1998 XJ8 L: Currently trying to remove the front passenger seat module as the seat won't move.

Rocked the seat back enough to get to the module screw with the bolts loose but the screw is starting to strip and I want the whole seat out so I don't mess it up further and can properly extract the now stripping Phillips head bolt holding the module in. Front Torx bolts have been completely removed, however, while the back ones have broken loose after some PB Blaster and a longer ratchet handle they're now spinning infinitely but the bolts/seat aren't coming up. I don't want to rock the seat forward too hard and bend the brackets which hold the screws and I've done some prying on the bolts with a flathead screwdriver with the plastic cover removed but no luck. Couldn't get beneath the bolts, I can provide pictures if it helps but has anyone found a way to fix this? Should I just keep rocking the seat or pull it up very hard? Keep prying? The screws in the front had to pulled out by hand after they unscrewed all the way but these ones in the back are near impossible and didn't rise up as they came out the thread.

Let me know as I'm just trying not to break anything while doing this job as there is rust on the bolts/brackets. Thanks! (Will try to add a couple of pictures later)

 

I am a bit confused, the bolts for the front seat brackets are just spinning or the screws for the front seat module are spinning?

 

Look under the car. you may be able to see and access the captive nuts for the seat bolts.

 

Control Module (accessible, yet bolt is stripping and won't budge.)



Passenger seat rear left bolt



Passenger seat rear right bolt



Fully removed front bolts



Underside of car directly beneath passenger rear right bolt

 

Pictures posted above, underside appears to just have a solid panel with no access, I briefly tried to access them beneath the carpet and near areas but I have yet to find a port to the underside of these bolts.

Front bolts are both fully removed.
Back bolts are both fully broken loose/unscrewed, however, they just keep spinning and the seat won't lift from that point. It does rock back to access the module.
The module bolt is stuck and stripping, even with the easy access when rocked back. I'd like the seat out entirely so I can grind it to a flat head tip or some other method for easier extraction, also to clean/repair/repaint the rust damage on the seat brackets and carpet.

Also worried that these rear bolts may not screw back in properly once it's removed anyways. I turned the right rear bolt clockwise once they were fully loosened to see if it would retighten and it just kept spinning forever the same as it does in the counterclockwise direction.

All help is appreciated, thanks for the replies.

 

I suggest to make a slot to move forward the seat bracket or from underside cut the 'hump' to acces the bolt and solder back after seat repair. Hope this help

 

Yeah that’s a bad situation to be in, not a good solution besides cutting the top off that little nub underneath the floor. Make sure you keep everything cool when cutting and welding in that area. The last thing you wanna do is start the carpet on fire.

 

Get a small prybar, and lever it under the seat rail, or bolt head. Push upwards on the bolt (or ideally seat rail) with the prybar, and while maintaining pressure, unscrew the bolt, possibly with a light cordless impact to speed things along. The leverage should pull the weldnut against the underside of the panel and hold it in place enough to undo the bolt hopefully. That is, if I'm remembering right and these use weldnuts on the back, and not sheet metal clip nuts.

Might not hurt to spray some penetrating oil under the screws to free any corrosion, and maybe increase likelyhood of this working, if they don't come loose otherwise. Once you have everything out you can pull the carpet and reevaluate how to repair the nuts.