Front seat install frustration

[ramonesfreak]

Had my front seats redone and installed them this morning...after finally getting them bolted in, and while doing so, I noticed that neither seat slides forward and back as easy as they did.

So I took them out, removed rails and degreased and cleaned and relubed them and looked them over carefully to understanding how the work and reinstalled.

Still very stiff to slide forward and back....not a huge deal but....you know how it goes..it’s different after messing with it so I’m like

I’m guessing that I did not replace each rail in the exact spot from where they came and with almost 40 years of use they broke-in in a particular way and now I’m feeling resistance that wasn’t there before?

Or is there some adjustment trick I wasn’t aware of?

[Hotshot]

Did you notice any shims? Some have the slightest little bit added to where they were. Could also be flexing a little bit. 40 years under the same load and then removed for a while and re installed. Might need new bum wiggling and messing about.

[AG81]

I experienced the same after redoing my seats. I removed and checked everything. I assumed they just need some back and forth action over time...... They have improved and it has taken a while. Mine is a weekend car and I tend to get it positioned for me and not move the seat that often.

[ramonesfreak]

Thanks guys. Didn’t see shims

When I cleaned them I did notice that the ball bearings in the sliders wore deep grooves. So I’m guessing the bearings aren’t riding in the same grooves

[yelcab1]

Ah, the art of letting sleeping dog …

[Bill Douglas]

I'm thinking with a bit of luck they may wear into their new location and be just fine.

How do the seats look after their refurbish job?

[ramonesfreak]

Like new. My guy used leather covers from gahh. Nice quality

[30westrob]

I have had some improvement by loosing the mounting bolts so the tracks have some movement. Then butt in seat, exercise the forward to aft adjustment and tighten. Sometimes twisting Left or right and tighten also works. Rob

[JohnTucker]

Originally Posted by 30westrob

I have had some improvement by loosing the mounting bolts so the tracks have some movement. Then butt in seat, exercise the forward to aft adjustment and tighten. Sometimes twisting Left or right and tighten also works. Rob

Second this. Loosen everything up a bit and run it back and forth a bunch and re-tighten. I swapped my seats L/R->R/L and experienced the same as you until I did this.

[Arne2]

I have had to shim the sliders to the seats. Bolt the sliders to the seat, then set it on a flat floor and see if both sliders are flat on the floor. If not, shim one until the sliders both at flat on the floor on the same plane. Made a huge difference in my '84 with sport seats.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

< snip >
I’m guessing that I did not replace each rail in the exact spot from where they came and with almost 40 years of use they broke-in in a particular way and now I’m feeling resistance that wasn’t there before?

I'm thinking this is probably your problem. It's easy to get one side or the other wrong.

[bkreigsr]

If these seats are in your '83, they are single lockers, and are two separate rails, correct?
Be certain that the rails are exactly parallel when you tighten them - there is really a lot of slop/play in the mounting holes.
Bill K

[Flojo]

yep.
install in position, %80 torque
sit in seat, slide forth and back
now torque down to spec.