2002 Park Ave Pwr Seat-No vertical function

[Reatta Man]

Well I sold my 2000 ultra a little more than a year ago. I missed it so much (and had to have another car like it for other reasons) so I just picked up a mint '02 PA in Florida off of Fleabay.

One problem it has that I have never seen before is that both front power seats have no vertical (up and down) function. The motors are running, but the seat bottoms don't move. I REALLY need the driver's side down.

Has anyone run into this problem, where both front seats don't have vertical function? BTW, all other seat functioins work perfectly.

I have the Alldatadiy subscription on this car, but it really doesn't describe any known problem like this in their TSBs.

Any input on dealing with this would be appreciated. I will be working to look for the obvious, such as a broken or disconnected seat cable going from the motor to the mechanism.

THANKS!!

Joe

[Barney Eaton]

The motor drives a flex shaft that turns a jackscrew on both rails. The flex shaft has been known to come out of one side and that then allows it to pop out of the other.

You may be able to see it by looking under the front of the seat, however you will probably need to unbolt the seat and lay it back for better access.

There is about a 90% chance that no parts are needed, just reinstall the shaft.

[Reatta Man]

Barney,

I wish you were right; both nylon gears were sheared a few teeth on the shafts. Called Buick; no parts, just the entire underseat assembly for about $1100 per side. So, a-junkyard-shopping I will go!

It is awesome to be back in a comfortable Park Avenue, though!

Take care.

Joe

[JohnD1956]

"Called Buick; no parts, just the entire underseat assembly for about $1100 per side."

And GM wonders why people flock to foreign???

[Reatta Man]

Well, for what it is worth, gmpartsdirect.com does have it for $654 each side. The GM part numbers are 88993288 for the drivers side and 88993287 for the passenger side. And, at Pick-N-Pull, it should run about $44 each.

[Barney Eaton]

Joe....... that big Pick-n-pull south of 410 should have what you need. I suspect a Cadillac or LeSabre may use the same parts maybe both.

[Reatta Man]

Yep, keeping my fingers crossed, Barney! Between the cool weather and their dirt cheap prices, I'm looking to save about $2,000 Saturday!

They have about 10 Lesabres listed on their web site; it should have the same vertical function, so I will buy the entire assembly. The Lesabre probably won't have the same seat module, but I just want the mechanical parts. Plus, I will be able to strip out the rest of the parts for spares. As usual, the steel parts look as if they would last forever, but the plastic pieces are the weak spots.

You still got a corral full of Reattas?

[Gene Brink]

Sadly I too have the same problem on my 2000 PA, Joe. Have not found a seat to replace and it is not in my future to buy new parts to fix... Have done a good bit of reading forums and blogs and the problem is not uncommon. Easiest fix is to wrestle around and get a socket wrench on the shaft that needs turning and wrench it down (or up) to the height you want and then leave it there. Not a bad solution provided all drivers can use at a single height (like when I was a kid and nothing was height adjustable!). Just have not gotten around to doing myself thus far...

Good luck!