binding and spun freely both ways. I greased it all up good and sealed the assembly. I then turned the pipe thingy on the motor side which spun freely and moves the rail forwards and backwards. After putting everything back together (including cap) nothing moves.
I'm wondering if I torqued the shaft nuts too tightly. Just to confirm from page one, these go on at 17 in-lbs? Does it seem possible this could cause the seat not to move? Thanks!
ppc
M Go Blue
Loosen the cap a little and see if that helps.
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What about when the tracks are unbolted, can they slide freely by hand? Stick some grease down there, really make sure it is as lubed as can be and slides real nice with nothing hooked up to it. Most I've seen will get pretty loose and happy in the center of travel, then start to feel like they're binding up towards the end, this seems normal.
I fixed a seat this Sunday, someone local to me couldn't fit his so I offered to give it a shot. It was the worst condition I'd ever seen- the old grease in the gear boxes had turned into some type of dried up honey, so much so that the metal part could not even spin in the plastic. Had to take a wire wheel to the metal shaft after I pressed the old gear off of it. Never seen this before, and it was this conditions on both sides even. So before you put anything back together, if that gear shaft can't even turn inside the housing, well that gear is going to strip again right away.
So after totally cleaning off the metal parts, I pressed on new gears, verified they would spin freely then cleaned the housings up real well and put some more grease on the gears, then put them together. Used the space between the welded stop washer on the lead screw and the bearing thing that bolts on to the slides to judge the same spacing on both sides, that seemed to work well. Then put T-tape on the white cap as the housing was stripped out a little, and of course only ran it down until the top of the cap was flush with the housing. Everything is snug, won't come loose again, but nothing is really cranked.. after that the seat slides under power again.
Pretty much every time someone struggles the problem is the white cap is in too far, there's another obstruction on the tracks that needs to be worked free, or a misalignment between sides, in that order. #4 would be they got impatient pressing the gear and did it too fast, too cold, or too crooked... hope that helps!
I fixed a seat this Sunday, someone local to me couldn't fit his so I offered to give it a shot. It was the worst condition I'd ever seen- the old grease in the gear boxes had turned into some type of dried up honey, so much so that the metal part could not even spin in the plastic. Had to take a wire wheel to the metal shaft after I pressed the old gear off of it. Never seen this before, and it was this conditions on both sides even. So before you put anything back together, if that gear shaft can't even turn inside the housing, well that gear is going to strip again right away.
So after totally cleaning off the metal parts, I pressed on new gears, verified they would spin freely then cleaned the housings up real well and put some more grease on the gears, then put them together. Used the space between the welded stop washer on the lead screw and the bearing thing that bolts on to the slides to judge the same spacing on both sides, that seemed to work well. Then put T-tape on the white cap as the housing was stripped out a little, and of course only ran it down until the top of the cap was flush with the housing. Everything is snug, won't come loose again, but nothing is really cranked.. after that the seat slides under power again.
Pretty much every time someone struggles the problem is the white cap is in too far, there's another obstruction on the tracks that needs to be worked free, or a misalignment between sides, in that order. #4 would be they got impatient pressing the gear and did it too fast, too cold, or too crooked... hope that helps!
This is making sense. I'm starting them off at the full back max position - seat is at rear most position. I'll back it off some and re-align.
I fixed a seat this Sunday, someone local to me couldn't fit his so I offered to give it a shot. It was the worst condition I'd ever seen- the old grease in the gear boxes had turned into some type of dried up honey, so much so that the metal part could not even spin in the plastic. Had to take a wire wheel to the metal shaft after I pressed the old gear off of it. Never seen this before, and it was this conditions on both sides even. So before you put anything back together, if that gear shaft can't even turn inside the housing, well that gear is going to strip again right away.
So after totally cleaning off the metal parts, I pressed on new gears, verified they would spin freely then cleaned the housings up real well and put some more grease on the gears, then put them together. Used the space between the welded stop washer on the lead screw and the bearing thing that bolts on to the slides to judge the same spacing on both sides, that seemed to work well. Then put T-tape on the white cap as the housing was stripped out a little, and of course only ran it down until the top of the cap was flush with the housing. Everything is snug, won't come loose again, but nothing is really cranked.. after that the seat slides under power again.
Pretty much every time someone struggles the problem is the white cap is in too far, there's another obstruction on the tracks that needs to be worked free, or a misalignment between sides, in that order. #4 would be they got impatient pressing the gear and did it too fast, too cold, or too crooked... hope that helps!
Good to know and thanks for the advice. I want to say the cap is in too so I'll back it out. I take it the cap should always be flush and is no way an indicator of how far forward or rearward the seat is? Sorry, not used to repairing such mechanisms.
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You are correct, that cap just needs to hold a shaft on center, a shaft that runs perpendicular to the direction of travel. Changes in direction move that shaft laterally- a condition of the slop between the two gears. So if the cap is in too tight it will either create drag which will not allow the shaft to spin freely, or as freely as it could have been, or second the shaft will actually push on the cap when your seat changes direction, which can actually make the cap pop out. So the idea is to put the cap in only so far enough as to support the shaft on center, but not in so far as it influences the shaft's position side to side.
^
This is helpful. Nice to get an understanding of the situation and what parts do what. Much appreciated nakman!
This is helpful. Nice to get an understanding of the situation and what parts do what. Much appreciated nakman!
lumbee1
Native American
Are the gamiviti gears still our only option? I would love to see these gears milled from brass or another soft metal.
I replaced my passenger seat gears a few years ago with gamiviti gears. The passenger seat is now stripped again. I put the seat in the rearward position and pulled the power from the motor to avoid damaging the gears further.
I replaced my passenger seat gears a few years ago with gamiviti gears. The passenger seat is now stripped again. I put the seat in the rearward position and pulled the power from the motor to avoid damaging the gears further.
limbee1, did your cap fall out resulting in the stripping?
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Metal gears would just push the failure to the next weakest link in the system, if the root cause wasn't addressed. If you stripped the worm gear on the other shaft, for example, that's going to be a real challenge to repair. IMO the plastic gear is relatively easy to press off & replace, likely by design, which spares motors, other gears, etc. if there's another issue or obstruction.
That seems to be the most common cause of failure.
Just replaced the gear and plug in the pass side ft seat. I stuck a piece of tape over the new cap. That helped keep the old one in.
Any reason to put that plastic motor cover back on?
IMO This thread should be in the FAQS.
Any reason to put that plastic motor cover back on?
IMO This thread should be in the FAQS.
Last time my cap fell out, i used some Teflon tape to fix it. I just put 3 wraps of Teflon tape around the threads on the cap, and reinstalled it. That turned out to be just enough tape to keep the cap from wanting to back out of the hole.
