my lumbar support would not work so i took apaat the seat took the motoer/airpump out and it was frozen up . i took apart the top air pump clean and lubed it and it seem to be workning fine now . the problem is when i pumpm it up it stays hard for a few minute and then starts to go soft . i saw a value jut about the pump unit with a plug in . is this some sort of ony way check and is it not working and if so can it be fixed replexed bypassed thanks ray

 

Hi Ray

I'm not sure what year your car is, or whether there were different designs of lumbar supports across the different years, but on my 1992 car I had lumbar supports that made a lot of noise, but never did anything. When I refurbished my seats I started to investigate the lumbar supports and found that the tubing that connected the pump motor to the release valve and the actual bag itself was very brittle and cracked in a few places. I replaced all of the tubing on both seats using windscreen washer lines that I bought from Kragen Autoparts and since then they have both been working great, ie they inflate, and stay up, and can be deflated by the switch on the door.

I have heard that on the older cars it can be the bags themselves that start to leak, and there are various diy methods to repair them.

Take the seat back off and run the pump and the release valve and see if you can tell where the leak is......

 

my car is a 1988 xjs. i will recheck the hose and maybe but the airbladder into a tank of water to check for cracks leaks .thanks i let you know ray

 

My 96 XJS lumbar support pumps up just fine but it doesn't seem to hold the air - I'm thinking release valve. how exactly do you remove the seat back or where can I find out - The Kirby Palm book is terrific, but it seems to apply to older models.

As an aside, this is a very low mileage, well maintained, garaged car so I don't think rotting of the bag is the issue unless it's made of sheep stomachs or something organic.

 

El Gato,

I too have a 96 XJS. The lumbar fills the bag up and then slowly leaks out...it takes hours, but ultimately, the next day, I have to refill the lumbar bag.

I'd love to know if there is a permanent solution, I thought that's how the lumbar bag naturally worked. I didn't think it was designed to hold air over a long period of time, but I'll be happy to learn I'm wrong.

 

The only use I know for sheep stomach is in the making of haggis.Yummmeeee
hahahahaha

 

@nosox

+1 about the haggis :-)

@El Gato

I did mine while the seats were out of the car for recovering, but you can do this while they are in the car.

Tilt the seat forward.



Pull off the plastic handle that you just used to tilt the seat forwards
There are 2 screws underneath the back rest, 2 screws in the sides (1 each side), and 2 screws holding the plastic cover near the tilt handle.
You can now pull the cover off from the back. It's attached at the top of the seat by 2 kind of velcro things.

Now, having looked at some pictures of pre face lift cars, I'm not sure if they have this hard plastic cover on the back of the seats at all ??

Anyway, have a look and worst case we find out this procedure doesn't work.

@All

From what I saw on my car, the original piping material that goes from the pump to the bladder appeared to be of very suspect quality, and just hardened and snapped over time. The bladder itself on the other hand looks to be pretty robust, so hopefully your leaking is not from your bladder, but rather the piping. Post back if you can make any progress

 

hi i took off the back of the seat and removed one side of the lumbar bladder. i sprayed some soapy water on it and found a small hole in the seam the expands. I clean it wiuth some rubbing ach and but a bike tire patch on it . tested it and no more leak . wish all the problems were this easy to get to and fix have a good day ray in seattle

 

@BG

Awesome ! Sometimes the simple fixes are the best.

 

Has another found a source for replacement pump motor - I have power to it through the switch but it's doesn't turn - the pump and valve are separate - mine too the hoses are brittle but I think that's an easy fix... does anyone know if other years or models used the same pump motor that I could swap it out or find a suitable replacement somewhere...

 

Hi. Is there a particular trick method to removing the plastic handles? I had a go this morning, both sides, and they would not budge. I used a reasonable bit of force, though not excessive as I didn't want to break anything by pulling the wrong way.
On the driver's side one I noticed a thin metal rod running vertically just behind the handle, where it joins the shaft. I suspect there's a clip or latch or something....