Worn out seats? Here's a cheap bu effective fix!

[genphreak]

Is your drivers seat worn out in your BMW?

Most people's is once it gets older. So here is a simple and affordable fix:

A new pair of the same seats from a wreck is not costly (worst case about $200), but often has the same problem as yours- e.g. the driver's one is worn out. The neat thing is that the covers and padding is interchangeable from drivers to passengers side. This How to shows you how to do just this with little more than a torx socket, blade screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

Total time: It took me about 5 hours including removal and re-fit. I am pretty finickity (slow) and added padding to the drivers seat at the same time- so that it hugs the body more like a racing seat. Where the original comfort seat was soft and spongey around the edges, it is now taught and supportive. But when looking at it one cannot notice, so I can still leave my 'now undesirable' e34 wherever I like and not get it ripped off. Wow, even more bonus!

All you have to do is make sure they are
- the same type of trim (material) and colour/pattern as yours.
- the same type of seat (sport or comfort)

Whether they are electric or manual makes little difference too. A lot of people like to convert to electric seats, but they weigh more and if they fail can put your car out of action until you fix em, so my pref is manual.

When you get your new seats home, take a close look at them. You want at least one good seat, and for obvious reasons the passenger one normally is. The drivers is probably worn out though. Remove the drivers seat form your car. and compare it to the one you have from the wreck. Remove the covers/trims from the worst of the two, taking care not to damage them; the point here is not to keep the what you remove, but to learn how to remove (and by inference, replace) all the bits.

One of the driver's seat frames is probably excess too. Again, throw out the worse one. The difference is usually rust or damage. Wipe them down and clean the **** out of the rails if they have any. BMW seem to use good grease here, and I'm yet to see one that looks like it came out of a Toyota or even need re-greasing! Note that it is better than the passenger seat frame (more adjustments) but they are not interchangeable and retrofitting the additional adjuster parts to the passenger one without welding some stuff is hard. If you've like me and easily put-off, you'll avoid trying this and the excess driver's seat frame will be headed for the metal recycler. Don't worry, they like good German metal.

Tip: When removing a seat from an e34: Move the seat forward a bit and raise the height adjustment up before you start; it is now much easier to see/reach the fasteners under the back.

1. Position the seat up and forward so you can work behind it easily and with space
2. Remove the seat-belt height adjustment clip from the seat rail. Don't wreck the clip (use your intelligence, not force). Same goes for the thin braided cable.
   Tip: If your drivers side seat-belt adjustment is broken, get a replacement ready before you start this project and fit it once the set is out.
3. Undo the one torx nut securing the seat-belt to the side of the seat nearest the C-pillar. Use the right size torx socket only.
4. Undo the 2 torx bolts in the rear of the seat rails/floor-pan
5. Adjust the seat back back so you can pivot the seat forward all the way, once the rear fasteners are removed.
6. Lift from the rear and disengage the hooks at the front of the seat rails.
7. Remove with care not to damage the door jamb, door or interior parts.
   Cool huh! There are only 2 bolts holding each seat!
   All this can be done in under 5 minutes with the 2 tools and some skill!

You need a light, some place big enough to work on the seats, if just the floor you will need cardboard or something to put on the ground. Needle nose pliers, a blade screwdriver... some care and some persistence.

Once you've learned to remove the seat material on the worst of the 2 drivers seats, its time to remove the good cover from the best of the new passenger seats!



Preparation tips:
1. Remove the backing panel from the seat (lift at the bottom first) the top lug just allows the panel to slip down once the bottom is free.
Note: The backing panels can be bare, or have mesh or leather pockets inset. Be sure to put aside the ones you want.
2. If your new seats have arm rests, remove them and recover as needed in suitable material. Sell or install if your car did not have them!
3. Remove the head-rests
Tip: Pull up hard- you can flare the plastic guides if the backs are off first and you have the screwdriver handy
Clean the seat rails. Clean your hands. Don't dirty your new material!

Cover removal:
Removal Tip 1: Bend the metal tabs back up to 90 degrees to remove the material with ease.
Removal Tip 2: Push and pull the matieral on the seat towards the tab you are working on to avoid localising the stress on the material near the hole. You want to be able to remove the seat material without any damage to it at all.

If you are feeling keen, parts of the foam and seat pad under the throw away seats can be doubled to 'build up' the edge of the drivers seat so it has better grip on your ass to help prevent cornering slippage. Who doesn't want a better contoured seat? Don't stuff them too much (10-15mm is ideal at the edges); remember the seat cover has to fit over it without being too stretched! Once happy, re-fit the best of your seat covers to the drivers seat:

Stretch the cover on carefully. Again, do not localise the stress on the holes that you are stretching back over the tabs. Pull the material towards each clip by using your whole hand a fair way away to prevent tearing. Fit the arm-rests if you are upgrading your car to have this 'must have' feature!

Clean the seat up once its on, and refit.

Now your interior can be like new again!


BTW: If doing this with leather seats, finish the job using decent leather treatments to clean and condition the old leather. Do it a lot, and with care and your seats will look and feel like new. I recommend Leatherique for leather seats.

This procedure/tip applies to all e21, e23, e24, e26, e28, e31, e32, e34, e36, and maybe others too...

[myles]

Nice writeup. I discovered this process when I got my hands on some cheap electric memory seats. They were the right colour, but the leather on them was rubbish, so I transplanted the leather and foam from my old manual seats.

I've used the technique to swap out the seat back frame from an electric seat which had suffered too long with the twisting caused by the motor drive cable fault. The welds in the seat frame crack at the top corner.

If you happen to find one really good leather skin from an E32 or E34 front seat in Natur colour please let me know. I've been looking for years up here and never got one.

Some things that I've found
- Electric and manual seat skins can be interchanged
- Left and right seat skin can be swapped around. You will need to cut holes in the leather for the levers/switches on the opposite side, but the excess holes are all hidden under the trims on either side of the seat base.
- E34 and E32 seats and skins are completely interchangeable

[Tiger]

Give these guys a call on replacement leather.

[genphreak]

Give these guys a call on replacement leather.

Thanks guys. Yep, there are people here in Oz too that do new covers for $600 or so in faux leather, not quite double for real. If you have cloth trim you can upgrade by buying these. And you don't have to get a spare pair of seats to do it either... simply fit what they send (it still requires removal of course.

[Mr._Graybeard]

So many cars in the States are single-occupant vehicles, it's easy to find passenger seats that are barely worn -- the standard ones, at least. So there's an ample supply of lightly-used leather and cushions out there. The overall value of these cars simply doesn't justify a fresh set of skins and cushions economically, so it's a valuable tip that the upholstery can be swapped from passenger to driver seat. Nice writeup, too.

The sport seats may be another matter, especially with an M5 or other rare model. Not only is the car more valuable, but the used seats I've seen tend to be pretty tired.

World Upholstery used to throw odd pieces on eBay that might have been from a canceled order or return. I picked up the leather for an E30 cabrio seatback that way.

[shogun]

sports seats are a real problem, I have seen them in E32, E34 and also in E36. in most cases the side is damaged. Years of sliding in and out of the seats have taken their toll on the additional side support for the upper body.
These on Tim's page are in exceptional good condition BMW E32 730i V8

That is more reality nowadays
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...4sportseat.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...mer/bmw004.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...mer/bmw005.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...mer/bmw025.jpg
but we have repaired some of them already. Take the skin off from the seat, glue on the backside a leather patch with special leather glue. Then turn the skin again and use liquid leather to fill the groves, repeat several times till it is smooth even after it dried, then grind with fine sandpaper or special grinding sponge, finally apply concentrated leather color.
Works great. I got the stuff from a friend in Germany which owns a leather goods shop and happens to also drive a E32 740.
There are plenty of such shops, just look for liquid leather repair, like this one http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/

This looks not so good, but can be restored to perfect condition E34 M5 Leather Interior