Drivers seat jammed - have tried all tips here!

[Johnc]

Hi all.
Finally about to MOT my 2.8 and I can still not move my jammed seat. Yes I know this is covered elsewhere but I have tried all tips so far with no success.
The passenger side was a doddle and is now serviced but the drivers seat is at it's rearmost setting so I cannot access the bolts to remove it.

The electric switch has no power and the motor hasn't the torque to move the seat forward when I put a separate 12 volt supply to it.
Have tried using a drill on the brass coloured drive directly but no success, tried turning it by hand with a set of grips but it doesn't budge and am unable to find anything else that will fit into the alloy box which the motor drive enters.

I suspect the worm drive is seized and maybe even welded itself with corrosion through lack of use and the presence of moisture so have doused the whole assembly with WD40 and ensured no coins etc are jammed in the works.

I am now out of ideas, has anyone ever had a similar problem and anyone an idea of how I can get the seat out. If I cannot move it is it possible to butcher the whole seat and remove it and put a donor seat in it's place - I really am that desperate!!

Ever hopeful that some wise sage has the solution (if not has anyone a spare seat lol)

[Rig sparky]

firstly soak generously all moving parts with wd40 and I mean a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( yes the car will stink for a couple of days but heh HO its summer put the top down to get rid of the smell ) then if the motor is trying to move with a separate supply connected eg if you can hear the motor trying to turn or even attempting to start moving eg clicking/ humming
jump motor back and forward on the switch time and time again ( just don't keep it running for more than a few seconds each flick of the switch or you could burn the motor out and don't let it get too hot ) then get a jemmy bar in behind the runners or under the seat behind the worm drive and try and force the seat forward and back as you work the switch back and forward.
my guess is the worm drive has jumped out with the seat right back eg the seat is just a tad too far back and needs a bit of a push forward to re engaged the worm drive. then the motor will pick it up when forced forwards. my drivers seat was stuck right back and the passenger jammed right up when I purchased my car both had me stuck until a little force and wd40 was applied then they both started working fine
I finally managed to get both mine working by forcing the worm drive back into the alloy boxes by force once with a bar the other by pressing the alloy box hard onto the worm drive with the handle of a hammer
don't see you got too much to lose by trying with a bit of muscle
if you do get it moving lube them up well and move every week or so to keep them moving
cheers

[Southernboy]

Remove te front nuts... you should be able to lift the front about 20mm...this may allow you to access the rear bolts from the front and under the seat...

[Brian H]

First I would check your fuse for the drivers seat adjustment, you are going to need power at the switch at some point. This should be Fuse 19 - 30A.

If you can get your seat height at maximum there are two lubrication points on the alloy blocks at the front of the seat, one on either side. You may find small black caps on them but they just pop off.



I would get some penetrating fluid in these holes for a while and then try again.

If all else fails then you could maybe crack off the tops of the alloy blocks and then manually turn the worm screw?

[Johnc]

Wow what a speedy response! Wd40 back out and thanks for the tips on lube points- I have Friday off so hope to post a positive response by the weekend, thanks all. Will try the idea of raiding the front by 20mm but cannot envisage how I will gain access but here goes! Thanks again. J

[Southernboy]

Socket and ratchet with a universal joint connector between them... and lots of patience...

[henrycrun]

Just out of interest - is a non moveable seat an MOT fail ?
Useful to know for next year....

[gookah]

Just out of interest - is a non moveable seat an MOT fail ?
Useful to know for next year....

yes its now a fail. Drivers seat must be able to go fore and aft.
Height adjustment is not part of the test.
Passenger seat is not tested

[Johnc]

WD40 exhausted and so am I!

I have no power to the seat, maybe a switch problem (I hope) or a problem with the power supply-fuse is OK.

Put an alternative 12v supply to the motor but while it is working it had no effect
I removed the motor and tried a square drive in the alloy box both sides but while you can see the short worm in the box is willing to turn the main drive doesn't budge!
I managed to get the seat to move maybe 5-8mm forward and backward by pushing back and forward after the lubrication and cleaning muck from the base of the runner but still no joy.

Now considering knocking the top off the alloy box to se if I can access the drive directly- anyone done this before or any other suggestions? I am resigned to having to source a spare seat for parts if I have to used welly to get the seat out, really am out of ideas

All of a sudden my Rover seems more attractive

[BladeRunner919]

A few random-ish questions:

How are you determining that there's no power to the switch?
Can you access the connectors under the seat to make sure they're connected and to see if there's power to it?
What are you using as an external power supply?

[Brian H]

Hi John,

Hang in there, I noticed whilst looking under my seat yesterday that their are 4 alloy blocks on the seat base, one at each corner. All 4 alloy blocks seem to have a nut holding them to the base, with the seat adjusted to the maximum height you can access all 4 nuts, maybe removing these nuts could help release the seat from the frame?



HTH

[deni2s]

This is what I did when I had similar problem:

Check on the picture bellow there is some black plastic tube on bottom which is between alloy part and electric motor. It covers some metal part which is rotating. But it is very elastic, it is made like spring. It is not fixed it stands here because of elastic force, so you can pull it out with force together with plastic tube and you will not break it. Then do the same on the other side of electric motor (one is shorter than another, start with longer - it will be easier and you will get some understanding what it is). After that you can use these elastic metal parts to put them inside alloy part and rotate them by hand or some other instrument to apply more torque and move the seats. Make sure that both sides are moved equally as seat can get stuck if one of the side is moved too far and the other is not (which might be the cause of your problems). Make one rotation on one side and then another on other side. I takes some patience.

[Johnc]

Thanks for the ongoing support. Will try the connections in case the lack of power is that simple, used a 12v battery to power the motor when disconnected but while it clunks, no movement. Seat now free to move back and for on the rail several mil but nothing more. Thinking of taking the advice of dismantling the alloy box that the motor links go into and attempt to get access to the worm drive that way, anyone done this?

[Zed Free]

Whilst wd40 is a reasonable general purpose lube as a penetrating fluid for seized items it is not a patch on plusgas which you can get from eurocar parts among other places.

[MarkAP68]

I had the same problem on the passenger seat, tried bypassing the switch and still nothing so got fed up with it and tapped the motor with a hammer...it now works perfectly!!

[Johnc]

Thanks, the motor is fine. Had the garage sort it out, think they had a driver that fitted the square drive perfectly and freed it. Still not as smooth as I would like so will sort it when I have time. Many thanks all!