Squeaky Seat

PARTS & SUPPLIES NEEDED
1 annoying seat

TOOLS NEEDED
13mm socket
t50 socket
ratchet with extension
phillips head screwdriver
flat head screwdriver
safty glasses
grinder
welding machine & accessories (or a local shop)


My passenger side seat started squeaking it's ass off after my trip to Llano. If I grabbed the top of the seat and moved it side to side it made a terrible squeak.
So I decided to pull it apart to see if there were some loose screws or something. Turns out he frame was cracked on both sides. Awesome.

I didn't take pictures as I went so some of them are not perfect for the captions. Also, I'll point out that I started off with the seat staying in the Jeep. Do yourself a favor and pull it out from the beginning.


1. The first thing you will want to do is remove the seat itself. There are 2 bolts in the front and 2 in the back. Mine were a mix of 13mm and the t50.


2. Next, remove the plastic knob piece on the lever located on the side of the back support. I used a flat head screwdriver and just popped it off. The lever itself is dimpled towards the front of the seat so it should (in theory) be easier to pry off from the front side.


3. Use the phillips screwdriver to remove the screw that holds the trim piece on.


4. To get the cover off the seat is kind of annoying but it will be easier for you because of these pictures. Flop the seat so the face is pointing towards the ground (keep the seat itself in the non reclined position). You will see some plastic clasps that will remind you of a soft top and it's the same principle. Dig your flat head screw driver in there and seperate the pieces.


5. Now you will have acces to the metal rods on the front of the seat so flop it over and recline it flat. There are two metal rods that run up inside the seat that hold the fabric to the seat. The lower end is an eyelet which is held captive by a small ring.


6. To get the rods out, I pried the eyelets open just a hair. Keep the seat in it's reclined position and pulled slightly.


7. This popped the rods out of the top of the foam backing and allowed me to pull them out completely. Note the sleeves on the back of the cover thast the rods were in.


8. To get the foam all the way off, you'll need to start working the cover upwards. This includes getting it over the lever.


9. Once you get it over the lever, just remove everything that is left. You'll be able to see how the rods slide into the top of the foam & keep that in mind for the reinstall later.


10. Now you get to look for cracks. I only found two and they were small, but they were definitly the cause of the squeaking.


11. Before I get to the welding ... let me make a few excuses. I was never a master welder & I haven't welded in 3 years. When I did weld it wasn't often & I was never good with thin stuff. If you don't have a welding machine, you can skip step 12 & 13 and bring your seat to a muffler shop (or whatever) and have them weld the frame for you. It's not a hard weld if you know what you are doing. Or, if you are like me and don't know what you are doing, feel free to lay a bunch of boogers on there. Just be carfeul to not blow through it.

12. For all my excuses, the welding wasn't terrible. I started off at the lowest setting on my machine and built up some metal around the cracks. Then I went ahead and burned them together. I used E6013 (fleetweld 37s) and here is how I set my machine for the final passes.


13. Ugly but they wil hold. After making several passes and welding/grinding I was happy. In retrospect, I could have welded on some small plated and made it stronger but I think this will be fine. I used E6013 (fleetweld 37s) and here is how I set my machine for the final passes.


14. So, I hit it with some hammered paint I had lying around and let it dry.


15. Once everything was dry I put it all together again.

***When you are putting the cover back on, slip it all the way down, then slide the metal rods into the sleeves on the inside of the covers. You'll need to tugg on the cover to insert the rods into the top of the foam. From there you slip the eyelets into the rings, etc ...