Hi, I am trying to remove the front seat in my 2000 XK8, but cannot figure out how to remove the trim that covers the front seat mounting bolt. I tried to remove it by lifting, sliding, pulling, etc, and have cracked it a bit, but can't seem to get it off to expose the bolt. Does anyone know the secret to get this piece of trim off? Thanks for your help, Wes

 

Moving the seat back does not give you the access you need?

 

I have looked at this one too. According to JTIS you should be able to get to all bolts by moving the seat back and forth, but.... I have the same issue, there is a plastic trim piece that is attached to the seat does not allow access to the forward bolt that is closer to the door.

The reason I was looking at this is I was hoping to be able to figure out a way to lower the drivers seat. Even with it at the lowest position that the motors will move it, I think it would be more comfortable another half inch to an inch lower.

So I will expand the question - how do you get that trim piece off without breaking it and is there a way to lower the drivers seat?

 

I used a long medium thin screwdriver and inserted it under the plastic cover. Insert the screwdriver from the front center of the seat and carefully twist the screwdriver after it is inserted. This will pry the cover free. The cover is secured to the frame with double-sticky tape.

 

ok, that got it - Thanks Paul!! good info.

BTW, there is a clip on the front that should pull up and loosen the front and a slot and tab locater on back. My piece of double sided tape was about 2 inches long and in the middle of the trim piece slightly to forward. It also really helped to move the seat all the way up first. Gives more room to work the screwdriver around.

For re-assembly, I have some good, thin double sided tape that 3M makes for exterior side molding that I have found is really good for some of this interior stuff also (especially useful if any clips get broken). Its black and about half the thickness of the normal white foam tape you see at Home Depot. I got this at an automotive paint store awhile back.

Hope that helps wesyoung.

Now, anyone know a good way to lower the drivers seat?

 

I couldn't agree more. The first time I sat in one of these I thought the front seat was about 1" or so higher than I preferred. I am sure that part of this feeling was due to driving my 1995 Corvette for the past 14 years where the seating is pretty low and cockpit-like. But in my XKR I always feel like my line-of-sight through the front windshield is too high.

Doug

 

Thanks for the info. I got the trim off. I wasn't expecting tape to be holding the trim on.

 

If your over 6' tall and your XK is a coupe you will only be comfortable if you adjust the seat back, back. Though the drivers seat will adjust down it is still not down enough. It takes some getting us to. The ergonomics aren't the best for tall people.

 

I am 5'11" and have a convertible and still feel the seat does not go low enough. Even in my 96 Vanden Plas I felt lower. And I agree, as a avid Corvette guy in earlier times, that is the correct position for a sports car.

I know I can get used to it. I just wanna fix it!!!!

 

And I am only about 5'-7" (or 5'-8" on a good day) and it still seems like the seating is set more for some huge luxury sedan rather than a sport/grand touring car--way too high.

Doug

 

Hi Mbalce. I came across this thread and was wondering if you ever figured out how to lower the drivers seat in your Jaguar. I have a '97 XK8 and I would like to lower it a few inches. I would PM you, but apparently new users don't have that privilege.

 

If you come up with away to do it,then share it with the forum.I saw your post and the answer that you got back from the JagTech.If someone comes up with a better way to solve the issue it would be to the benfit to share it with of us all.It also will be available for a future search by others.

Sorry to highjack the post but I just wanted to put in my two cents worth.

 

Having had the same problem, 10 years after the last post, I ended up breaking the trim piece. I saw no other way to do it. The sticky tape was welded on there. I broke off the front piece to get to the bolt that holds the seat in. The other 3 bolts have easy access by moving the sat back and forth to gain access. Once I broke the trim piece off and took the last bolt out, I pivoted the seat up, as I needed to access the parking brake. Once the seat was free, I was able to get much better access to the trim piece and was able to pry it off, with a lot of effort.

If you can get the trim piece off without breaking it, more power to you, but I could not. Anyway, I got the remaining pieces (Photo 1) and used JB Weld, which is an epoxy, to secure the pieces back together (Photo 2-3). I did multiple applications on the front and back to ensure full coverage and strength. I then hand-sanded the epoxy smooth, but not too smooth to give it some texture, as original. Once sanded properly, I used some primer, then I painted the piece brown (sparingly and lightly), then I shot it with khaki to lighten it to the factory color. It's not perfect, but it's extremely close. As you can see on Photo 4), it turned out pretty well. I then used some non-military strength double sided sticky tape to put the piece back on to allow for easy removal if it needs to come off again in the future.

The point of this is that these pieces are fairly easy to repair if you (have to) break them.

 

Nice job!