[heavysledz]

So I know a lot of folks have reported the drivers seat will not stay latched or that it has a lot of slop in the frame. So I am in the process of making some changes to my drivers seat. The first thing I will cover is the seat back....

1. the seat back cusion of my seat gets loose and starts to rattle after about 30 minutes of riding. The only thing securing it to the frame are 4 screws. The issue I am finding is that the screws are screwed into soft plastic in the seat back frame so you can only tighten them so much or you will strip them out. The second problem is the hole they go thru on the frame is about 2.5X the diameter of the screw. So you are basically relying on the tension of the screw into the seat back plastic to keep everything in place.....well, it doesn't work. So I bolted the seat back to the frame with some 3/16" bolts, and most importantly, I only drilled 3/16" holes in the seat frame to keep it from being able to slide around due to slop in the hole like the original screws. I didn't have any Nyloc nuts handy so I just used standard nuts and red locktite. For good measure, I used locktite on the original mounting screws as well when reassembling.

The only catch is you will need to mount the back rest frame onto the seat frame without the foam or cover installed. There is enough clearance to were you can get it back on with it mounted but it does take a few extra minutes. to do....


Here are some pics of the original screws. You can see where they are rubbing on the seat frame when they loosen and how little thread is actually in the seat holding it all in place.




Here is the view from the inside of the seat back. The little black plastic circle is all that the holds the seat to the frame when screwed together.




Here are pics of the 3/16" bolts from inside the seatback and some after it has been mounted to the seat frame...





I have also modified the latch as well as replaced the seat adjuster with 1" square tubing.....I will post details and pictures tonight.

 

[heavysledz]

Here are pics of the base modification I did by removing the seat adjuster and replaced it with 1" square tube….

 

[heavysledz]

Well the mods I did helped tighten up the seat to the frame but the seat frame still rattles around in the chassis and it is driving me crazy…..so I had thought about cutting off the pins in the rear that the rubber feet slide over and welding on some threaded studs. But I am not a welder and I am not known for having much patience so i decided to try and see if I could thread the pins themselves. Sure enough, they were solid steel and were able to threaded with my tap and die set. I used a 10mm X 1.5 die and some cutting oil and went to town. The threads are much cleaner than the picture portrays and I only cut in enough threads to snug everything down. When I torque down the nut, it actually bottoms out on the unthreaded portion of the pin. In order to have enough threads to secure a nut, I cut about 3/8" off of the bottom of the rubber feet. I then stacked a large washer and then a thicker smaller washer on top of the rubber feet and then installed the nut and torqued it down until it bottomed out on the unthreaded portion of the pin. I plan on replacing the washers with a higher grade metal and using a NYLOC nut so it will not vibrate off but this is what I had in my inventory tonight so I used what I had to mock it up….it feels extremely secure now and only has minimal flex due to the fact that I still have the rubber feet in the equation…..if this doesn't cure the problem, I will go to plan "B" which is to remove the rubber feet all together and weld some high grade washers to the rear feet of the seat frame and bolt it directly to the chassis….

 

[MaxAZ]

I think you may be onto something here. Sure won't hurt anything to thread them. Just takes longer to get to the storage under the seat.

 

[desertdog]

Looks secure now

 

[heavysledz]

I don't really store anything under the seat other than a tow rope which I can pull out with the seat in place since I removed the seat adjuster.

I am still skeptical that it is a permanent fix or if the rubber feet will still allow too much movement. One thing is for sure, it is a hell of a lot more secure than the crappy stock setup! It is pretty easy to get a socket wrench with an extension in there to remove the nuts after removing the latch mechanism.

 

[SoCalMav]

I used a 10mm X 1.5 die and some cutting oil and went to town. The threads are much cleaner than the picture portrays and I only cut in enough threads to snug everything down. When I torque down the nut, it actually bottoms out on the unthreaded portion of the pin. In order to have enough threads to secure a nut, I cut about 3/8" off of the bottom of the rubber feet. I then stacked a large washer and then a thicker smaller washer on top of the rubber feet and then installed the nut and torqued it down until it bottomed out on the unthreaded portion of the pin. I plan on replacing the washers with a higher grade metal and using a NYLOC nut so it will not vibrate off but this is what I had in my inventory tonight so I used what I had to mock it up….it feels extremely secure now and only has minimal flex due to the fact that I still have the rubber feet in the equation…..if this doesn't cure the problem, I will go to plan "B" which is to remove the rubber feet all together and weld some high grade washers to the rear feet of the seat frame and bolt it directly to the chassis….

I want to attempt this mod. I picked up a tap/die set today. Is there a particular reason you used the 10mm? It looks like 12mm might work also... How did you get the die to spin on the stud? The T-handle in my kit won't fit in there.

 

[heavysledz]

I want to attempt this mod. I picked up a tap/die set today. Is there a particular reason you used the 10mm? It looks like 12mm might work also... How did you get the die to spin on the stud? The T-handle in my kit won't fit in there.

Honestly, I didn't put much thought into it because I really didn't expect it to work and had all ready planned on cutting them off and welding on some threaded studs. Give a 12mm a shot and see if that works and let me know. I still need to do the passenger seat so might do that if you say it works. I used a socket wrench to do mine because I didn't think I would be able to get enough movement with the T-handle. It may not be as hard if you can get away with using a 12mm instead of the 10mm though…..

 

[SoCalMav]

Honestly, I didn't put much thought into it because I really didn't expect it to work and had all ready planned on cutting them off and welding on some threaded studs. Give a 12mm a shot and see if that works and let me know. I still need to do the passenger seat so might do that if you say it works. I used a socket wrench to do mine because I didn't think I would be able to get enough movement with the T-handle. It may not be as hard if you can get away with using a 12mm instead of the 10mm though…..

I plan on working on it tomorrow, I'll let ya know how turns out.

 

[heavysledz]

Thanks man….don't forget to use some cutting oil of some sort…..it will make it much easier and you will end up with cleaner threads...

 

[SoCalMav]

Thanks man….don't forget to use some cutting oil of some sort…..it will make it much easier and you will end up with cleaner threads...

I got the driver's seat done tonight. Thanks for this awesome mod! I ended up using the 10mm die also. I think a 12 mm would of been a little too big...

 

[heavysledz]

Awesome…glad it worked out for you. You will like it so much better now. You will feel like you are part of the car…..

 

[SoCalMav]

Awesome…glad it worked out for you. You will like it so much better now. You will feel like you are part of the car…..

Yeah, it feels much more stable now. I'm just glad to get rid of that cheesy factory latch set-up. I have a storage/tool box in the back now, so no need to put stuff under the driver's seat anyway.

 

[heavysledz]

you will notice it gets rid of a lot of the squeaking too!

 

[SoCalMav]

you will notice it gets rid of a lot of the squeaking too!

I rode all weekend in the desert and this seat mod worked great...thanks "Heavysledz"! Definitely feels more locked in now.

 

[heavysledz]

I rode all weekend in the desert and this seat mod worked great...thanks "Heavysledz"! Definitely feels more locked in now.

You bet…..so what did you do to the rubber grommets on yours? I cat about 1/2" off the bottoms and then reinstall them……they are still working but I noticed they like to tear where they slip thru the seat base hole. Luckily, they are only $0.99 each. I ordered 10 of them for spares.

 

[SoCalMav]

Yeah, I did the same...cut about 1/2" off the rubber. But one of the grommets was already torn before I even did the mod. So looks like I'll be ordering extras too...

 

[heavysledz]

Yeah, I did the same...cut about 1/2" off the rubber. But one of the grommets was already torn before I even did the mod. So looks like I'll be ordering extras too...

I had thought about welding in a flat plate on the seat base and drilling the hole just large enough to fit over the threaded stud and then you wouldn't need the small upper piece of the grommet that tears off so easily. Then you could go with a harder durometer rubber underneath that would not tear as easily and would last longer....just thinking out loud :smile:

 

[desertdog]

I had thought about welding in a flat plate on the seat base and drilling the hole just large enough to fit over the threaded stud and then you wouldn't need the small upper piece of the grommet that tears off so easily. Then you could go with a harder durometer rubber underneath that would not tear as easily and would last longer....just thinking out loud :smile:

Just put the cut rubber grommet over the threaded post and glue it down. Then the metal foot from the seat will still rest on top of it. It shouldn't matter since you are bolted down anyways.

 

[heavysledz]

Just put the cut rubber grommet over the threaded post and glue it down. Then the metal foot from the seat will still rest on top of it. It shouldn't matter since you are bolted down anyways.

The problem is the large hole in the foot of the seat. If I remember....didn't you weld in a washer to the seat foot? I am thinking that, combined with the threaded post, will be what my final fix will end up being and i will use a harder duometer rubber under the foot. I am just not a welder so when I did this, I came up with a solution that didn't require any welding. It works fine but the grommets still rip from the little bit of movement you do get when riding.....major improvement over stock setup for sure. And much safer....