Passenger side back seat!

[96 EddieB]

I have a 96 Eddie Bauer and need to haul some furniture, the problem is that my passenger side back seat will not fold down! I took it to the dealership and they informed me that it seemed to be a stretched or broken cable. He stated that it may be $100 - $200 to fix saying that they had to take the whole seat apart. Can any one out there shoot me some instructions on how to fix this myself?

[Edited by 96 EddieB on 12-05-2000 at 11:59 AM]

 

[DarkFox1]

my seat got stuck down once.. I had to push down on it to make it come back up, maybe you need to push it back some and see if that cable or w/e will straighten out, then fold it down, I personally haven't seen a "Cable" in the assembly of these seats..

 

[Flounder]

Stephen has the same problem with his 1997 Limited... Maybe he will see this and offer some insight.

 

[Stephen]

Yep I'm in the same boat. $200 huh? Figures Dead Link Removed

I tried everything and I can't get the seat down. The latch on the left side wont release.

 

[NoBoundaries]

Don't forget Stephen, you still have one more option!!;-)

 

[DarkFox1]

well, theres always the "hit it till it works option" this method is quite useful when something is "on the blink", I don't beleive this option would FIX anything though

 

[Alec]

Someone else suggested this to Stephen, but why don't you take the seat out (unbolt it from the floor), and haul your stuff. Then you can take the opportunity to inspect the seat to see what's wrong. You can always put it back in still stuck. Might as well try, it's not that hard to take the seat out.

 

[96 EddieB]

Thanks, I think thats my only option (taking the seat out for the hual) for now, dont really want to pay $200 to fix it at this time of the year.

 

[Stephen]

Thats true Tim! Dead Link Removed

 

[Bill Kemp]

I just had a thought (first of the day).
I would think that with the title and respect that a MODERATOR such as Stephen has comes some awsome responsibility. Seems like you should spend whatever it takes to not only fix your seat but then tell all of us how to fix ours. Naturally we want the fix that costs us nothing but a little time.
Oh ya, pictures would be nice.
Thanking you in advance.....

 

[Stephen]

Bill, I think that everyone on the site should chip in and help me pay for it then Dead Link Removed
Really though, I will get it fixed I just need to complain a lil first Dead Link Removed

 

[96 EddieB]

I think that I am going to pull the seat this Sunday and try to see what the problem is. I'll give an update on it once I figure out what is wrong. Wish me luck, I hope I don't rip the seat apart in frustration. Its hard to find Willow green leather to fix it.

 

[Stephen]

Good Luck!

 

[Bill Kemp]

Stephen, Just wanted to give you some grief.
Cold as it is in MI now it'll be awhile before I worry about that seat. Seems like Fall is spent getting ready for Winter and Spring is taking care of the stuff I did'nt do in the Winter. Can't wait for summer.

 

[Stephen]

Bill, Oh I know. I still want everyone to chip in and pay for it though. We could make it an Explorer4x4.com FAQ project..........yeah thats it!

 

[96 EddieB]

No real update yet other than needing a better ratchet set. Didnt have the correct size for 2 of the bolts to get the seat out. Man are they in there too! Thank god I lift or I would have never gotten those bolts out! Going out to buy a better ratchet set w/ all the sizes I need and will keep you updated.

 

[96 EddieB]

Ok, its been about 4-5 months since I took out the back seat and have been driving a 3 seater truck. I finally went and looked at the seat and fixed it myself. This is what I found and how I fixed it (Jimmy rigged it).

With the seat out you can see the hinges that the seat folds on. On the left side you will see a round thing (size of a silver dollar) w/ a cable connected to it. There were 2 holes in the in the round thing one which the cable was connected into. What I did was I found a metal piece that fit perfectly into that second hole. I got a screw driver and lifted the cable and shoved the metal piece in there (be careful as the round thing is plastic).
This took the slack out of the stretched cable and now after putting my seat back in, it folds down perfectly.

Just thought I'd give the update. This was a jimmy rig so it didn't really fix the real problem, but it did save me $100-200.
(Sorry no pictures, dont have a digital camera)

 

[ExplorerEB96]

Hey!!

Does anyone else think it's strange that MY 96 Eddie Bauer has the same exact problem????? I wonder how many others there are..... I never posted this before because I really thought it was something my kids did to the seat!!! Now matter what I do it won't go down... I only had it down once since I bought it and then boom never again.... $100-$200 ??? Hell no....O won't pay it as a matter of fact....I'm going to print out this thread and take it to my dealer and threaten them......if I don't get this fixed for an uninflated pricetag....I believe we can have a problem on our hands.....can we still smell the Firestone scandal? LOL

Karol
explorereb96@ford-trucks.net

 

[sideswipe]

I had the same problem on my 95. The shop that installed my stereo system fixed it.