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

[Hornd]

This is sticky material. Directions are great and I would say this is a .
It's awesome that someone took the time to make these and do it right.
Mud is a must for any Cruiser Head!

 

[stevenmichael]

Question...and if I am way off base...just let me know. Looking at the pictures it looks like this would be a part that you could combine...in other words make it one part or a shaft with the gear...all of one piece of metal. Is there any reason that this would not work...is it necessary for the gear to be plastic? Just my non-engineer thoughts on it.

Your right fjfar80, It should be all metal . I'm going to order the plastic part and once I make the groves in it like in the pictures I'm going to cast it into metal . I'm a dental lab tech so I invest and cast thing in metal all most every day .A plastic gear is about the stupidest thing you can have or replace with again . If it striped it once it will do it again so why replace it with the same plastic piece again and again .

 

[NLXTACY]

Your right fjfar80, It should be all metal . I'm going to order the plastic part and once I make the groves in it like in the pictures I'm going to cast it into metal . I'm a dental lab tech so I invest and cast thing in metal all most every day .A plastic gear is about the stupidest thing you can have or replace with again . If it striped it once it will do it again so why replace it with the same plastic piece again and again .

I have 332k on truck. It stripped once like 150k miles ago. Its been fine ever since. I like to over think and over design and over build but I'm not sold on going all metal on this. My last company we built linear actuators and wireless lens control systems. We used plastic gears only and for good reason, but what do I know. An example of what we developed...

 

[stevenmichael]

To press it on you can use a smaller socket if you want, and actually that will help create a stop when it smacks against the raised knurled portion of the shaft. Once on, I deburred the little chips the knurls made with a utility knife. You can see by the material removed how well engaged the knurls of the shaft must be with the new gear.

Then it's just bolt it all back up, I put the rubber washers in the same orientation as how they came out, and put a mess of grease around the new gear teeth.
View attachment 252647View attachment 252648View attachment 252649

nakman If you look at your first photo you will notice the metal bar is all most flush with the housing . the reason your is not in the last photo is because you don't put the thick rubber piece in first , it should be on top and touching the cap side . Next time you take one apart notice where the rubber thing goes .

 

[stevenmichael]

I have 332k on truck. It stripped once like 150k miles ago. Its been fine ever since. I like to over think and over design and over build but I'm not sold on going all metal on this. My last company we built linear actuators and wireless lens control systems. We used plastic gears only and for good reason, but what do I know. An example of what we developed...
View attachment 1019875

NLTACY that is really cool looking and I hope the plastic gears hold up and your not costing people down the road with replacement parts and time to replace the gears . I think whats happening with the gears and causing then to strip in the first place is the metal gear " end "that fits into the white cap catches on the cap as its turning clockwise movement causing the cap to unscrew and causes the cap to fall out ,and once the cap is unscrewed it no longer keeps the metal gear in line and falls down and digs into the plastic gears and in one full rotation strips every gear . So If it wasn't for the cap unscrewing the plastic gear might last a lot longer and may never wear out . So if you can stop the white cap from unscrewing by using hot glue or blue loctite your seat my last a lot longer , which by the way I found out after I used a little loctite to hold it in place will not come off once you loctite it . I didn't want it to be permanent because I was going to cast that into metal also . I'm going to take my now working drivers side seat out and inspect the gears while its still working . My 1997 only has 50,000 on it and the passenger cap came out so I think it only take one full rotation of the cap out to destroy the gears . So 332k or 50k makes no difference its all when the cap becomes unscrews that your screwed . I do like the way you think NLX, I do the same thing when I make thing that go in the mouth like bridges and partials and dentures . Every thing has to work together .

 

[NLXTACY]

NLXTACY that is really cool looking and I hope the plastic gears hold up and your not costing people down the road with replacement parts and time to replace the gears .

LOL, on the contrary, by using plastic gears we guarantee that they don't have to replace a $1200-$1600 drive because if there is an issue, the plastic gear is supposed to strip. The drives that we developed were designed for the film industry making every single movie you watch. The lenses range from $3000 all the way up to $100k for the lens alone. The cameras they go on are anywhere from a $3k Canon 5D Mark IV to a $50k RED EPIC Carbon Dragon to an $80k Arri Alexa. These drives are supposed to be used every day for 8-16 hrs a day and in the s***tiest environments you can possible imagine. Shoots from the Arctic to Antarctic and from the Brazilian rain forest to the Middle Eastern deserts. Believe me when I say that closing down a $100k/day film shoot because a stupid lens drives fails is ALWAYS on our mind. So a stupid little plastic gear in the seat means that the engineers put just as much thought into it's design than we did in the design of a lens drive.

So if you can stop the white cap from unscrewing by using hot glue or blue loctite your seat my last a lot longer , which by the way I found out after I used a little loctite to hold it in place will not come off once you loctite it .

See THIS makes more sense. You solve the issue of the cap moving without changing the material "fuse". This is a far better answer.

 

[stevenmichael]

Thanks NLX keeping the cap in place is a lot easier also lol. You know I use to think that car makers had reasons for the material they used, until I took my 1989 ranger 4x4 in because my brakes were sticking. Guess what material they used for the calipers ,thats right plastic . They would heat up and stick in the pushed out position and cause constant pressure on the pads wearing them out and causing them to heat the rotors red hot warping the rotors . Why plastic ? Cost plan and simple . Cost has outweighed performance or design in the auto field its just a fact.

 

[NLXTACY]

Thanks NLX keeping the cap in place is a lot easier also lol. You know I use to think that car makers had reasons for the material they used, until I took my 1989 ranger 4x4 in because my brakes were sticking. Guess what material they used for the calipers ,thats right plastic . They would heat up and stick in the pushed out position and cause constant pressure on the pads wearing them out and causing them to heat the rotors red hot warping the rotors . Why plastic ? Cost plan and simple . Cost has outweighed performance or design in the auto field its just a fact.

Yeah that's Ford (actually the Ranger was more Mazda). Fxxxing Owner Really Dumb. F' Ford.

 

[basalt51]

You're both right. Its plastic to keep costs down and to be a cheaper thing to replace. If the cap was metal and something went wrong whats going to give next? The $80 plastic housing? The whole shaft or something else? They surely made the plastic housing not metal for cost reasons. If that was metal, then the next point of failure for certain would be something in the drivetrain of the seat. Now you're looking at $1200-$1600 instead of $8-$80.

$15-$40 every 200,00 miles? Really? That's a problem? EVERYONE's seats and leather are crap by then and replacement is $1000+. Perhaps they should have been metal too!


Edit: fixed that first paragraph. It got butchered somehow lol.

 

[taccruiser97]

One question in reference to using Loctite on the threads of the white plug. I am considering using plumbers tape on the threads of the plug to function as kind of a thread locking material. This way it is not as permanent and I can take it out if I need to. You guys got any opinions on this?

Coincidentally, my passenger seat plastic plug has started backing out. I was thinking about trying out my plumbers tape idea on this plug.

Opinions?

 

[ppc]

Plumbers tape? Also know as Teflon® tape is a sealant on pipe threads not for thread locking. In fact it is slippery and would do the opposite of what you want. If anything I would put a dab of some silicone caulk on the threads or on the outside instead.

 

[basalt51]

It is mentioned as an option if the threads are loose.

A little silicone seems like a good option just for a little extra stick.

 

[ChiTown]

I drilled a hole through the cap and used safety wire.

If you have a spare broken seat steal the gears out of the recline mechanism and put them in place of the white gears. You'll notice they have way better hypoid to the worm gear. If you're interested in making a metal gear, copy the recline gears instead.

 

[Beau Diddly]

One question in reference to using Loctite on the threads of the white plug. I am considering using plumbers tape on the threads of the plug to function as kind of a thread locking material. This way it is not as permanent and I can take it out if I need to. You guys got any opinions on this?

Coincidentally, my passenger seat plastic plug has started backing out. I was thinking about trying out my plumbers tape idea on this plug.

Opinions?

Consider drilling a small hole and using a set screw (allen screw).

 

[Oscar2]

Consider drilling a small hole and using a set screw (allen screw).

That seems more complicated than just putting a little loctite on there, which pretty much solves it

 

[taccruiser97]

Plumbers tape? Also know as Teflon® tape is a sealant on pipe threads not for thread locking. In fact it is slippery and would do the opposite of what you want. If anything I would put a dab of some silicone caulk on the threads or on the outside instead.

Ok thanks for the advice.

 

[JCruse]

I've got a full seat gear set ready and waiting to go in when the weather gets a bit warmer (there's a huge blizzard right now), is it a good idea to use a bit of RTC to hold the caps on?

Oh just saw the screw/locktite posts, nevermind. They seem better.

 

[Beau Diddly]

That seems more complicated than just putting a little loctite on there, which pretty much solves it

Loctite is designed for metal threads, in fact, it specifically states not to use it on plastic products. Drilling a tiny hole for a set screw is pretty easy.

 

[Oscar2]

Loctite is designed for metal threads, in fact, it specifically states not to use it on plastic products. Drilling a tiny hole for a set screw is pretty easy.

You are correct that regular loctite is recommended for metal (although it it seems to work ok on plastic). They do make a version specifically designed for plastic: "loctite 425 assure":
http://www.henkelna.com/product-search-1554.htm?nodeid=8797887234049

 

[Beau Diddly]

You are correct that regular loctite is recommended for metal (although it it seems to work ok on plastic). They do make a version specifically designed for plastic: "loctite 425 assure":
http://www.henkelna.com/product-search-1554.htm?nodeid=8797887234049

I stand corrected, thanks for the clarification.