Gain more room and comfort by making 2nd and 3rd row recline

[Muddy1]

I'm sure it's not designed to recline more in the USA due to what could happen in an accident. We have different safety requirements & 'criteria' to get better crash ratings. Personally, I don't think it'll make much of a difference w/a child in it but a 300lb. man, in an impact, can apply some amazing forces where the teeth on the hinge wouldn't hold but that metal pin can. Just my $.02. I want to do this to my 2nd row ( I don't own a 3rd row) so hopefully it works there too!!!

I thought about this exact thing... but if you see the stop pin, it plays absolutely no role in keeping the seat from moving forward. I believe that it was put in to keep the seat from going too far back, possibly because if a seat is too far back the seat belts will not work properly. In my humble opinion, that makes a lot more sense design-wise.

I agree that the US probably has some "Nanny clause" regulations that state that the rear seats shouldn't recline more than X degrees, and I am guessing that Toyota engineered the stop pin to have a simple solution to the regulation. The way I see it, at the angle that my child is sitting at in the back, there is absolutely zero effect on her safety with the new additional recline ability. In fact, I think it is SAFER, as she is now going to sit properly back there, not all scrunched up sideways....

So, in summary I think that the stop pin is there to keep the seat from reclining, likely due to some regulatory requirement, but that doing this mod will make the children more comfortable and contribute to greater safety, so long as they don't recline it too much, which as a parent I can control...

All the best,

Muddy1

 

[Mrtwooooo]

Now I'm curious what the difference is between the JDM reclining hinges is. Don't the JDM hinges not allow you to fold the seat flat? I've sat in the middle row before and I noticed I wanted the seat reclines more. But I was not wanting to lose the ability to fold it flat. My truck is parked a lot while I'm out of town and I want to keep the from being in the sun all the time

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Muddy1 - Awesome fine and MUD contribution

Needs to be posted in the FAQ


This thread has the potential to give Muddy1 more likes then he has post

 

[TomH]

Do the 3rd row hinges interchange easily with the 2nd row? I won't be using my 3rd row seats... would definitely swap them onto the 2nd row seatd if it's a straight swap....?

Second and third row hinges are not interchangeable.

 

[LFD2037]

I thought about this exact thing... but if you see the stop pin, it plays absolutely no role in keeping the seat from moving forward. I believe that it was put in to keep the seat from going too far back, possibly because if a seat is too far back the seat belts will not work properly. In my humble opinion, that makes a lot more sense design-wise.

I agree that the US probably has some "Nanny clause" regulations that state that the rear seats shouldn't recline more than X degrees, and I am guessing that Toyota engineered the stop pin to have a simple solution to the regulation. The way I see it, at the angle that my child is sitting at in the back, there is absolutely zero effect on her safety with the new additional recline ability. In fact, I think it is SAFER, as she is now going to sit properly back there, not all scrunched up sideways....

So, in summary I think that the stop pin is there to keep the seat from reclining, likely due to some regulatory requirement, but that doing this mod will make the children more comfortable and contribute to greater safety, so long as they don't recline it too much, which as a parent I can control...

All the best,

Muddy1

My rear seat in my Tundra slid & reclined waaaaaaay back. When your rear-ended (in an accident ) you WILL break a seat backwards that isn't built correctly. Moot point. Great discovery & I thank you for it!!!!

 

[Muddy1]

Muddy1 - Awesome fine and MUD contribution

Needs to be posted in the FAQ
This thread has the potential to give Muddy1 more likes then he has post

Wow. That's very kind. More likes than posts... that's hilarious. What I can tell you is that I sold a mint-condition Diesel Suburban in order to buy the 97 FZJ80. My wife really disliked the Suburban, mostly because it was so massively large, and also because it performed very poorly in bad Pacific NW weather (consisting of lots of rain and occasional snow and ice). She loves her Previa All-Trac, which has been ultra-reliable and unstoppable in bad weather. What I can say is that when I work on the LC, my engineering side says "Hey, that's nicely designed and constructed". When working on the Suburban, it was a mix of that and "What on earth were they thinking? This is a DUMB design."

Anyway, one of the reasons I decided to buy the LC is the presence of this forum and all you fine contributors. I was pretty active on "TheTruckStop.us" and wanted to have a support community before buying an older rig. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the warm welcome and I would love to be a valued regular contributor here... and the wife LOVES driving the LC. Smooth, quiet, lots of power, better handling, more sure footed. She likes the full-time 4WD, which performs admirably in wet sloppy weather.

Thanks,

Muddy1

 

[Reelitchy]

Thanks for adding to my list of things to do.

 

[musthave]

Have 1 rear seat out tonight to try this, seems easy enough so far.

 

[DesertLx450]

See, I don't roll that way but let your freak flag fly. No judgements.

I'm here all week

 

[super40]

with that 3rd row seat so upright... 1st and 2nd base no prob. 3rd base not likely.. but with the added tilt. ahhhh game on for all the high schoolers. my kid's got a few years until he's in need of that mod. I mean no sex before marriage !!

 

[Bluetribal]

Second and third row hinges are not interchangeable.

I couldn't remember exactly what the deal was on the swap as I cut my pins a long time ago before someone came up with switching out parts from the rear hinges into the second row hinges. I would do a search for the exact swap directions.

 

[ppc]

FYI, the second row will not fold completely flat because the seat-back will hit the wheel well. It does make it a lot nicer than stock. Like some else posted this was written up about 10 years ago. One could also add more notches to provide more positions using a file or a Dremel tool. You can make the 3rd row recline further once you open the tailgate. Can't do that when traveling but good for camping.

 

[LFD2037]

So you did the 2nd row & it worked the same as the 3rd row?

 

[92LXAZ]

Sweet mod. I feel dumber everyday on this site, but being dumb never felt so good...thankful for all you smart people for me to copy. Well done.

 

[ppc]

Similar but not exactly. It allowed it to go back further but just removing the pin it was all or nothing because there aren't the additional notches in the hinge as circled below. With a file or Dremel you could make those.

 

[Muddy1]

Similar but not exactly. It allowed it to go back further but just removing the pin it was all or nothing because there aren't the additional notches in the hinge as circled below. With a file or Dremel you could make those.

Interesting! It would seem that the hinge design changed from 95+? Hmmm. I agree, you could easily cut notches in the 'hub'.

Let us know how it works!

-Muddy1

 

[nakman]

Do the 3rd row hinges interchange easily with the 2nd row? I won't be using my 3rd row seats... would definitely swap them onto the 2nd row seatd if it's a straight swap....?

No they don't, but the gears from the hinges do. Search for "gear swap."

edit: found it... cool, coming up on 10 years! https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/recliner-hinge-level2-gear-swap.34942/

 

[CMD]

View attachment 932224 7) And... here the seat is at maximum recline! I just tested this with my 12-year-old, and she is super happy! I added a gel seat cushion (to give her a little boost in height... i.e. MORE LEG ROOM by going more vertical) and with the recline, she now fits comfortably in the 3rd row! HOORAY for Dad!

Outstanding work Detective. You just saved me $280. + I've been having a hard time with Zack over at cruiser parts.net. Now I can cancel the remainder of my order.

 

[CMD]

Once you have the trim panel off, you can actually remove the entire hinge mechanism and work on it on your workbench or vise, but this mod is so simple, I just left them in place.

3) Note that the hinge mechanism is "stopped" from reclining by the presence of a little steel pin. Just recline the seat to it's maximum setting, and you will see that the little pin stops the hinge from opening further. If you examine the ratcheting mechanism of the hinge, you will see that the mechanism is CLEARLY designed to recline a LOT farther than the pin will allow it to. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the ratchet mechanism to have so many teeth... it would be superfluous. Further, it is clear that removal of the pin would not cause any undue problems... it's clear that the mechanism WAS designed to recline, but that a pin was inserted to remove the capability.

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Just completed mine about an hour ago
Thank you.

 

[Salue]

Just did this and didn't even have to take the seats out.

Cheers,
Salue