Seat rail bolt torque? (1985 Carrera 3.2)

[xarkon]

Installed a Rennline EZ-Adjust Fire Extinguisher mount on my 1985 Targa yesterday. Nice piece of kit, but I have a few questions to tweak the install.

1. What's the correct torque for the seat rail bolts? Bentley says 23 Nm...seemed kind of high when I was doing it, though nothing broke. For reference, my bolts are 6mm Allen key, labeled 8.8 (see photo below).

2. The Rennline mount installs under the front bolts...which means the rails are now tilted toward the back. Would it make sense to put some washer between the rails at the rear bolts to "level" the rail? I'm finding that the seat rails are no longer running smooth (they did before the install).

3. My passenger seat (where I installed the mount) had one bolt on each corner. I've seen other threads in which it states that the later cars were supposed to have two on each side in the back and one on each side in the front. What is recommended?

TIA.

Dave

[porschedude996]

Torque would be the standard torque for a 8.8 bolt, 12Nm or 9 Ft Lbs.

Seat Tracks. I bought several used Porsche sets to fix the bumpy worn out original tracks. All pretty much junk given the years these cars have been in service. I ended up buying a universal set with the adjustment bail on the front. The bail is welded to the seat tracks and narrower than the Porsche seats/body mounting. I just reformed the angle of bail hoop on eack side. They are made well and a good price. The link below is not the vendor I bought from, but they look like they are the same as mine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314076538119?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=s6ghvqcasas&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=zn12q52GSG2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[911obgyn]

Another Bently miss, the last time i put the passenger seat in my car i rounded the hex on one of the back bolts following the book, i got another, i wonder where it went since its been a couple years …

[GH85Carrera]

What torque wrench fits in the space under the seat?

I just get it snug enough with my Allen wrench. Many people have had a heck of a time getting one out, and I sure don's that battle. The passenger seat on my 85 is a real challenge to get in or out. The driver's side I can raise up with the switches.

[xarkon]

Originally Posted by 911obgyn

Another Bently miss, the last time i put the passenger seat in my car i rounded the hex on one of the back bolts following the book, i got another, i wonder where it went since its been a couple years …

So...

After I posted, I looked for my other manuals...and found my set of factory workshop manuals. I rarely open them as the Bentley manual seems better organized (the factory manual is a mish-mash of original and update pages).

It says 23 N-m. Bentley must have picked it up from there. See lower left of photo. Not sure what to think...

[xarkon]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

What torque wrench fits in the space under the seat?

I just get it snug enough with my Allen wrench. Many people have had a heck of a time getting one out, and I sure don's that battle. The passenger seat on my 85 is a real challenge to get in or out. The driver's side I can raise up with the switches.

No trouble with torque wrench on the back bolts. Front ones were more challenging as I had to lean the head of the wrench into the upholstery, but still not too bad.

The scary part is that when I took the bolts out, they were barely beyond finger tight. I know the seats were out of the car several years ago when I had the carpet replaced and some other work done. ACK.

[PeteKz]

Seat bolt torque??? Jeeez, just do it by feel. One hand tight on a 3/8 drive ratchet or long Allen wrench. Don't overthink it. It's not a critical engine or suspension fastener. If they were loose, someone probably failed to final tighten them after getting the seat positioned.

If you're really anal retentive, you can add to your regular annual maintenance list, "check seat bolts are tight."

[2.7RS]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Seat bolt torque??? Jeeez, just do it by feel. One hand tight on a 3/8 drive ratchet or long Allen wrench. Don't overthink it. It's not a critical engine or suspension fastener. If they were loose, someone probably failed to final tighten them after getting the seat positioned.

If you're really anal retentive, you can add to your regular annual maintenance list, "check seat bolts are tight."

You took the words out of my mouth and made into a perfect symphony

Thank you for the laugh.

[PeteKz]

And as for putting washers under the rear of the seat rails, yes, try that and see if it makes the seat move smoothly again.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Seat bolt torque??? Jeeez, just do it by feel. One hand tight on a 3/8 drive ratchet or long Allen wrench. Don't overthink it. It's not a critical engine or suspension fastener. If they were loose, someone probably failed to final tighten them after getting the seat positioned.

If you're really anal retentive, you can add to your regular annual maintenance list, "check seat bolts are tight."

For bolts like this, I typically use my Polish Torque wrench (apologies to my Polish friends).

How does it work? Easy, tighten until bolt head snaps off and back off 1/2 turn.

[Bill Douglas]

Alan key bolts. That's a good idea.

Mine are just ordinary bolts tightened with a 10mm socket or ring spanner. An Allan key would give you more room to work.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Alan key bolts. That's a good idea.

Mine are just ordinary bolts tightened with a 10mm socket or ring spanner. An Allan key would give you more room to work.

For my 1973, the factory used hex head bolts.

[famoroso]

23 Nm seems like a spec for a higher grade M8 fastener.

Your '85 has six M8 fasteners, yes? IIRC, Porsche went from four M6 fasteners to six M8 fasteners when they moved the inboard seatbelt buckles (receptacles) from the center tunnel to the seats themselves, in 1985.

Classic 9 Leather Shop sells 10.9 Zinc low head and 12.9 black oxide standard head allens...

https://www.classic9leathershop.com/8mm-seat-bolt-kit-porsche-911-928-944-968-993

[PeteKz]

Harry, I think someone might have replaced your seat bolts. My 1973 seats use Allen head bolts, 2 at each end of each rail.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Harry, I think someone might have replaced your seat bolts. My 1973 seats use Allen head bolts, 2 at each end of each rail.

I stand corrected. Mine are Allen heads.