Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Sometimes you just have to do the work; Fixing my truck's seat.

 I spend a lot of time on this blog writing about my musings and ramblings...

The seat looks bad enough in this photo.
But that was taken over two years ago!

But sometimes, you just have to stop talking and do the work!

This is what the seat cover looks like now. Much worse and with more of the underlying foam exposed, it is likely to suffer even more damage. This photo was taken after the cover was removed.

A seat cushion like this makes your vehicle look kind of junky.

This is the split seam on the armrest.
I had covered it up with a strip of duct tape.

The driver's seat bottom cushion had been cracking and deteriorating for many years. Once this process has started it doesn't end. Attempts to patch it up would be doomed to failure. I couldn't stitch in a patch because the vinyl was so old and brittle that it would just tear as I attempted to sew it on. You can't use duct tape to repair it. The heat will cause the adhesive to get soft and gummy and it will get on your clothes. One other option is to get a semi-fitted seat cover that will fit over the damaged upholstery, I'd seen a few of those online and considered them. Of course I could just run down to O'Reilly's and pick up a set of those awful cheap nylon stretch on covers. I think that those end up looking worse than the worn out seat. 

Instead I chose the easiest path and just decided to ignore the problem. As I had mentioned, I did this for many years, and it just got worse. "Doesn't the craze for "patina" extend to the interior?

A couple of years ago I started searching the web to see if I could find  OEM type replacement seat upholstery. This would replace the original vinyl covering, and should return the look and condition back to like new.

Some of this trash has been here for 19 years.

I took a lot of photos to document the process, but not every step. The first thing is to remove the seat by removing four bolts, and unplugging any wire connectors. My truck is the most basic model and there was only a single connector to undo.

I lugged the heavy seat to my porch where I removed the bottom seat cushion, I left the rest of the seat there until I was ready to reassemble it. Be very cautious handling the seat frame. It is made out of stamped steel sections and there are a lot, and I mean a lot of very sharp edges ready to shred up your hand. You don't need to wear gloves, just take your time and be careful handling the framing and seat pan.

I laid the replacement seat and arm rest cover out in the patio in the sun so that the vinyl would warm up and release any creases or wrinkles that had occurred while the product was being shipped.

The Seat Shop has a very detailed selection of DIY installation videos available online. I had ordered this seat cover off of EBay from some no name supplier, it only cost me around fifty bucks and looked to be of adequate quality. There were some areas that it was deficient in though. I'll explain that a bit later and describe a work around. The arm rest cover that I installed was bought from the Seat Shop, the fit and quality were very satisfactory. Although this repair was not the most arduous thing I'd ever done, I'd recommend going with the higher quality upholstery items, the repair would likely last another 150,000 miles. Might as well go for the "lifetime" repair.

It was much more comfortable working in the house on a big table.
Especially since it was over 90 degrees outside.

At last I got to use the big table in my Wife's studio. I was careful to place some cardboard under the cushion to prevent any damage to the table.

The cover is held on by plastic clips that grip the edge of the metal seat pan.

This is the long front clip, there is another along the 
rear edge. The light gray line is the reinforced seam that the hog rings attach to.

Removing the original covering was straightforward. I undid the clips along the sides, and pulled up the vinyl to expose the seams that were hog ringed to the base. I carefully used a pair of diagonals to twist the hog rings open. Cutting the rings with a Dremel might be a better idea, as the "rods" that the ring attach to are made of plastic. I managed to remove them without any damage.

The foam had obviously seen better days.

Replacing the seat foam would be the quickest, easiest and most satisfactory way to rebuild the base of seat.

The metal frame cut a neat line right through the foam.

              I wrapped a few layers of duct tape over this edge before I replaced the cover.

I had watched a video that recommended steaming the foam to expand it back to more of it's original thickness. I decided to pass on that step.

Yankee Ingenuity or a dirt bag bodge?
You decide!

There are new seat foam "buns" available for this application.The company that I bought the arm rest cover from; The Seat Shop, sells the replacement foam "buns" as well as replacement seat upholstery covers for Ford and other trucks. They recommend replacing the foam when you replace the seat coverings. That makes sense as the foam will be worn and likely damaged from years of use. Their covers are also kind of expensive; they are hand sewn to order in the U.S. (Texas) and are very high quality. It would be well worth the additional expense, because when finished, your truck would have a virtually brand new interior

I thought that I might need some foam rubber sheeting to build up the old foam base. I went to a local fabric store and they did not carry 1/4 inch sheeting. I thought that I had some foam sheets that I'd saved over the years, somewhere in the garage, but I must have tossed that box. 

I dove into the project one morning and found that the seat cushion would look a lot better built up. I didn't have any foam rubber laying around, but I did have a big car washing sponge. Hmmm. I could use this as part of the base build up. Since I didn't buy any foam sheet what else could I use? I spied  an old blue yoga mat in the garage. This would be perfect, it is a bit thicker than 1/4 inch and it is a tough high density foam.

Yeah, it is kind of bogus, and I should be a bit embarrassed to admit what I did. It's kinda like screwing a flattened tin can over a rusted out hole in the car body and covering that with bondo. Well maybe not that bad! But I was already committed to the project and I wasn't going to slow down now.

The blue section of the mat is wrapped over the section of sponge. 

I cut a section out of the sponge, fitted it to the void in the foam base and duct taped it to the existing foam. I knew that wouldn't stay attached for very long under use. Then a cut a section of yoga mat and wrapped it over the repaired section. I tucked a long flap of the mat under the seat cushion, over that metal bracket that had cut the foam. I duct taped the upper part right along the seam that held a plastic rod that the seat cover's hog rings would be secured to.

I knew that the hog rings would hold the seat cover in position; it wouldn't shift or move to the side. By tucking the section of the yoga mat under the cushion and on top of the metal framing, any weight on the seat cushion would also prevent it from moving. Hopefully.

Loaded and ready to go.

Hog rings are used to secure certain reinforced seams in the upholstery cover to the framework of the seat cushion/seat frame. I had read about this process over the years in various DIY upholstery stories in various Hot Rod magazines. The pliers are spring loaded to hold the ring securely in the jaws of the pliers, which makes the process much easier. I bought a cheap set that included a large quantity of different sized hog rings for less than ten bucks online. They worked fine. 

I was a bit hesitant because I'd never used them before, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The main thing is to push the pliers down deep enough into the foam, so that the ring can grab the rod and be secured properly. I missed on a couple of tries, and the ring just closed without grabbing anything. It was simple to just place another ring next to this one and do it again.

I made a hole for the hog ring in the reinforced seam with an awl.
You can see how the blue foam wraps around the repair and under the cushion. 

There was a depression in the front of the seat cushion that had spots for four hog rings. Another two depressions were perpendicular to this line, and the cover was hog ringed along those lines also. Secured this way, the seat covering would not move around or shift on the cushion.

The seat base was now flipped over. The fitted cover was stretched over the foam base, rolling the cover on while compressing and stuffing the foam inside. I did each corner individually. The repaired section was stuffed into the cover and smoothed down, The repaired area was thick enough to completely fill the bolster of the seat.

These replacement covers are anchored to the metal seat base in the stock manner. There are long plastic strips that fold over and snap to portions of the metal frame. This is where the lower quality of the cheap cover makes itself known. I had no problems attaching the rear clip, it fit well and snapped into place. The front clip also snapped into place easily. The cover was missing one of the side straps at the back, but the single strap clipped into place easily and securely.  There were three or four additional clips around the sides, and though they initially snapped into place, they pulled free with even a small bit of pressure. I thought of an easy fix. I held them in place by hand, and drilled a couple of small holes and secured them with some small screws. These screws are not visible and they did not damage the upholstery. 

As I mentioned, this cover was not exactly identical to the OEM cover. I also had to drill a hole in a plastic strap/piece to secure that strap to the seat base with a plastic push in pin. 

After I was finished I smoothed out the cushion by pushing my hands along the surface and then laid it out in the sun to soften and smooth any bumps or small folds.

I thought that it looked pretty good.

Now to move on to the arm rest.

Since I had removed the driver's seat I had plenty of room to access and remove the cover over the hinge mechanism.

Only one screw secured the cover.

I just had to remove a single torx bolt.
Note the position of the white plastic piece.

The right side cover was also held on by a single screw. 
Two bolts secured the arm rest on this side.

First, just unzip the back.

After unzipping the back, I removed the cover by peeling it off backwards, like a wet sock.

As I reached the torn seam, I wondered if it was held by hog rings. It was.

The seam was held in place by three hog rings and I carefully removed them by twisting them with a needle nose pliers. The seam in the cover had a flap that held a wire rod.

I held onto this wire in case it was needed with the new cover.
It wasn't.

The new cover didn't reuse the metal rod and it had a reinforced seam
with a plastic section to attach the hog rings to.

I replaced the new cover in the reverse manner. I turned it inside out and put it on like a stocking. I lined up the reinforced seam and installed the three hog rings to secure the cover. Once the cover was completely in place I had to make a hole for the limiting pin to protrude through. I forgot to locate the hole where the torx bolt would screw into the armrest, After an attempt to fit the arm rest in place I realized that the pin fit in the semi circular slot, with the white plastic piece. On the passenger side I had to locate the two mounting bolts and mark the cover and make the necessary holes.

After making this hole I had to locate one 
for the torx mounting bolt.

Once the arm rest was in place I checked it several times by folding it up and down. Then I replaced the plastic covers on both sides. 

I reinstalled the seat bottom to the seat frame with four nuts. I then carried the set back to the truck and set it in position, I hooked up the single electrical connection. The seat has to be moved forward and backward on the tracks to allow access to the front and rear mounting bolts. This will be apparent when you remove the seat. 

It looks as good as new and really improved the look of the interior.

What a difference! The drivers seat and arm rest look brand new. The only issue is that the upholstery in the center portion of the seat cover doesn't exactly match the center panel of the seat back, which has a kind of faux perforated look. However the improvement in the look of the interior made my Wife and Son overlook that entirely, until I pointed that out to them. I can live with the mismatch.

Exactly how long my repaired bottom cushion will hold up is anyone's guess. Since I already had the EBay cover, I figured that I would just go with it and do the best I could. I am so pleased by the results that I wouldn't hesitate to order a set of replacement top and bottom covers as well as a new set of seat buns. These would be sourced from the Seat Shop. 

Their motto is: Restore your truck interior the way that it wears out, one piece at a time. That makes a lot of sense, as the degree of wear varies with the use of the vehicle. In my case, I usually drive my truck solo and the passenger seat gets very little use, it still looks like new. 

The process is simple and straightforward and any owner with a bit of mechanical sense and a few tools can achieve a satisfactory result. This is the kind of DIY project that yields a lot of satisfaction at a reasonable expense.

What do I mean by reasonable? I checked the cost for a new driver's seat bottom foam cushion and for bottom and top seat covers. The new bottom cushion is 139.00, the bottom seat cover is 169.00, and the top seat cover goes for 199.00. So we're talking a bit over 500 bucks, just for one seat. But realistically it's the driver's seat bottom that is subject to the most wear. Oftentimes the seat back is still in great shape after many years, and won't need to be replaced. Even if you did both seats and it cost you a bit over a grand, I think that it would still be worth it. Your truck would look like new inside, and it would be as comfortable as the day you bought it. 

A lower buck alternative would be to locate a used passenger seat that is still in good shape at a wrecking yard. You could salvage the seat cushion and maybe even the seat covering, though the seat cushions may vary a bit from right to left sides. Using it might require a bit of ingenuity. When I was looking for power seat motors for my '97 Buick Riviera I found many cars in the wrecking yard with seats in remarkably good condition. The truth is, that you never know what you might find, but it does take up a lot of time to scour those lots!

So sourcing new parts off the web might be worth the added expense. As I mentioned earlier, the EBay seat cover was of satisfactory quality and was quite a bit cheaper, so that's also another alternative. I have been researching  semi custom fit aftermarket seat covers and I might have more to say on that subject in the future.

The interior of your vehicle is very important, it's where you spend all your time!