Issue With Seat Guide/Rail

Hey everyone,

I had to remove my seats recently and I was unable to slide one of them back far enough to expose the front bolts that hold the rails to the floor. It was like it was hitting the end of it's travel rather than seizing up. No amount of fiddling with the controls allowed the seat to go all the way back so I resorted to unbolting the seat from the rails and then removing the front bolts holding the rails to the floor via an access hole in each rail.

Once I had the rails separated, I isolated the issue to the outer rail without the adjustment mechanism. The part I am referring to is item 15 in the attached diagram. It looks as though the bearings inside are hitting the metal stop in the middle of the rail prematurely. It is hard to tell though because the gap to see all this is only about 1MM wide.

It doesn't look like this is a serviceable unit and I have been unable to find a new or used replacement part. Has anyone else come across this issue before? If so, is it something that can be fixed or is a replacement part required?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Mark
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Had the same issue. It turned out one of the Allen cap bolts that hold the track to the floor was replaced with a standard one which has a cap too tall to allow the track to fully move. This was on the front however.


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very possible.

If you are having problem with rails from the driver seat, you can swap them for rails from the passenger seat and get another 25 years of use ....

 

Crowndog, I know what you mean but this is definitely caused by the bearings. I've inspected the rail several times since I posted and compared it to the other side. I noticed that the bearings have somehow moved to the wrong side of the stops which has effectively shortened the travel of the rail. I could possibly force them back to the correct side but now I'm concerned that it will happen again.

The one I'm having issues with is actually the passenger side. The good news is, I've managed to track down a replacement rail so hopefully there won't be any issues with it when it arrives.

 

I think you could take it apart but it's sort of crimped together so it would be tough. Hopefully the new one works nice and smooth.

 

I believe there is a roller inside the runner mechanism. Had the same problem on my 1974 Alfa Romeo Montreal. I think the seat runners were made by one of a couple of suppliers. Anyway, I managed to move the "roller' back over the stop and lubricated it. Problem went away. My 85 QV Seat runners are different, so this comment may be useless for you. I know about the "standard" head problem. That is why when you compare the Allen Head bolts you will find the Seat bolts have a much shorter head. If you cannot find a replacement square headed Cap Screw, try one with a Domed Head, they are usually shorter in the head height and can be found in the same Grade (8.8 Grade) level.