Seat issue, need help

Discussion in 'Interior' started by verbz4, Oct 26, 2011.

  1. verbz4

    verbz4 New Member

    hows it goin. i recently bought an 04 ext cab. and the passenger seat wont recline. i havent broken it down yet. but from looking at it. the handle side releases, but the console side does not. after reading these post im not sure what the problem is. hopefully not a broken shaft. any help would be appreciated
     
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  3. DanHall

    DanHall New Member

    Well I don't think it is the shaft since the shaft only goes in as far as just inside the trim on the right hand side of the seat where it activates that side of the seat. The console side of the passenger seat is activated by a cable that crosses under the seat and releases a spring loaded mechanism there. IOW both sides of the seat have release mechanisms
    I know you said you read earlier posts but to reiterate; there are two things I would try.
    1) try to lube the assy with something odor free if possible (maybe silicone spray? - but anyway not WD-40 since it will stink for a while but even WD-40 is better than breaking something and the odor does eventually dissipate). On that side of the seat you would have to use a nozle to get it back in there.
    2) take the seat out and turn it over to inspect (it really isn't difficult and would be worth it to really see what is going on).
    Only other thing I can think of is the possibility of the crossover cable being broken- most likely at the terminal end in which case you'd be looking at replacing the whole thing like I did. Then again might be lucky finding a used track or seat. Good Luck and be sure to let the group know how it works out.
     
  4. Hooligan

    Hooligan Rangerholic!!

    I made this into a new thread and put it in the interior section to get more attention and help for the O/P
     
  5. OP
    verbz4

    verbz4 New Member

    captains seat wont recline

    i recently bought an 04 ext cab with edge pkg. And the passenger captains is in the locked upright position and wont recline. I havent tore it apart yet but from checking it out it seems that the handle side latch will release and could be pushed into a recling position if forced. But the console side is locked in place and wont budge. I fig id see what u guys thought before i went breaking it down unnecessarly.
     
  6. Hooligan

    Hooligan Rangerholic!!

    Threads merged due to duplication
     
  7. Hooligan

    Hooligan Rangerholic!!

    Try some WD40 spray under the seat itself on the recline bar, see if that does the trick
     
  8. drppdyllwrngr

    drppdyllwrngr Member

    04+ should have a cable that runs from side to side. the end of the cable sheath clips into a groove in a piece of metal. sometimes they pop out. or it's possible the cable is broke.
     
  9. HeBeGeBe

    HeBeGeBe New Member

    Wow, must be a design flaw

    I also just bought an 04 ext cab ranger which also has the passenger seat locked; it doesn't recline. I can also feel that the passenger side of the seat is capable of reclining but the driver's side doesn't.

    I did read the previous posts: if there's a cable running between the two sides, I can't see it. I'm guessing that I'm going to have to remove the seat completely.

    In the meantime, has anyone fixed this problem since the last post in October?
     
  10. Captured Time

    Captured Time watch this and hold on

  11. HeBeGeBe

    HeBeGeBe New Member

    Fixed it!!!

    Fixing it was easy...less than an hour's work. My 04 ext cab doesn't have the torx bolts that hold the seats down, just regular hex bolts. As such, they were easy to remove by using my air ratchet. Slide the seat all the way back to remove the front two bolts, then slide the seat all the way forward to get the rear two bolts out. Just have to remove the plastic shield that goes around the bottom of the two rear chair "legs": really easy, they just each have one single christmas tree type reusable fastener.

    Once the bolts are out, lean the seat back and disconnect the plug under the seat. This plug is the for the sensor that detects when a child is seated in the passenger seat and therefore needs the airbag turned off.

    Remove the seat from the truck and flip it upside down. Move the seat lever and start watching the motion of the parts on the driver's side of the seat (the side that has the lever). Then look at the other side (the passenger side). You'll likely find that the brown plastic collar that keeps the cable onto the frame has popped out. It's the same design as a brake cable on a bicycle. Which ever side has popped out, remove the plastic seat moulding that runs the full length of the seat to get easier access to the parts. Just a couple screws plus the phillips screw that holds the lever on. Plus there's a clip too, which you can easily pop out.

    Simple to pop the brown plastic collar part of the cable back on to the mounting "fork", but you might find that the seat foam puts pressure on the cable which is what caused the cable to pop out of the mounting fork in the first place. So here's what I did to prevent this from happening again: I took a razor blade and cut away some of the foam so that the cable wasn't being pushed by it anymore. Once you push the cable back into the mounting bracket (fork), put everything back together. That should do it.
     
  12. DanHall

    DanHall New Member

    Excellent HeBeGeBe! Ever consider taking up technical writing?

     

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