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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
Should I get the four-seat set for the Stupid Duty?
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Bob, how hard was it to get the bottom seat cover off the frame? I need to re-pad my seats- the seatbacks look fairly easy, but the bottoms look harder because of the retainer clip thingies that hold the leather/fabric stretched to the frame... Any tips?
I did Ranger seats so my experience may not relate directly to your seats. Two things made mine difficult: (1) a cable and knob for the mechanical lumbar adjustment and (2) the "tilt and slide" mechanism that lets the seat slide forward to the steering wheel for access to the area behind the front seats. I don't know for sure but I don't think Explorer seats have those.
In any case, I think you'd need to separate the seat cushion from the back by removing the pivot bolts. Mine would have been much more difficult (impossible?) otherwise.
Any special tools needed for the seats? i.e. hog rings and pliers?
How are the covers attached?
Should you completly remove the seat from the truck?
I'm looking to do this to my 01 sporttrac I'm assuming most Ford seats are assembled very similar....
Any special tools needed for the seats? i.e. hog rings and pliers?
How are the covers attached?
Should you completly remove the seat from the truck?
I'm looking to do this to my 01 sporttrac I'm assuming most Ford seats are assembled very similar....
Anyone wanna join me so we can take advantage of the "buy 3 get the 4th free" deal? That breaks down to $112 for both seats that way. (instead of $150)
I'm sold and wanna do these on my ST.
Any special tools needed for the seats? i.e. hog rings and pliers?
How are the covers attached?
Should you completly remove the seat from the truck?
I'm looking to do this to my 01 sporttrac I'm assuming most Ford seats are assembled very similar....
I can tell you about my Ranger buckets and hopefully most of it would apply to yours.
My seats have no hog rings, just plastic runners along the sides of the bottom cushion. I removed the seats and separated each seat from its back. I don't think I could have done it otherwise.
The cover and foam are attached together where the side bolsters meet the center panel. The attachment method is via some plastic tubes that looked to be glued or attrached in an industrial strength Velcro-like manner. I chose to leave the foam and covers together and worked the heater fabric down in the pocket between the tubes, being careful not to fold it. There was just enough width between the tubes to get it in.
The only "speciallty" tools I used were a couple of Torx sockets.
Anyone wanna join me so we can take advantage of the "buy 3 get the 4th free" deal? That breaks down to $112 for both seats that way. (instead of $150)
I'm sold and wanna do these on my ST.
If you want to do this very cheaply, heres how. You need basically 2.5-3 ohms of resistance to make a heater. About 22 ft of 30 AWG wire will do the trick. I got it from powerwerx.com. Higher AWG wire will need less feet, but the tradeoff is its more delicate. I would estimate the original wire that failed in the lincoln was 34AWG.
The best wire would be teflon coated but I've used the insides of cheap telephone wires(you measure the resistance first). Be aware that Teflon though has a higher melting point. Then you snake the wire or get a big eyed needle and weave it into the foam or seat fabric.
I've repaired heated seats this way, with a system that already has a thermostat. I'm thinking now of doing it to my ex with no heated seats. Adding a device like this under pad: (I would put two for a backup)
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