Pictures of the XLT and Lumbar Question

[kai34]

Quick question. Both of the seats in the Explorer will inflate, but they do not hold the inflation. How difficult would it be to do fix this (I assume it needs to be replaced) and what would I expect to pay to do each seat.

And here are some pictures of it, and I had to take one of it with the E39.

Cheers.

 

[fraxinusalba]

Check the air lines for leaks first. If they are in good shape, problem is most likely in the switch. The deflate side of the switch opens a valve to release the pressure. The switch tends to get a little gummed up over time with dirt/dust and sticks open a little. You can remove the switch, take it apart, and clean it. If you inflate the lumbar to max, you might be able to hear the air leaking off at the switch to see if it is the problem.

 

[kai34]

The sound of it leaking is different from the sound of the deflation button, it comes from the seat back.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[jseabolt]

The sound of it leaking is different from the sound of the deflation button, it comes from the seat back.

Thanks for the tip.

Both lumbar pumps work on my '96 but the driver's side lumbar will only hold air for about an hour until it leaks down completely. The side bolster will hold air indefinetly.

The passenger side will not inflate at all. I cannot hear air leaking from either lumbar.

How common is it for the bladders to bust or crack? Or is this usually a problem in the switches?

 

[gmanpaint]

Sometimes it is just a air line that has fallen off, or has a crack in it. Sometimes it is the switch. Sometimes it is the bladder bag has a crack/hole/tear.

Remove the seat, flip it over, remove the chassis, inspect all the lines underneath and look to see they are intact and on where they need to be.

Flip the seat back over and fold it as far as you can. release the Velcro and slide the seat cover off the seat frame.

Now you can see the bladder for the lumbar. Inspect it and look to see if there is any obvious reasons it will not hold air. If it is torn or punctured it can be repaired with a inner tube patch kit and the glue it comes with. Use whatever you think will hold air in it as well.

This can be done in an hour with just one socket wrench for the 4 bolts holding the seat on to the body.

Good luck!

 

[4rd Xplora]

Sometimes it is just a air line that has fallen off, or has a crack in it. Sometimes it is the switch. Sometimes it is the bladder bag has a crack/hole/tear.

Remove the seat, flip it over, remove the chassis, inspect all the lines underneath and look to see they are intact and on where they need to be.

Flip the seat back over and fold it as far as you can. release the Velcro and slide the seat cover off the seat frame.

Now you can see the bladder for the lumbar. Inspect it and look to see if there is any obvious reasons it will not hold air. If it is torn or punctured it can be repaired with a inner tube patch kit and the glue it comes with. Use whatever you think will hold air in it as well.

This can be done in an hour with just one socket wrench for the 4 bolts holding the seat on to the body.

Good luck!

Tried that today....Massive Fail! . Took the seat back off and was trying to figure out how to get to the bladder and thought, why not just put more foam into the seat? Had some foam laying around the garage, I cut and shaped it to size then slid it into the seat. Looks perfect and feels great.

 

[Texas_XLT]

Are you sure you have a leak?

This may sound silly but I've had the seat-back frame crossmember break. Long story short, the welds let go and it gave the lumber support area a "squishy" feeling that I thought was a leak.

This was evident when I removed the seat cover but you have to know to look of it. A quick trip to the welding shop and we were back in biz.

 

[97expV8]

This may sound silly but I've had the seat-back frame crossmember break. Long story short, the welds let go and it gave the lumber support area a "squishy" feeling that I thought was a leak.

This was evident when I removed the seat cover but you have to know to look of it. A quick trip to the welding shop and we were back in biz.

I had the same issue on an '86 Eddie Bauer Bronco II
The frame broke and as much as i held the inflate button down it didnt seem to do anything.