IHADAV8.com - Turbo Buick Tech, and Nonsense
Tech Area => General Buick Tech => Topic started by: Steve Wood on August 20 2018, 03:14:51 PM
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stopped at a car wash this morning and they moved the seat forward to vacuum. that's when the seat motor decided it was time to strip the gear, or hopefully, break the coupler...'86 car
Is it possible to manually move the seat back so I can get a more normal driving position?
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I think I saw a youtube or something that used a drill motor to spin the thing and move the seat. I think mostly so they could get the bolts out and remove the seat to work on it.
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Same thing happened to me and I am screwed. Seat all the way back and can't get to any of the bolts to remove the seat.
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The 86 is different than the 87 iirc.
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My first thought. How to get to the front bolts. 87 has three motors and is much more durable
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the problem is the damn plastic covers over the bolts...I got all but the front one by the door ledge loose...but that damn cover screws up the angle of the wrench and I swear it is larger than 1/2" and smaller than 14mm....next to try to cut up the plastic cover and make a bit more room. The gears were laying on the floor under the seat so it looks like more than just the coupler
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13mm perhaps? I can check my car if you need me to.
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Earl, I had the same thought. It's a true 13mm and half won't quite slip on....with one hand to hold a light, one to hold a pry bar to bend the cover up, and one on the wrench, I can now say the seat is removed...no fun when you cannot move the seat back...brawn and three hands made it work...if only I had the third hand :D
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They say it takes thousands of years for plastic to decompose. I wonder why GM's takes only a few years?
In my next life, I think I will be a surgeon...
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The plastic toys and such I had when I was a kid seemed to last forever. This stuff from the last twenty yrs goes to ess and gets brittle way faster. Just disintegrates when you touch it.
Were you able to source some parts for the repair?
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Earl, I had the same thought. It's a true 13mm and half won't quite slip on....
I know it's over now, but would a 13mm line wrench made the job easier?
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I am hoping William has one. He thinks he does.
Earl, an open end worked best due to the limited room available which was caused by the plastic cover that I could not access to remove=held down by a screw I could not see between the rails
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Mine did the same thing last year. Mine is an 87 but when you get the seat out you can use a drill but you will have to do each side separately. I had 2 other power seat motors, both from 87's, of course mine was different. After some research it looks like on the later 87's they used the Cadillac motors. I just set it by hand for now. Crumbled up like a fortune cookie LOL.
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Mine is back on with an '87 seat base. It's different, but much better. I am pretty sure from what I read that the basic '87 style with three individual motors was used on a bunch of GM models for several years. The trim is different as well.
William sent it to me and as I started to install it, I notices that one of the mounting legs was bent and pulled away a bit from the bracket. Bent it back into position and welded it.
Then I noticed that one of mounting holes where it bolts to the bottom of the seat was cracked as well. I think it had been in a wreck. Tried to weld that and discovered it was frickin' aluminium. Had to get one of my friends to tig it back together. All is well now and I am back in operation. No pain, no gain.
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Front bottom corner of the seat? IIRC mine broke there and I had to rig up a clamp/bracket to reattach.
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If I remember correctly, Dave, one of the back legs was pulled partially loose from the rail and the front end of the upper part of the bracket which bolts to the seat was cracked. The crack ran down the the center of the aluminum rail thru the mounting bolt hole and then emerged on the other side of the hole and angled toward the side of the rail. It was hanging by a thread.
Looked like the car had run into something and the seat had tried to lift from the rear...on the other hand, who knows?
Any way, that upper aluminium rail is awfully thin and does not inspire me with a lot of confidence toward GM engineering. I have a friend that is a great tig welder and he put it back together. I did put a large washer under the mounting bolt head to spread the load distribution out a bit. I was glad that William had one in his parts stash!