Leaky Bladder? (Reattas of a certain age)

[jglawnyc]

I found a great artisan with an amazing reputation to redo my driver's seat, $500 to $600, i think thats fair.  He said he would put in a new lumbar bladder while doing the work if I got him one.  Thats my question to you out there.  Is there a known favored lumbar bladder (blood pressure cuff) replacement that we use for our Reattas?  Also, and suggestions on mating the new bladder to the air supply....below is a pic of the feed that is now hanging away from the disintegrated old bladder under my seat.  Thanks

[Barney Eaton]

I don't have a part number.........go to a medical supply house and see if they carry a LARGE cuff.    No need to buy a complete blood pressure kit.

The large cuffs are for people with larger than normal arms and usually the inside bladder is also larger.   

You can also do a little research buy going to Walmart and inspecting a cheap blood pressure cuff...........try inflating it and measuring the size.

Another option is to buy 2 cheap kits and making them into one larger unit.

Within the last year I stumbled on some place that had lumbar bladders but they were about $50 so you can do some experimenting for that price.

Some premium cars at the junk yard will have air lumbars,  the unknown is how long they will last even if you find a good one.

[jglawnyc]

Thanks Barney, just checked ebay and they have an adult thigh cuff, nice and big, for about ten bucks with shipping.  I'm just going to have to figure out how to mate the air supply hose.

[Barney Eaton]

Attaching the hose is not a big deal......you might want to replace the old hose at the same time.

The original bladder was unique,  it was like two bags bonded together....there were some hole on the edges for holding it in place on the seat frame.....you could use tape...it should stay in place once the upholstery is done.

The blue background is an original, the sketch shows how they bonded two bags together.

I had some made by the original company about 20 years ago, but when I went to reorder, they had gone out of business.

[DAVES89]

After you get it the hose might be the same. Then go to a parts house and get a rubber hose connector with the barbs on it.