3rd row electric seat back won't elevate. | Page 4 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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3rd row electric seat back won't elevate.

Hello. I am new to this forum, and just read through the thread. We are having the same problem with both of our 3rd row seats on our 06 merc mountaineer. Sounds like I should be able to switch them out myself, has anyone had any luck with finding a cheap deal on the replacement parts?

And whats the factory part number??

Thanks!

Most on-line vendors are charging around $240 for one, the dealer wanted close to $300. I found this one on-line for $206. Shipping added about $24 to the total. fordpartsgiant

The part number is for the left side, you will have to search there for the right side one. I had no problems with these people, I ordered the part on a Monday, and it arrived by UPS the following Friday. They even sent me the tracking number when it shipped.

If you want to see a picture of the thing just to compare it with yours, go to: -LATCH-ASY-REAR

Good luck.:D
 



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I just picked up an 06 Merc Mountaineer with the inoperable third row left seat.

Thanks for the part link and write-up to fix it. I'm still deciding whether to replace it or operate it manually.
 






I just picked up an 06 Merc Mountaineer with the inoperable third row left seat.

Thanks for the part link and write-up to fix it. I'm still deciding whether to replace it or operate it manually.

Glad to help. I just can't see how you can operate it manually without taking out the gearbox or cutting the worm gear. If you do that, the back of the seat will be loose and a bit dangerous. I'm also looking at resale value. If the seat doesn't work right, someone is going to take off at least $500 from what they're willing to pay.
 






You are all lucky...I have a 2006 explorer and the darn seat is stuck in the upright position..I would love for that thing to go down and stay down..lol I like to cart things around more than we ever use the rear seat to sit in...Our motor sounds like it tries to work but definitely doesn't. Just sucks this didnt happen while under warranty...grrr..guess we will be taking it into the shop... Good luck to all hope soon we will get an easy fix...
 






Passenger side motor failed?

Can someone confirm the part number for passenger side motor?
I have seen the part number for the drivers side, but of course my passenger side is the side that failed.
 






First post here, going thru the same thing on my 2006 Limited. I have some pics that I'll post in a bit. I assume no one has converted to XLT manual stuff?

EDIT: Never mind, the XLT seats themselves are different and have the latches built into the seat back.
 






Pics as promised.

To remove the storage cover and trim, remove all the screws under the lid (6 total) and the two push clips in the rear side cupholders.
7182562884_c7f64cc915_b.jpg


I removed the bracket that holds the spare tire tools and the nuts and bolts on the seat brackets in the middle and on the sides.
7182564604_cd4685e687_b.jpg

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There is one more bolt between the seats at the front, which also holds down a tiedown loop. It is much easier to have one of the seats in the upright position to get to it.
7182567008_4dd4177f6b_b.jpg
 






Replaced passenger side latch assembly

Just did this today on my passenger (right) side latch assembly. Took about 1 hour and 30 minutes which included vacuuming the floor underneath the seat. (Kids had dropped all kind of food there...)

For reference the passenger side latch assembly part number is 6L2Z-7861382-EA. I ordered it from Levittown Ford Super Center for $227.50 (including shipping)
http://www.levittownfordsupercenter.com/
 






Found a temporary fix to this problem, as my right side seat was locked down and I needed it up for a group trip, and would not have had time to get the part and do the repair. If you remove the jack access cover, and motor cover to access the motor, you can cut the rivet head, separate the housing from the bracket (must be forced apart), you can then remove the electric motor by removing the 4 set bolts. at this point you need to carefully remove the plastic gear housing from the gear. I used a chisel and hammer to gouge through the housing. Once removed you can turn the nylon gear with a pair of channel locks and either raise or lower the seat, and have it remain locked in that position. Again, just a temporary fix, but it works
 






Hello, everyone. This is my first post on the forum, and I don't mean to revive an old thread, but, I noticed, as I was reading through it that some were asking for a "Manual Conversion" for this assembly.

I have a simple manual conversion mod, and I figured it might be useful to someone else who doesn't want to spend the $225 - $300 for the replacement part.

As you can see in the picture, I cut off the mount for the gear box, and removed (with some brute force) the gearbox itself from the assembly. (Basically, I used a reciprocating saw to make slices throughout the plastic gearbox and then busted it out with a screwdriver and hammer.) This leaves about 2 inches of shaft open for us to work with.

20130510130902.jpg


Then, I used a spare 1/4" drive socket and drilled holes through it. (I don't remember the exact size of the socket that I used) Then I drilled a hole through the end of the shaft, and fastened the socket over the shaft with a cotter pin.

20130510130823.jpg


Now, I just use a 3/8" drive speeder handle, with a 3/8" - 1/4" reducer to spin the shaft and raise and lower the seat. ($6 at harbor freight) I can actually raise and lower the seat about the same speed as the original motor does it. And, there is no need for any locking mechanism to keep the seat up or down. It stays in place with friction, just like it does with the motor attached.

20130510130924.jpg


I know this isn't a step by step guide on how to do this, but the fix is simple enough that you really shouldn't need one. If you have any specific questions on any of it, feel free to ask. You still have to take the entire seat apart to do this mod. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to maneuver the drill in the right spot to drill the hole through the shaft.

Anyway, I didn't see anyone else provide a permanent manual solution, so I figured I would share what I did. I could make a video of the functionality if anyone is interested. I found this thread by googling a fix for the seat not moving, so hopefully someone else will find this useful.
 






Nice work Skoffer. Back yard engineering at its best. I recently changed the left side motor, but since I still have the old one kicking around, think I will do your mods to it just in case its needed.

Did you drill a hole in the jack cover panel?
 






Good info Skoffer, thank you for providing it to all of us.

This sounds like the factory motor just spins the piece you put a socket on. Now you can do that by hand. Does that sound like a proper description of what you did?
 






Great idea.
When I'd asked about converting to "manual", I had mean actually changing to whatever they had for the 3rd row, non-powered seats. But this looks great.

My question from 2 years ago was just in case mine ever went. Well, last week, my right side gearing did just that. Stuck in down position. I think I'll try the Skoffer-mod.
 






By the way, can that mod be done without removing the seats?
If so, even better!
 






Great idea.
When I'd asked about converting to "manual", I had mean actually changing to whatever they had for the 3rd row, non-powered seats. But this looks great.

My question from 2 years ago was just in case mine ever went. Well, last week, my right side gearing did just that. Stuck in down position. I think I'll try the Skoffer-mod.

Let us know how it goes. If you can take pictures of your journey and provide feedback, that'd be great as well. :salute:
 






Skoffer Variation

We only use our third row seats once in a blue moon, but the left one failed about two weeks ago. Naturally, this is the first place I came for a solution. When I saw the $250 price for the part, I thought screw that! I figured I could replace the worm & worm gear instead of buying that assembly. Well, the worm & worm gear are pretty expensive themselves, and no guarantee I could even get them to work. I carefully removed the motor and gearbox from the assembly... How? Took a little time to do it carefully:

Remove the bolts marked with red arrows

DSC00531a.jpg


Carefully pry out the plastic retainers. The whole plastic cover and door will come out as a unit. Seats don't need to come out.

DSC00533a.jpg


Remove clip and pin. Chisel and/ or grind off four rivets and punch them out. Will not separate easily. Rivets completely fill holes and are TIGHT! The motor and gearbox did not easily separate from the acme screw shaft. Can't remember how I wrangled it out, but that's irrelevant. I was trying to save the gearbox so I could install a new worm & worm gear. Found out when I had it on the bench, that ain't gonna happen.

DSC00500a.jpg


DSC00503a.jpg


DSC00503b.jpg


The gearbox is sealed completely. No way to get inside, and probably not worth the trouble anyway. When you're removing the bracket with the motor from the frame, just crush the gearbox and yank it out. Nothing worth saving. You can then spin the shaft out of the nut that runs the seat up and down. Take that to your bench and grind the spring loaded bearing off the end. That leaves a nice center to drill and tap it. I used a 1/4-28 tap, which requires a #3 or 7/32" drill. Suit yourself on the size.

As I said, I bailed on repairing the gearbox. I considered using a window motor and gearbox instead, but ultimately decided to use the "Skoffer" method. Added a few refinements. Again, suit yourself. The following is what I did.

DSC00519a.jpg


Drilled and tapped the end of the shaft. At that point you could screw a bolt and jam nut into it, throw it back in the frame with four nuts and bolts, and call it a day. I didn't like it flopping around, so I added a 3/16" "U" bolt from a wire rope clip:

MC-3372T62.jpg


The holes have to be drilled while it's on the bench. Punch the locations carefully from the outside, and use a small drill for pilot holes. You'll be right up against an edge on both sides. Not easy, but doable if you plan the position well, and take your time. Also, you need to grind a little clearance for the bolt or shaft to protrude from the bracket.

I used a 1/4-28 threaded rod, about 2" long, and piece of 7/16" hex stock, which I drilled and tapped. You could buy a coupling nut instead:

MC-90977A140.jpg


I prefer the longer coupling nut, so the socket can't slip off. A bolt head isn't much to grab on. Skoffer used a socket to drive it with the speeder handle. Suit yourself. I wanted this unit to be able to be driven with good hand clearance and the cover flopped down:

DSC00527.jpg


DSC00528a.jpg


When I knew it was all functioning correctly, I used Locktite 609 to permanently (it can be released with a torch) lock the nuts and 1/4-28 stud in place. Invested in a few tools from Harbor Freight:

HF-65965.jpg


HF-67866.jpg


HF-67971.jpg


Don't mind having a few extra sockets and extensions around ;)

The whole thing fits like a glove, and doesn't rattle around. If the other side goes, I've got plenty of spare stock to duplicate it for the right side:

DSC00512a.jpg


A couple details to help clarify:

DSC00512b.jpg


DSC00519b.jpg


Sorry, no pics of the process, since I didn't really know where I was going with it at the time. Just kind of fumbled around until it was functional.

Thanks to Skoffer for the original idea. There's probably 101 way to get the the same point. Whatever floats your boat!
 












How much effort is needed to get the seats to go up or down using this method?
 






Just this afternoon, we had a picnic at a local park, then decided to go for a hike. My wife wanted to leave her purse in the car, and that rear jack well is too small. I said, "How about on the floor under the third row seat?" She liked that idea, so, which seat do you think I raised to get under it? Yeah, the still functioning electric one. Nothing like just pushing a button! But, it ain't worth $250.00 to me to have both function with a button. Matter of fact, if the right side fails, it's also going to use the crank.

As far as effort goes, there's almost no resistance. I would be happy to sacrifice a little more muscle to have it raise quicker. For that matter, flipping it up and down like the 2nd row seats would be fine with me!
 



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I do not have the Power Seat option for my Third row seats but if I did, I would do the Skoffer-Method. Perhaps even following along the lines that he used, and adapting it to use a Cordless Drill or Cordless Screwdriver like a Black and Decker Gyro. Then you would not have to put forth any effort!
 






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