Help - cannot remove drivers seat

[Fifi1981]

A couple of you here know that I have stared an interior project on "Fifi". Most carpeting is out as well as the passenger seat. I have encountered a problem with the drivers seat though. The two forward bolts have been removed but for some reason, I cannot advance the seat far enough to get to the two rear bolts. It's as if there is a stop previous to the full forward position. I can't get to the rear bolts at all.

Any thoughts?

[kristoj]

I just did my carpet last weekend and had a similar issue. I used a low-profile ratchet screwdriver with the metric hex bit to initially loosen it and then worked it out by hand (when the bolt unscrews and works it's way up, the wrench and bit will get forced into the seat and you won't be able to get them out).

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... rewdrivers

[mdrburchette]

There might be debris in the track preventing the seat from moving all the way up. I juste pulled the seats out of a 72 that had been sitting for 22 years in the weather and it was the easiest job on the strip job so far! It was a nightmare on my other one until I squirted oil on the tracks.

[ventura ace]

I've experienced the same problem that Denise described. I thought the seat was at the end of its travel on the rails, since it felt like a hard thump at the end, but it really wasn't at the end and was likely just hitting gunk. By sliding the seat to the end of travel forward and back over and over again, banging against the stops, I noticed that it eventually traveled more and more, until there was finally enough room to get a screwdriver on the screw. It's a poor design. I tried replacing the screws with internal hex head screws (so they could be removed with L-shaped allen wrenches), but the head of the screws interferes with the slides.

Alvon

[Fifi1981]

Well, there's good news and bad news. Apparently, there was just a problem with one of the tracks. I gave it some extra umph and got it far enough to get to the bolts and easily removed the seat. The bad news, is when I started cleaning up the floor, I came upon some moderate rust where the "foot rest" meets the floor. There's an area about the size of a quater that is rusted through. I have some thinking to do as I'm not sure if I want to get buried too deeply.

[So Cal Mark]

an area that small can easily be patched, no need to replace the whole floor pan. Either fiberglass or a small metal patch attached with pop rivets and sealed will hold up just fine

[ga.spyder]

I have had good results using POR 15 or any good rust converter on small areas on other projects.Sand it down to the good metal ,paint it on ,then patch it like Mark suggested.It will keep it from spreading.I used it on some Jeeps that had rust issues and were off -roaded a lot. Never had any more problems ,and they were larger areas than you describe.
Craig

[Fifi1981]

I appreciate the info guys. Problem is, I didn't describe the rust accurately. It has rusted through the floor in that area. I have surface rust all over the place in the front. I intend on putting down some type of rust inhibitor in all areas that are now exposed.

My wife made a realistic point today though. It's not as though we plan on keeping it forever, and I doubt it would last a few more years anyways. So I think I'll just make a band-aid repair (a quality one) and enjoy her in the mean time. God knows she'll save us money in the gas department. 26+ mpg versus the 16 average I get in my guzzler Dakota.

I'll still keep Spider.com advised on the progress. I've decided not to give up on her after all.

[So Cal Mark]

surface rust isn't a problem, other than it'll take a while to clean it all and coat it. Then just drive the heck out of it