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caution about disconnecting the battery.... the seat is held in by four bolts if you disconnect the battery you wont be able to move the seat to get at the other set of bolts...also place cardboard betwean the console and the seat and also tape some to the door from the elbow rest down to prevent from tearing the leather when removing the seat.... once unbolted you can tilt the seat to unplug it from the harness.
I have a 1997 XK8 with somewhat shabby leather upholstery. It is too badly damaged to refinish. I'd like some advice on three subjects please:
What is the procedure to remove the front seats so that I can take them to an upholsterer? I'd rather do that than leave the whole car at their mercy. There is a good shop in my area that I have used before, but it is pretty small and tying up their space would be a disadvantage to both of us.
Is there a preferred vendor of replacement leather, perhaps in kit form? My interior trim code is AGD and I'd like to find out if that is Oatmeal, Doeskin, Ivory or what? Help with this puzzlement would be most appreciated.
I am aware of a wrecked 1999 XK8 whose seats are available. Would the seats of a 99 fit a 97?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Don Elliott
Gig Harbor, WA
I just had my seats recovered. Got the hides from TopsOnline. First rate quality and perfect fit. My installer was blown away how perfectly they fit. My 2000 XKR looks like it came out of the factory now.
I am trying to remove the front seats of my 1997 XK8 convertible for a number of reasons: 1) to recover them, 2) to pull up the carpeting to get to the wiring harnesses below the carpeting which I believe are corroded, and 3) to replace the carpeting which has been the victim of too many times the top was left open in the rain.
The passenger seat was an easy removal, but the driver's seat will not move due yto a motor problem and the seat is stuck in a position where the Torx nuts are covered by the seat rails. Does anyone know a method to access those nuts to remove the seats? I've tried hooking the motors directly to the battery to advance the seats but no success.
Any advice? Even my mechanic can't figure it out, and thinks we may have to drill upward through the body, which sounds barbaric.
Hold on there's gotta be a better way. I'm not at my car but I seem to remember that maybe there's a way to unbolt the seat from the track?
I'll look later. But you've got one out now, take a look at passenger seat from that perspective, kind of out of the box thinking? (Gosh, when I say that it reminds me of countless corporate training classes - that and Maslow's hierarchy of needs [barf] ;-))
Hi John:
I'd think out of the box, but the box is bolted to the floor... I look forward to any solution you can conceive. I've attached photos of the front and rear nuts holding down the seats. It's difficult to tell, but the top of the Torx nuts are covered by the rail and can't be accessed.
Can you get a torx bit in there and turn it with a pair of pliers or an open ended wrench. It would be tedious but sounds better than drilling from below.
I got side tracked this afternoon. Not ignoring you, let me pull out my fiber optic camera and take a look 2morrow morning. I keep feeling like this came up once in the past and someone found a workaround, that's why I'm so hopeful.
Having seat motor failure is rare. The more common problem is the controller needs repair. You can remove the passenger seat controller and swap it to see movement is restored. If it is the control box lets us know and we can advise on where to have it repaired.
Hi guys, anyone has instructions on how to remove the switch pack from the side of the seat? I’m replacing the torn leather on the seat and got everything taken apart, apart from this bloody thing. Tried prying, but I’m worried I will break the thing so figured out, I will ask first.
You do indeed have to pry around the edges but as you already realize, caution must be taken. You will probably be far less likely to cause damage if you use a plastic tool designed for removing these various interior pieces....
If I remember correctly they are at each end. Gently work your tool in those areas and try to get your eyes behind the piece to see what you can see....
clip points are on each end - if I recall - slide it forward and then you can insert a thin screw driver or piece of metal at the rear end to release the clip and rotate the back end out away from the seat. then the you can slide back and the front will release
