How do I properly remove the rear seats seatback so I can run wires from the trunk through the cabin ?


I know to remove the torx bolts down below, but how is it attached higher up?

 

I did this on mine when uprating the sound system.

The seat base is easy to remove-undo the central fasteners on the rear heelboards, remove them & then undo the 2 torx bolts-the seat base can then be pulled up & forwards.

To remove the seat back, undo the big seatbelt anchor torx bolts at the bottom, then you have to remove the 4 small crosshead screws at the bottom of the seat back-they secure the seat back bottom to the chassis. 2 of them are easy to find, at either side of the seat back by the rear doors. The 2 central screws are harder to find-you'll need to look under the bottom of the central armrest & they're behind there.

Once you've done all that, then the bottom of the seat back is now free to move. Now you have to allow the top of the seat back to move...

Carefully prise out the 3 plastic escutcheon trim pieces at the top of the seat back, where the 3 rear seatbelts pass through. Do this carefully as their locating tangs can break-it's a bit fiddly as you've got the rear windscreen in the way so watch out that any screwdrivers don't suddenly slip & smash the rear screen.

Once you've done all this, grab the bottom of the seat back & push the whole seat back upwards-you can leave the headrests in place. Once you've pushed it up a few inches, it will disengage from the locating tangs on the chassis at the top & then you can pull the top of the seat back forwards slightly-keep it raised high enough to clear the 3 seatbelt reels which are bolted to the chassis behind. Then you just thread the 3 seatbelts through the top holes where the 3 plastic trim pieces were located, pull the whole seat back forwards, and job done

To remove the rear parcel shelf, unscrew the 6 big Torx bolts holding the 3 seatbelt reels to the chassis. 3 bolts are at the front, and the other 3 are at the top, behind the reels on the rear shelf. You have to be really careful here as they're tight & you're working by the rear screen-so be careful not to smash the glass again. Once the bolts are all undone, the seatbelt reels can be pulled forwards.

The rear shelf can then be carefully lifted up from the centre & then pulled forwards-it may need a tug, so be careful you don't snap it in the centre.

 

A Big Thank You for this post.

 

Walter
Instructions & Illustrations 1998 thru 2003 XJ X308:

Rear Seat Back:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w096trynk9...st%20R%26I.pdf

Rear Seat Cushion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eayabm3zpk...on%20R%26I.pdf

Jim Lombardi