Hey Jagsters,

My XK got over 105,000 miles on the clock and the seat squab (where your butt sits) is feeling a bit flat in the center area. I would like to bring that part to an upholsterer to add some foam cushion in there. Has anybody ever taken it off? Or are there any instructions online?

Thanks!

 

I found a local upholster shop near me and I am thinking of just taking the whole seat to him so he can add a bit of foam to the seat squab. Should I disconnect the battery first or just pull a fuse? The last thing I want is an air bag error code to pop up that won't go away.

 

Removing the seat is EZ/PZ. It is held by four fasteners. You will need to move the seat back/forth to fully expose the fasteners. Once the fasteners are removed, just tilt the seat to expose wiring beneath. Then simply unplug the wiring at the factory connectors, and the seat can be removed. No electrical danger in unpluging a "live harness", but you may fell better disconnecting the battery.

 

What Rey said. You might consider getting a couple of blankets to cover the door/fender area before lifting it out though. The runners on the bottom of the seat can really do a job on the paint.

 

Thank you both for chiming in. I did the job myself all for $14 buckaroonies. I did not have to remove the seat, but I did remove all 6 bolts holding it down.
Here is what I did in case somebody else wants to firm their seat up a bit.
Follow these steps in THIS order. (this will take about an hour)

Get a nice cushion for your knees so you don't beat them up when you are kneeling on the floor, and do this on a cool day to make your life easier.

1. Slide seat all the way back to get at the two bolts holding the front of the seat in place.
2. Slide seat forward and recline seat forward to remove the four torque bolts. Chances are that you will not have that size torque bolt in your tool box, so curse the gods and go to Harbor Freight to buy some torque bits.
3. No more sliding the seat at this point because if you do the spindle that it rides on will get out of place. NO more sliding!!!
4. Physically pull the seat back and flip it backwards so you can see the underside (it will be tight fit for the front of the seat to clear the steering wheel but it will clear it. (make sure the steering wheel is also as high up and in as much as possible)
5. Get a piece of wood to hold up the seat while you examine the bottom on it.
6. Note the two white elastic strings with hooks under the seat, if you look closely there are eyeslits that they slip out of ....using a pair of needle nose pliars, unhook them. This will release the flap that is pulling the rear seat back.
7. Now stand up, take a drink of cool lemonade and physically flip the seat forward as much as possible so you can see the rear underside of the seat. You now can reach under and undo the plastic retaining flap that holds the seat squab leather in place
8. Next you can simply pull up the squabs seat leather and see the cushion and the seat heater wire
9. Go to Lowe's and buy a flat seat cushion (get the one that has a cover that unzips)
10. Remove white foam from Lowe's seat cushion (use the seat cushion cover as a bag too hold tape, tools etc for your Jag.
12. Measure and cut the white foam to size and stuff it under the original seat cushion (not the leather but the actual cushion) - Make split in the foam for the heater wire.
13. The next part is the hard part, you have to get the plastic retaining flap back into place. If you notice that you have some white seat foam bulging out and blocking you from putting the flap into place simply pull away the excess (it pulls off easily). It will take a couple of tries to get that flap back into place - remember to pull it down, not sideways or you can rip it off.
14. Next flip the chair back the other way and put the two white elastic bands back into place.
14. You are now done. Put it all back together and sit down in your improved seat. It will feel like new again.