Back seat level

[jrwilson]

The problem: my back seats won't sit level.



The driver's side sits flat but the passenger one pulls hard against the strap and won't sit flat. I wonder if any one else has dealt with this and has a suggestion of where to look for where it's binding.

[EC900]

I just looked at mine, both sit flush (also have leather straps) but if there would be problem it think it may be from some of the seat back carpet or padding is buckled. Temperature changes could do this this time of year. Check if anything might have fell and lodged between the hinge brackets preventing seat back to sit flush, maybe too the carpet buckled or bunched up.
Could also be a fiberboard backer panel that warped, maybe even in the bulkhead where seats fold against. I’ve never dissected a rear seat back cushion or bulkhead so I’m not sure what’s behind the upholstery.
Post a picture of the seat back folded down, I’d like to see if the problem exists it the bulkhead or the seat back.

[jrwilson]

I just had them out and reinstalled them. It was doing it before I pulled them as well. It's just metal behind that backer panel.

Carpet is tucked up under the backing the same on both sides. It feels like it's in the hinges as it won't push back any further to touch the backer panel, but they don't appear bent or binding from what I can see.

[EC900]

You say that when seat backs were recently out and it still had that same characteristic of not sitting back flush. So somewhere in +40 yrs, seatbacks lost its original contour in the upright position…but how do they lay down…flat or is pass. side higher ?
This awkward look would bug me, but not as much as looking all day at a knee pad that doesn’t line up precisely with the ashtray !!!

This now needs to looked at as a preexisting issue. Does upholstery and carpet look original? Any body/frame crash damage?

The upholstered rear seat panel (w/seats dow) should have a fiberboard backer and attaches to the steel portion of the bulkhead. But it wouldn’t necessarily buckle because seat backs were missing or always kept down. Maybe place a flat edge across the backer bulkhead and try to determine and warpage in either the backer or sheet metal bulkhead.

All I can compare is to how my ‘77 seats sit, even the PET diagram doesn’t suggest any possible install irregularity, pretty straight forward.
I hate to suggest taking out the seat backs out again just to check the contours side-by-side to see if one is slightly bowed or twisted, internal hinge damage I think would affect lining up the bolt holes so that might not be the issue, in your photo it looks as if the bolsters on the pass. seat are lined up.

If you find the back side is buckled, a solution would be to remove and place a heavy weight on the seat backside to re-shape over time - BUT in such a way not to deform the side bolsters.

When you removed these, did you alter or remove the floor or center hump carpet? Will be difficult to pinpoint but I think it could very well be just something bunching up or inhibiting the flexing of the seat back. That portion of my seat back has some crumbling old fiberboard that firms up the carpet so it can pivot out of the way.

[jrwilson]

Originally Posted by EC900

So somewhere in +40 yrs, seatbacks lost its original contour in the upright position…but how do they lay down…flat or is pass. side higher ?

They sit level with each other.

Originally Posted by EC900

This now needs to looked at as a preexisting issue. Does upholstery and carpet look original? Any body/frame crash damage?

All original interior for sure. Damage? None that I can spot, everything lines up nice.

Originally Posted by EC900

Maybe place a flat edge across the backer bulkhead and try to determine and warpage in either the backer or sheet metal bulkhead.

I can feel the seat back resisting long before it touches the back panel - my thinking is there's something wrong at the hinge point on the passenger side? But it screws in fine, and lines up perfectly when I manually push it back, it just really doesn't want to.

Originally Posted by EC900

When you removed these, did you alter or remove the floor or center hump carpet? Will be difficult to pinpoint but I think it could very well be just something bunching up or inhibiting the flexing of the seat back. That portion of my seat back has some crumbling old fiberboard that firms up the carpet so it can pivot out of the way.

The passenger side still has the cardboard backing in the carpet while I had to replace it on the driver's side. I may take it out again to look closer at the hinge on that side. As you say, it's very irritating that they don't line up!

[carreradpt]

Try laying them down flat. Then one by one lift the top of the seat while also pulling up the hinge that holds the seat to the backrest. Are they now even?

[jrwilson]

I tried that, no difference. There's no play in the hinges. When I force the seat back, I can see the hinge brackets flex, like something along where the brackets connect to the seats is what's blocking it from sitting.

[Bill Douglas]

I never keep the seat backs upright. I've always had them flat for somewhere for the dogs to sit and to place shopping bags.

[pampadori]

There is a flap of carpet that can fold either inward or outward when you put the seats up to be sat in. They only like to go one way, I can't recall if its inward or outward but you'll see what I'm talking about when you look at the carpeted side.
Are both sides folding the same direction?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I never keep the seat backs upright. I've always had them flat for somewhere for the dogs to sit and to place shopping bags.

Plus it looks better.

[jrwilson]

Originally Posted by pampadori

Are both sides folding the same direction?

Yes, both seat carpets are folding UP as they should. It's not binding on the carpet, I can feel it binding somewhere in the bracket on the left side. When I push on it, the bracket bottom pushes out towards me like it's pivoting at the top of the bracket.

[EC900]

I look another look at my back seats and noticed the carpet backs are fold or crease outward (away) like an “M” rather than folding into a “W” which would tuck “into” the seat bottom when seatbacks are in the Up position against the bulkhead.

Secondly, here’s another thought, my seatback has a little wiggle in the brackets. Since my carpeting is intact, I can’t see anything structural that could be adjusted but wonder if your hinge bracket hardware might be out of order, missing a washer or bushing, maybe at one time was overtorqued that it somehow threw the hinge bracket out of alignment. Since these bolt into the tub on both sides, the mounting to the tub is pretty much straight forward and not likely warped.
Then again as you explained, maybe the internal seat frame is askew.

Trying to make sense of the above photo I thought a twisting the passenger seat back a bit to try and re-align the entire seat frame to the driver side position. But it appears this is not the problem as it looks like the passenger seat is a bit higher (or it’s an illusion).

[Ian Comerford]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Plus it looks better.

And lowers the centre of gravity making the car handle better……..

[EC900]

Also, you may have already tried manipulating the carpet already w/o any success.

I find it easier sometimes to have a visual. I’m not able to access from my driver side door, plus iPad pic’s are awkward. Here’s an example of what I mentioned above how (my) carpet back folds when in the up position…….