I’ll attach a copy of the TSB and a couple of pictures. ( as advised to me by Doug - many thanks )

Please check out the attached document which has a nice write up and pics to better show the process

 

I cannot really claim credit for the photos or instructions as these were sent to me by Steve Hannes, a poster that I "met" at Jag-Lovers forum while I was searching for ways to fix the headrest. I merely took the pictures and information that he had emailed to me and assembled into one easy to refer to package. The one modification I might make to the repair procedure is that it might not be necessary to remove both screws that secure the cable to the motor. Rather, I understand that you could remove one screw and just loosen the other to swing the cable restraining bracket out of the way.

Doug

 

hello
how can i download the document? Because i only get the information that i'm not allowed to download the file or to send pm's. What have i done wrong?

 

I tried doing this the other night, but I couldn't even get the upholstery opened up. The bottom of the seat back seems to be attached all the way from one side to the other. I couldn't figure out how to release it. And the TSB is essentially worthless when it comes to explaining how to open up the upholstery.

 

Robert, you need 3 days of membership and 10 posts to gain access to the linked documents hosted directly from this site. Please browse the New Member sticky=thread we have for newly registered members. You may have missed it.

 

You have indeed stumbled onto the most difficult and unintuitive part of the process. Not being able to figure out how to open the upholstery caused me to start and stop this fix three times until I finally accidentally figured it out.

I wish I had some pictures but I will try and explain it. There are two pieces of fabric that are joined via a plastic tongue-and-groove device. The overall joining is called the seatback finisher in the TSB. The tongue is attached to one of the pieces and the groove is on the other. You cannot readily see this since at each end, there is a small finisher piece that hides the end of the device. It is easiest to start at the end of the seat nearest the door. If you get down on the ground and sight along where the seatback meets the bottom, you should eventually figure out the small finisher piece. Once you slide this from the tongue-and-groove track. The rest will be obvious. You need to slightly open up the groove at the end and the tongue will dislodge. You will then end up with the two pieces of material separated and the rest will be easy.

At the end of the repair, you will need to finally join the tongue-and-groove gizmo. This takes a bit of playing around but, again, you will eventually stumble on the correct procedure (virtually impossible to explain but it just happens when you figure it out).

Don't give up!

Doug

 

I could feel the lesbian (tongue and groove) gizmo, but I couldn't figure out how to open it up. Do the two pieces slide past each other like a drawer glide, or do they squeeze together like a zip-lock baggy?

 

That was my first mistake once I found the tongue-and-groove piece (that extends almost the full width of the rear of the seat). I kept trying to slide these apart but, obviously, the material keeps you from being able to slide more than an inch or so in either direction. So what you have to do is forget about the sliding and go to the end nearest the door. Slide the tongue part (this is starting to sound dirty) towards the center console. Then pry the ends of the groove apart and the tongue should disengage.

Doug

 

Just purchased 2002 XK8 Coupe headrest motors run but do not go up or down. How can I access the headrest document attached.
Thanks

 

See H20boys post above.

 

Sam- Get your wife to help you.

When my husband helped me work on the headrests, he couldn't do it either. For me, it was the easiest part. Also, small hands are a benefit with the Torx drivers.

 

Atta Girl! . . . excuse me!

Dudette!

 

Excellent write up and great thread. Went out this morning and got both headrests done in less than 45 minutes. Doug is correct, it makes it much easier to just remove the outer screw and pivot the retainer to remove the cable. I used a 1/4" drive ratchet with a 3 inch extention on the torx bit and acess to the screws was no problem.

 

Thanks to all - did both seats today and would have been clueless without this thread, the pics, and the video.

 

Thanks guys, I will attempt this on Saturday.

 

I fixed both seats today. No parts needed at all.

• After disassembly, I cut the conduit right above the metal end.
• Then took a dremel and cleaned the plastic conduit remnant out of the metal end.
• Next I spread the metal end out so I could put the (now shorter) cable back in.
• Finally crimped the metal back to the conduit.

Reassembled. Work great now.

 

This is very helpful - I have to repair both headrests on my recently acquired XK8. Thank you for the write up and posting.

 

...or consider doing what I did, i.e. disconnect the headrest motors since they're a nuisance even when they do work