koda2000
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- September 2, 2011
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So today was the day to replace the driver's seat bottom on the '00 Mountaineer. The OE tan leather cover came apart on the outside seam maybe 3 years ago. Since then we've had a cloth cover over it just to protect the foam from getting destroyed. The truck (a 5.0L 2WD) has over 262k on it now, but still runs and drives great, so I convinced my daughter to buying a quality OE style all-vinyl replacement cover from the theseatshop.com. I'd installed a theseatshop's leather driver's seat bottom on my '01 Eddie Bauer 7-8 years ago and was very happy with the match to the OE leather seats, fit and OE quality. I paid around $200 for the EB's leather cover, but the Mountaineer doesn't warrant a leather replacement at this point in it's live. The all-vinyl cover was $129.
The job took us about 3 hours start to finish. It would have taken a little less time, but I had to deal with a few disconnected and/or broken springs. I did the best I could to get everything reconnected.
The vinyl seat cover fit well and has the same design/stitching as the OE leather. The color doesn't match the leather though, being a lighter tan. Other than dealing with the 14 hog rings that hold the foam and cover to the seat, the job was went easy enough. Does the vinyl look as good as a leather cover? No, but it looks way way better than the green cotton cover we had stretched over it for the past 3 years or the ripped leather cover. Considering the appearance of the rest of the truck it looks great.
I replaced the Bosch Icon wiper blades and hood supports on both the Mountaineer and my EB last week, will be installing a rebuilt blend door actuator back in the Monty next and then it's off to the tire store for 2 new tires and a wheel alignment by the end of the month.
This has been an absolutely great vehicle. I bought it in the fall of 2012 for around $2100 with 179k on it. I've kept it maintained and I've had to replace a few parts over the years, but nothing really unexpected. I'm quite sure it will reach 300k+ and still be on the road. My daughter keeps threatening to replace it with something newer, but I think she's now convinced to keep it yet another year.
The job took us about 3 hours start to finish. It would have taken a little less time, but I had to deal with a few disconnected and/or broken springs. I did the best I could to get everything reconnected.
The vinyl seat cover fit well and has the same design/stitching as the OE leather. The color doesn't match the leather though, being a lighter tan. Other than dealing with the 14 hog rings that hold the foam and cover to the seat, the job was went easy enough. Does the vinyl look as good as a leather cover? No, but it looks way way better than the green cotton cover we had stretched over it for the past 3 years or the ripped leather cover. Considering the appearance of the rest of the truck it looks great.
I replaced the Bosch Icon wiper blades and hood supports on both the Mountaineer and my EB last week, will be installing a rebuilt blend door actuator back in the Monty next and then it's off to the tire store for 2 new tires and a wheel alignment by the end of the month.
This has been an absolutely great vehicle. I bought it in the fall of 2012 for around $2100 with 179k on it. I've kept it maintained and I've had to replace a few parts over the years, but nothing really unexpected. I'm quite sure it will reach 300k+ and still be on the road. My daughter keeps threatening to replace it with something newer, but I think she's now convinced to keep it yet another year.
