Front Passenger Seat Issue, 1990 Pathfinder

[ThomasMoore]

Hey guys,

 

 

First on the list of interior issues with my new project (1990 WD21) was to fix the seats - the passenger seat refused to click into place, instead sliding around on the rails. I took the seat off, fairly straight forward:

 

 

and adjusted the tension of the wire connecting both sides of the seat rail:

 

 

so that the teeth gripped to the rail as such:

 

 

 

This worked fine - the teeth (ratchet?) on both sides meshed seamlessly with the seat rail. So i lubed it up, bolted it back in place, and nup, same problem again. The side with the problem is the one away from the lever - it doesn't seem to be a tension issue as the lever extends both of the 'claws' (sorry about the terminology), but it refuses to latch fully in place on one side. I thought it might be a problem with the positioning of the rails before bolting in place but i'm out of ideas. Anyone else had this issue or have any suggestions?

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Thomas

[Simon]

I think you may have been looking in the wrong spot. The wire between the two rails is there to allow the 1 adjustment handle to move both rails.

 

I'd look at the springs on the bad side, to ensure they have enough tension to interlock the rail on that side securely with the teeth.

[ThomasMoore]

Hey Simon,

 

I think you may have been looking in the wrong spot. The wire between the two rails is there to allow the 1 adjustment handle to move both rails.

 

I'd look at the springs on the bad side, to ensure they have enough tension to interlock the rail on that side securely with the teeth.

 

 

Checked the springs - they still have ample tension and give plenty of bite, but they don't fall into the rail on one side - i'm not entirely sure why. When the seat is removed both teeth interlock with the rail securely, but when bolted in place the teeth on one side fail to lock into place (the teeth rest partially) - any advice?

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Thomas

[Simon]

Weird. Could be the mounts are tweaked, causing the rail's alignment to be off. My old truck would do that periodically, but usually only until I hit the first bump, then I'd hear the seat lock into place.

[Gotrek]

YOu'll notice on older vehicles the seats are often cocked/crooked towards the inside(cause by people looking over theire shoulder) This is because the rails get out of alignment one is further forward then the other. Check to see if your rails are still square. (measure diagonally) they probably aren't

[jj big shoe]

I'd take a look at the connecting wire when the seat is in the truck. It might be getting hung up on the factory alarm.

[GrimGreg]

Maybe use a hammer to adjust the front foot forward or back a little to make it line up better once bolted in.

[ThomasMoore]

YOu'll notice on older vehicles the seats are often cocked/crooked towards the inside(cause by people looking over theire shoulder) This is because the rails get out of alignment one is further forward then the other. Check to see if your rails are still square. (measure diagonally) they probably aren't

 

Took the rails off the seat and measured the diagonal distance of the bolt holes - slightly out of alignment. After 'tapping' it into alignment with a hammer (ok, it was slightly more violent, but hey) and bolting the rails back on it sits firmly in place - thanks for the heads up and advice!