I've realized that the front right(inside) bolt for my driver's seat is slightly loose. I took the T40 ratchet and was disappointed to find the bolt spins freely without getting any tighter.

I'm going to look at it tomorrow but I was wondering if any of you recall how the bolt attaches. Is there a captured (welded in place underneath) nut? If so I'll be battling the spinning bolt, ouch.

Is it a threaded hole in the floor?

A quick look today shows that the bolts on the outside (front and back) do not protrude into the open underneath. That side is enclosed in a long covered rectangular steel channel.
Hey while I'm asking: anyone know if that channel contains wires or fuel lines? If things go negative I may want to buy a longer bolt and drill straight down leaving 1/2 inch exposed for a nut from below.

I wasn't dressed to look at the faulty side, expect its the same.

Hey, nothing urgent. Just figured I'd ask in case anyone can shed some light on this before I dive in tomorrow.

Thanks, John

 

John,

I haven't had issues with an XK8 seat fixing but have had with an X300 front seat. Jaguar tend to replicate designs across models and the fixing method is likely to be similar. The X300 fixing is not welded but clips into a rectangular slot in the floor with a round hole for the bolt. The fixing not visible from beneath the vehicle.





The fixing had ripped out and split the floor. I knocked the floor back to shape and used a 'new' fixing (on the left) sourced from a breaker.


Here it is shown fitted:





It's an unusual type of captive nut I hadn't seen before. If the XK8 is the same, I don't think there's enough metal in the fixing to allow it to be tapped out to a larger size.

Graham

 

Wow thanks!!!! I'll let you know how it goes.

John

 

I think the xk8 seat bolt fixing is more substantial than the x300 (could be wrong).... but if you look at the photo it looks like a substantial captive nut held in place with two spot welds, if it just turns, it could be the bolt striped and not the captive nut, can you get some leverage under the bolt when turning it (tip of a screwdriver etc)

Photo..


Hope this helps....

 

Hi,
I seem to remember that the bolt is held by a threaded hole in the floor.
If you can expand the attached photo it should be visible.
I hope yours hasn’t stripped threads.
Good luck!

 

Hi again.
Better photo attached.
Cheers!

 

Wow, thanks for the great photos!! I don't know what happened but today it tightened normally!

Really big thanks again.

I was disappointed to find that the flex i felt in the front right side of the seat still exists after tightening. I'm going to have to pull the seat out to see what's worn. I just hope that nut doesn't drop away when I pull the bolt! I'll keep you all posted.

John

 

YES - this prompted me to dig deeper into my photo archive. My 2005 XK8 was exactly as you describe and as shown in your photos.




It would be a tricky job to replace if the captive nut stripped. I'd be tempted to cut a slot and use the X308 fixing as a repair.

Graham

 

I know this thread is some months old....
but i thought id show the captive nut from under the seat frame...

This photo is from above

This photo is from under the frame..


Hope this helps.

 

XKR Day, wow cool photo! Thanks for thinking of me!

All's good with my car FYI. After all the kind photos and comments I went back, it worked perfectly. I put it into the "Why ask why?" category :-) [probably figured my ego couldn't take the answer - ha ha]

Hey, at least we all have a good reference should this come up again! Thanks again!!

John

John