Power seat

[RivNut]

Has anyone disassemble the power seat frame for cleaning?  I also need to insert a glide into the channel. I am not concerned with the motor, cables, or transmission, just the frame work.  I need to clean the surface rust off EVERYTHING so it operates flawlessly.

 

Thanks, 

Ed

Edited Sunday at 08:13 PM by RivNut (see edit history)

[Riviera63]

4 hours ago, RivNut said:

Has anyone disassemble the power seat frame for cleaning?  I also need to insert a glide into the channel. I am not concerned with the motor, cables, or transmission, just the frame work.  I need to clean the surface rust off EVERYTHING so it operates flawlessly.

 

Thanks, 

Ed

Hi Ed,

 

I completely disassembled mine a few years ago. This post I did back then should help you. I can also give you some tips I got from a gentleman that does this for a living. That might be better done in a phone conversation.

 

Bill

[RivNut]

I soaked one power seat frame in molasses but during the soak all the rust came off but This piece was eaten and I had no threads for the cable attachment. When you did the Evaporust soak did it bother this piece. My seat frame is rusted in the down position and I have no access to one of the two bolts that secure this piece.  I can soak everything if this piece will be safe.  Your knowledge will be most appreciated.  Did you also soak the relay?

 

Thanks,

Ed

Edited Monday at 02:36 AM by RivNut (see edit history)

[Riviera63]

9 hours ago, RivNut said:

I soaked one power seat frame in molasses but during the soak all the rust came off but This piece was eaten and I had no threads for the cable attachment. When you did the Evaporust soak did it bother this piece. My seat frame is rusted in the down position and I have no access to one of the two bolts that secure this piece.  I can soak everything if this piece will be safe.  Your knowledge will be most appreciated.  Did you also soak the relay?

 

Thanks,

Ed

 

Ed,

 

I removed that gear box from the track. I don't remember if I soaked it in Evaporust or not. I probably did. I know that I soaked it in degreaser to get all of that old, hard grease out of it so that I could relube it. It is all metal so I I don't think soaking it in a rust remover will bother it. It sounds like you will have to replace that gear box anyway as there are no threads for the cable to attach to. 

 

I did not soak the relay and don't think that would be a good idea. I cleaned the rust off with the wire wheel on my grinder and then painted it. If your relay is not good James Kehr sells new ones.

 

Bill

[RivNut]

Bill, 
 

I’ve got everything ready to go except bench checking everything.  The harness and switch are about 6 hours from me so I need to improvise.
1) I thought that I could try to raise/lower and move the seat forward and back to check movement but the cables from the transmission are secured to the transmission by a bracket that appears to be riveted to the transmission body.  Is it possible to remove that bracket and release the cables from the transmission? I thought perhaps that I could connect a cable to my cordless drill and check the movements.

2) I can figure out how to check the motor, but how do I bench test the transmission?

Thanks,

Ed

[XframeFX]

40 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Is it possible to remove that bracket and release the cables from the transmission? I thought perhaps that I could connect a cable to my cordless drill and check the movements.

2) I can figure out how to check the motor, but how do I bench test the transmission?

Ed, I'm a little vague from 2 years ago when I did this.

 

Did your seat function before?

 

What I do remember is minimal disassembly to my goal of cleaning out old transmission lubricant. Meaning kept cables attached.

 

Knowing the motor functioned OK before work started, I did not bench test. I tested in-car with a ground lead before bolting to the floor.

 

 

[Riviera63]

6 hours ago, RivNut said:

Bill, 
 

I’ve got everything ready to go except bench checking everything.  The harness and switch are about 6 hours from me so I need to improvise.
1) I thought that I could try to raise/lower and move the seat forward and back to check movement but the cables from the transmission are secured to the transmission by a bracket that appears to be riveted to the transmission body.  Is it possible to remove that bracket and release the cables from the transmission? I thought perhaps that I could connect a cable to my cordless drill and check the movements.

2) I can figure out how to check the motor, but how do I bench test the transmission?

Thanks,

Ed

Ed, 

 

PM sent.

 

Bill

[RivNut]

8 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Ed, I'm a little vague from 2 years ago when I did this.

 

Did your seat function before?

 

What I do remember is minimal disassembly to my goal of cleaning out old transmission lubricant. Meaning kept cables attached.

 

Knowing the motor functioned OK before work started, I did not bench test. I tested in-car with a ground lead before bolting to the floor.

 

 

I’m adding a power seat to a car which did not have one to begin with.  The car itself is about 6 hours from me. All I have here at home are the frame, a couple of motors and transmissions, and a couple of wiring harnesses that are attached to the seat frame; no switch or intermediate harness.  All that stuff is with the car.  Am I SOL until I can get with the car?  

[XframeFX]

3 hours ago, RivNut said:

Am I SOL until I can get with the car?  

Yes, I caught that being 6 hours away. I only mentioned how I did it.

 

So, if the motor functions, I'd jerry-rig 12V to one transmission solenoid after refreshing with fresh lube inside. If individual solenoids click, I'd think all is good?

 

The pwr seat transmission a simple design. Again, I recall not wanting to go deep on this because, typical Riviera, the seat was a 3X affair. The third attempt (broken seat spring, again) was a fast-track job like my 2nd attempt where I skipped the seat transmission.

 

Good Luck!

 

[RivNut]

Update: With some phone help from Bill Mawby, I was able to disassemble a seat transmission and use the cables to check the operation of the power seat functions.  I’m happy to report that using my cordless drill on one end of a cable with the other end connected to the seat gears that I have fore and aft movement as well as up and down movement.  Clean up some old hardened grease, regrease and assemble, and keep my fingers crossed that everything works when I get it in the car.

[Riviera63]

15 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Update: With some phone help from Bill Mawby, I was able to disassemble a seat transmission and use the cables to check the operation of the power seat functions.  I’m happy to report that using my cordless drill on one end of a cable with the other end connected to the seat gears that I have fore and aft movement as well as up and down movement.  Clean up some old hardened grease, regrease and assemble, and keep my fingers crossed that everything works when I get it in the car.

Ed,

 

Put it back with the seat but, test the seat before you put it back in the car.

 

Bill

[XframeFX]

5 hours ago, Riviera63 said:

Put it back with the seat but, test the seat before you put it back in the car.

. . . with a ground lead.

[cquisuila]

i have a power bench on my 1966

 

At first everything was very rusty but after testing  (removed bench, turned ,over legs in the air!!), everything with the wires I was able to unblock the recalcitrant movements !

 

four ways ?

 

I can put HERE  the electrics test if...

 

Edited yesterday at 02:16 PM by cquisuila (see edit history)

[cquisuila]

[cquisuila]

[RivNut]

3 hours ago, cquisuila said:

i have a power bench on my 1966

 

At first everything was very rusty but after testing  (removed bench, turned ,over legs in the air!!), everything with the wires I was able to unblock the recalcitrant movements !

 

four ways ?

 

I can put HERE  the electrics test if...

 

FYI. Power bench seats are 6 way seats, not 4 way.

[RivNut]

Further update: FYI

When I was taking apart the transmission for my power seat, Bill ‘The Seat Guru’ Mawby told me to be aware of a small, thin washer that was on the shaft that connects to the motor.  I knew that my transmission needed cleaning because I couldn’t turn that shaft with my fingers.  It took some doing but I was able to get the shaft out of the case by tapping it out with a hammer. I contacted Bill and asked him about the nylon bushing on that shaft. “What bushing” was his reply so I sent him a picture of my shaft, the small washer and the nylon bushing.  It turned out that the shaft had corroded itself to the bushing and in tapping the shaft out of the housing I dislodged the bushing from the case.  So be aware that you might just pull the shaft and washer from the casing or, you might dislodge the bushing from the case.  After a long soak in Evaporust, I was able to coax the bushing off the shaft (making sure to keep tack of the washer.) Knowing that if the bushing would still hang up on the shaft out in the open, it would hang up when I reassembled the transmission.  I took the shaft, chucked it into my cordless drill, and spun it. While it was spinning, I took some Aluminum Oxide paper cleaning the shaft, removing the corrosion and polishing it.  Now everything is copacetic and I can proceed with reassembly.

Basically I’m saying “Be aware, a steel shaft can corrode itself to a nylon bushing.”

[cquisuila]

14 hours ago, RivNut said:

FYI. Power bench seats are 6 way seats, not 4 way.

there is the 2 models😉

 

[cquisuila]

testing 6 ways

[cquisuila]

14 hours ago, RivNut said:

Further update: FYI

When I was taking apart the transmission for my power seat, Bill ‘The Seat Guru’ Mawby told me to be aware of a small, thin washer that was on the shaft that connects to the motor.  I knew that my transmission needed cleaning because I couldn’t turn that shaft with my fingers.  It took some doing but I was able to get the shaft out of the case by tapping it out with a hammer. I contacted Bill and asked him about the nylon bushing on that shaft. “What bushing” was his reply so I sent him a picture of my shaft, the small washer and the nylon bushing.  It turned out that the shaft had corroded itself to the bushing and in tapping the shaft out of the housing I dislodged the bushing from the case.  So be aware that you might just pull the shaft and washer from the casing or, you might dislodge the bushing from the case.  After a long soak in Evaporust, I was able to coax the bushing off the shaft (making sure to keep tack of the washer.) Knowing that if the bushing would still hang up on the shaft out in the open, it would hang up when I reassembled the transmission.  I took the shaft, chucked it into my cordless drill, and spun it. While it was spinning, I took some Aluminum Oxide paper cleaning the shaft, removing the corrosion and polishing it.  Now everything is copacetic and I can proceed with reassembly.

Basically I’m saying “Be aware, a steel shaft can corrode itself to a nylon bushing.”

a photograph of the place would be interesting😉

[cquisuila]

pictures of 6 ways system