Seat cushion swap

[57 t-bird]

How do you swap the driver's side seat cushion for the passenger's? Driver's side is power assisted, both have lumbar supports. Any tips appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Not sure about swapping cushions, but releasing the lower seat cover (see YouTube videos about replacing seat cover for directions on releasing seat cover) and adding foam stuffing to worn out and crushed sections was fairly straightforward.

There is information about the best type of foam in other threads, but it was just fairly thin foam sheeting, Used a wood rod to insert the pieces of foam, then pulled the rod back out. Then refasten the seat cover.

Good luck.

 

[57 t-bird]

Not sure about swapping cushions, but releasing the lower seat cover (see YouTube videos about replacing seat cover for directions on releasing seat cover) and adding foam stuffing to worn out and crushed sections was fairly straightforward.

There is information about the best type of foam in other threads, but it was just fairly thin foam sheeting, Used a wood rod to insert the pieces of foam, then pulled the rod back out. Then refasten the seat cover.

Good luck.

Well, thank you Mr. Alligator. That does sound like a much simpler operation. Is the youtube video specific for the Explorer? And 485k? Seriously?

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Yes, simpler.

Release is just to loosen and gain access to front and rear of lower seat cushion. Wood rod slides multiple smaller sections of material into place. The YouTube video is from a company that sells seat covers, and I think they did have a video for Explorer.

485k. Yes. Truck was gift from brother when new. Ford replaced one engine at 90 k, and I replaced that engine at 430k. Now, it is a hobby, and great transportation.

Have a great day!

 

[Spudhut]

The cushions appear to be identical. They sit on a wire spring for support. I pulled my seats out and have repaired the frames and recliner mechanisms.

After you take off the seat cover from under the seat, the cover is hog ringed to the cushion (foamed in steel rods) to hold down the tucked areas; you'll have to cut or bend them out.

Swapping to either side should not be an issue.

It would be easier to pull the seats out and remove the back rest from the lower frame.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

When I had my seat apart looking at swapping foam cushions, it appeared to me that the wire supports were integrated into the foam cushions, that full removal was going to be complex, and that the swap was going to get difficult. It did not look like the cushion was simply sitting on supports and wrapped by the seat cover (although that is what I had incorrectly anticipated).


Maybe you could take your seat out, release the lower seat cover so that you can see what is going on, then make the determination at that time as whether to try swap or just adding foam.

Adding foam seemed much less complex, and has worked fine.

Good luck.

 

[koda2000]

Swapping the foam is certainly doable, but it's a fair amount of work and the foam from your passenger side probably wont last long (after all it's the same age as your driver's side foam, just not as sat on). You should definitely remove the seats from the vehicle and take the backs off the seats to remove/replace the foam. IIRC the foam pretty much just sets on the springs and the cover (with its clips and hog rings) is what keeps the foam in place. Don't be surprised if you find broken or unhooked springs. Replacement brand-new foam is available for around $100 from theseatshop.com. You may not want to spent the money, but messing with two seats rather than one, with perhaps unsatisfactory results, is worth something. I removed, disassembled and recovered the leather driver's seat bottom in my '01 EB 5 years ago. My foam was still in good shape but I'd guess it took me 4 hours + to replace just the cover on one seat. I'd never done anything like this before, but the results were (and still are) excellent.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I'm half interested in this thread since I have two passenger seats and need to build a driver seat for my 2000, it sits like I'm sitting on a concrete block anymore.

 

[239]

I'm half interested in this thread since I have two passenger seats and need to build a driver seat for my 2000, it sits like I'm sitting on a concrete block anymore.

Did you do this after all?

 

[57 t-bird]

I'm not sure if your asking me but if you are the answer is no. When koda2000 mentioned "fair amount of work" I stopped right there. I just got used to sitting on a concrete block.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I too lost interest past the amount of work. 313K mile drivers seat still sits like a concrete block. Debated a cloth seat swap but they go fast around here when a new truck hits the junkers.

 

[sehaare]

I swapped the bottoms a few years ago. I had bought a seat warmer pad about 5 years earlier and had just kept pushing it off. Finally on a nice sunny day I pulled both seats out swapped the bottom cushions (outside bolster on drivers side was totally shot) and installed the seat heater on the drivers seat. I bought a hog ring tool and the proper rings. With the right tools i got it all done in one afternoon. I also fixed some broke springs while I was at it. seat fell 100% better with the swapped cushion and my butt like the seat heater on cold mornings.

 

[Meadowlark Lemon]

Hi everyone, resurrecting this thread to get an idea what the state of the art is for drivers seat cushion improvement these days. The cushion in my 1997 Mountaineer does not have much cushion left & the upholstery (leather? Pleather? Naugahyde?) is pretty shot.

What I think I would like to do is get a much less worn passenger seat from the junkyard and swap my drivers side controls onto it and call it a day. Is this possible or is there some fundamental difference between drivers and passenger side that would prevent this.

Second choice would be to swap driver and passenger foam and upholstery - I've read that the power controls route through the foam so this is also a no go, but I've also seen guys claim to have done it.

Third choice is replacement foam. I've seen theseatshop.com recommended for this, but their website shows that the oldest models they offer foam for is 2002.

Thanks for reading this far, looking forward to feedback!

Andrew

 

[EB4X]

You need to contact Sue from 'Fast and Loud' !