I have a 97 XC Z71 that I bought brand new. Recently, both the driver and passenger side seatbacks have begun to "twist" towards the center console. It is like only one side of the seat back is being supported. It must be a common problem because I have searched in person and online for replacement seats with no luck. The material on the seats is in really good shape as I also use seat covers. I was wondering is there anyway to repair these or a known fix for this problem?
Broken Bucket Seats
- Thread starter Fender62
- Start date
Molson02536
New member
OK right, well you can replace the foam support in the seat it self, but that requires you to take the seat apart and replace the foam cushion that give it's shape and contour. Here is some information on how to and also if you like to replace the Cloth covers with leather here it go's and good luck.
All seats are put together a little differently so there is no way for me to tell you exactly how to recover your seats without actually seeing them.
What you should do is start by taking your seats apart. Depending on how your covers are held on to the seats you will need to either unhook the plastic clips that hold the cover on underneath, or cut the hog rings. Peel the cover off paying special attention to how it comes apart ( you will be reversing the process later). Once the cover is off make sure that there is some kind of reference mark on the seam allowance (the 1/4" allowance of fabric that is on the inside of the seam). If not, make some marks by taking a small pie shaped nip out of the seam allowance every 6" or so (these marks will help you line up the pieces of cloth when you sew them together again). Once this is done, use a razor blade or seam ripper to cut out all the stitching. Mark all of the pieces as left side, right side, top, seat, back, outside back, etc.
Take all of the pieces that you took apart and arrange them on your new cloth. Usually automotive cloth will have a backing on it that will allow it to stretch more in one direction than the other (unless you are using really cheap automotive cloth or leather). Arrange the pieces on the new cloth/leather with the "stretch" going up and down. You can use a ball point pen to outline the pieces before you cut them out. Be sure to mark all of the reference points on your new patterns! Also, DO NOT use a permanent felt marker to trace your patterns because over time it will bleed through the new covers!
From here it is just a matter of sewing it back together. If your seats have piping (the bead of cloth/leather sewn into the seam) then you will find it easier to use some pre-made leather piping. This can be found at an upholstery supply warehouse or possibly at larger fabric stores. If your original seats have foam backing on the then you will need to pick up some 1/4" or 1/2" mesh backed foam. The mesh backing allows you to sew it without the thread cutting through the foam and allows it to feed easier through the sewing machine. You will also need a can of spray adhesive in order to glue your new cloth/leather patterns to the mesh backed foam (this makes it easier for a beginner to keep things lined up). After cutting out the new foam backed patterns you will need to sew around the perimeter of the pattern/foam using a 1/8" seam allowance. This will keep the foam and cloth/leather permanently attached as you handle it. The piping will need to be sewn in at the same time as everything else.
Using a POLYESTER UPHOLSTERY THREAD and the LONGEST STITCH LENGTH on your sewing machine, line up all of your reference marks then sew everything back together using the same seam allowance measurement as the original.
Note: Leather will not usually feed evenly through the sewing machine, one side will stretch more than the other throwing your patterns off (even with a walking foot sewing machine). One trick that I sometimes use to solve this problem is to staple the leather together inside of the seam allowance. This is more accurate and easier than pinning, just remember to pull the staples out after you sew it together. Also use the longest stitch length possible, otherwise the sewing needle will perforate the vinyl causing it to tear where you sewed it!
Once everything is sewn up then slide the new cover on and check the fit. If everything looks good then put it on! Sometimes you will need to glue or clip parts of the new cover in order to keep concave/convex curves in place, just follow what the original cover did. Then you can either hog ring your new covers on if that was the way they were originally attached, or you can reuse the plastic clips that were sewn onto the original cover (if you reuse the plastic clips you will need to sew them on before you start putting the cover on).
A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. Get a "how to upholster book". You can usually find these at your local book store in the automotive section.
2. Cheap Cloth/Leather will not last very long. I used cheap fabric store leather when I recovered the seats in the tour bus one year. This leather only lasted about 1 year before it started to crack, crumble and disintegrate. Use marine/automotive grade leather! This Leather is UV treated and is better quality, it costs more but it's worth it!
3. Use a high strength/high temp adhesive. Otherwise the glue will release in high heat. You can probably get away with using 3M high strength 90 (found at larger hardware stores), but DO NOT use 3M 77, 3M 74, or anything from the fabric store, even if it does say "foam/leather adhesive"!
4. Sewing piping. I could write a whole chapter on how to measure, cut and sew piping (aka welt/welting and cord/cording), but I didn't feel like going into any great depth on the topic since it really is easier for a beginner to use the pre-made stuff.
5. Every seat is different. So these are just general tips for recovering your seats. These tips are also given assuming that your seat foam is in good condition.
6. $250 is a really good price for the re-upholstery of 2 seats!
Thanks, lots of good info there!! That must have taken a long time to type. However, I think the foam is in very good condition, and it seems like the frame of the seatback is bent or mis-aligned. Like the right side is a notch farther back than the left side. It's as if you are leaning the seat back, but only the right side. It seems to be leaning back an inch or so more than the left side.
I hope that makes sense. I tried to lean the seat back all the way and see if both sides would somehow straighten/even up. It seems relatively even when the seatback is all the way back, (it appears the seatback hits the back seat bench almost evenly) but it's kind of hard to tell. I think I need to recheck, though. It seems to be more of a seat frame issue rather than a foam/upholstery issue. I didn't know if there was a way to bring the rightside forward a "notch" or something.
I hope that makes sense. I tried to lean the seat back all the way and see if both sides would somehow straighten/even up. It seems relatively even when the seatback is all the way back, (it appears the seatback hits the back seat bench almost evenly) but it's kind of hard to tell. I think I need to recheck, though. It seems to be more of a seat frame issue rather than a foam/upholstery issue. I didn't know if there was a way to bring the rightside forward a "notch" or something.
Molson02536
New member
Oh got yha. It's the frame then that needs to be realigned. The frame on the seat are not that strong and bends easily, after time of the body's weight on it plus the movement of the truck will cause it to bend on that side. The out side is the stronger side, since it has the locking brace for the different position on how far you want to lean the seat back. You can re-bend the frame back to how it was, it's just easier with the covers off and you can see the bare frame it self. Depending on how your seat is like,you may be able to do it with a persuader to re-align your seat. If you have some time, practice at a Salvage yard first with one of there seat from a salvaged Sierra. Just don't teel them i told you to do it LOL.
Good luck ed and hope this helps, we have the same problem on the tour bus and we breakout the Mig welder for broken frames.