Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Salvaging a manual seat track for my '06 Mustang.

The seat was beat, but the track is gold,

As well as a "work around" for a non functioning power seat.

These manual seat tracks are quite rare.

Now, I've got two squirreled away! 

What's not rare is having a power seat assembly wear out in your Mustang. I replaced the power track in my '96 with a manual unit, and I've never missed the power assist. 

It's not such a problem if you are the only driver, or if the other drivers can use the same position. 

I like the manual adjuster, it will seldom break and it should never wear out. Who constantly runs the seat back and forth? It also has a cool height adjustment. 

Pull up on the handle to adjust height.

I got a real good deal when I bought the complete seat at the Pick and Pull in San Jose. Just a flat price,  maybe it was on sale. When I bought my second base, the cashier was going to charge me for every part on the seat base! Watch for the sales. This track came from a basic cloth seat, and I actually liked it better than the leather upholstery, except that it was a bit chewed up! I drove my Daughter's car with it installed and found it to be quite comfortable.

I told her to drive the car with the mismatched seat while I tried to locate a good used seat motor. It took me a while.

Since I'm not saving the seat bottom,
I just cut access through the foam.

I got into a pretty big funk when I was unable to find a new replacement seat motor for a reasonable price, they were priced at over 400 dollars! There haven't been any service parts made available yet. I'm hoping that the Mustang aftermarket comes to the rescue.

There is a work around if the seat breaks down in the wrong position. This can occur if you let kids play in your car, they love to move the seats all the way back and forth. Again and again! Keep them out!

The entire assembly fit in a heavy duty trash bag.

I went through a lot of hassles dealing with the smart junction box in my Daughter's '07. I despaired that we enthusiasts were not going to be able to maintain our cars in the future. The electronics and powered assists are the problem.  Oftentimes there are no manual alternatives. For example, there are cars that never offered manual seats.

I wonder if the manual seat tracks from my '07 F150 might fit my '06 Navigator, should the need arise. I'll explore that in later wrecking yards excursions. 

Bagged and tagged. A little peace of mind, for the future.

I actually went into a pretty deep funk, I felt like there was no future for us car guys that prefer later model cars. Simple vehicles like old pick up trucks don't have any powered accessories and they are easy to repair. Parts for later models would be unavailable, except from the wrecking yard.  I know that's why many enthusiasts choose older cars with less technology. 

If your powered seat adjuster stops working and you can no longer position the seat properly, don't despair.

The work around is to unbolt the seat and flip over for access to the motor and track. The part that breaks is the junction box where the direction of the power shaft is turned 90 degrees.The teeth of the nylon gears strip, and even though the motor spins the shaft, it can't engage. You can turn the power shaft by hand and move the seat forward or back, it will remain in place once adjusted. Now the owner/ driver can use his car again. This is not something that you will adjust on a regular basis, but if it's your car, it should fit you! If you have a co driver, then it's back to pillows and back support cushions for them.

The process is described in more detail below.

The motor power enters the 90 degree elbow from the left. It is turned 90 degrees and turns the traveller "T" shaft. The traveller moves along the shaft pulling the track forward and backwards.

When you unbolt the traveller from the track, you can turn the shaft "P" clockwise and counter clockwise to move the seat track into the desired position. Move both sides to the same position.

Bolt the travellers back to the seat frame and re-install seat. It should remain in this position. I would disconnect the power to the motor so that the seat can't be adjusted again. Sometimes those gears will engage just long enough to mess things up, again. 

If your power adjustment is currently working, do not let anyone play with the adjustment! These parts have a limited life span. I only infrequently adjust the seat position. You might get lucky and find a usable seat motor assembly at a wrecking yard, if you do, buy it! I still have hopes that the aftermarket industry will reproduce repair parts. 

Next, I'm going to collect a couple of "smart" junction boxes for my '06 Mustang. They are cheap at Pick and Pull. More time at the yard!