How do you remove a dead power seat?
 

Anyone know how to move a dead driver's power seat forward so you can get the rear bolts out? I'm thinking about buying a junkyard seat for parts. Can I remove it from the tracks while in place?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/monteca...223f27cbfb.jpg
Not sure if there is any way to get it out if the seat is slid back. Is the motor burnt out? I had to put a good battery into mine to move the seat forward to access the bolt. Problem being the bolt for the inside seat track is recessed below the seat track so don't know of any way to fit a wrench on that bolt with the track all the way back.

Well, I haven't asked but I doubt the junkyard will let me hook up a battery. I would expect they would consider that a fire hazard. Something about shorted wires and such. I was hoping one of the bone collectors here might have encountered this.

So I have found how to do it:
Go to the Pick N Pull on the first day of their July 4th weekend 1/2 price sale and pull the power seat switch, harness, and as much of the body harness as you can cut from a derelict seat.
Pay them $10 and go home and check the switch for continuity and figure out which wire activates on forward. Do a little victory dance that you have a spare switch when a new one is $100.
Go back the next day with your tools and cordless driver to the targeted seat(s), plug in your pigtail body harness (take the switch/ harness and your receipt in case the subject seat's is bad), remove the battery from your driver and press the orange wire to the + side and black wire to the - side.
Push the switch forward and let out a throaty harumph! when it moves forward.
Remove the two seat bolts from the back and lean it forward to pull it from the front slots.
Repeat for the second seat.
This method also works for window motors and radiator fans.
Strip the rest of the stuff you want and haul it to the front and give them $101.
Post a photo and crow about your great haul !!
I now have leather heated seats equipment with both seats 6-way power. I already have new front bottom seat covers, new seat foam for the driver side, and the passenger backrest is extra nice as is - just needs a cleaning. The back seat is exceptional, just needs cleaning and conditioning. I confirmed that my driver body harness is provisioned for heated seats. I think that the passenger side is probably hidden under the carpet.
Looks like my Sport Cloth is going in storage at some point soon.


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Awesome answer to your problem! Great work, awesome info and looks like a nice score from your trip!!

Thanks Maniac.

I went back yesterday and got the complete passenger door, visors and driver information center, and washer bottle pump and level sensor. Half price sale is over but I may go back and get the steering wheel controls and some other stuff.

I got a power seat out of a Monte once and the guy at the U pull it said to use 9 volt transistor type batteries put on a pig tail and plug it into the seat wires under the seats. It works great took one to go back and 3 to go forward.

Good score.. I need to find a new driver seat bottom. Or, a good used one actually. These things seem to be scarce.

Well, FINALLY I have heated leather seats in my car after over a year!
I was able to take vacation over Thanksgiving with beautiful weather and replace a blown rear speaker, which required removing the cloth rear seat and passenger seat. Good time to put the leather in.
Replacing the broken seat support (which caused this whole process) and worn out seat foam and installing the new $90 Tony Stewart bottom cover for the driver's seat wasn't too bad of a job.
Replacing the driver seat back cover with the optional airbag was much worse than I thought. The airbag is bolted to the inside of the frame, not a big problem when you can just cut the old cover. A huge problem when you have reach inside the installed new cover from the bottom and replace and tighten the two nuts by feel with no room. Even worse when you discover the airbag wire doesn't have a plug and you have to cut the opening for it while it hangs.
Ultimately, I was only able to use the seatback cover from the seat I bought because the airbag has to be installed and that one doesn't have one. Still, $17 for a nice used cover is great. But it was a really tight fit on my 2001 airbag seat frame. The seatbelt bracket on its headrest was broken so I bought another for $5.
My phone camera doesn't do black very well so these photos look grey but you can see there is a slightly lighter tint to the Tony Stewart cover (now discontinued) than the used 2000 seatback. But few would notice and having a new, soft, heated seat bottom is just fine with me. The headrest matches but looks darker in the photo.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/monteca...e6ae4f5281.jpg
Broken support on right
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/monteca...8b0a7bb564.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/monteca...6edbca3384.jpg
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https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/monteca...0e6bc99864.jpg
Old cloth cover