Addressing the sagging seat

 Okay, so after dinner tonight, I decided to get a little discovery time in on the Dak. First thing was to check if the reverse lights were working. They were not, so that will need to be addressed. This will potentially be fixed when it goes to the transmission shop next month. I did check the fuse and it's good.

So, after discussing with the wife, and getting horrendous ($300+) estimates to fix or replace seat foam, I had a go at seeing if I could get that seat cushion out.

It appeared that the previous owner(s) had attempted to remove the seat, as the cover end clips were loose from the frame.

As it was starting to get dark, and my eyes just ain't what they used to be, I snapped a pic of the screw holding the seatback lever.

Removed that and was able to get the rear seat cover clips free, and we could remove the seat cushion. The first thing I noticed, which my son thought was hilarious, we the seat spring laying on the floor under the seat. "Um, that should be attached....."
We had a good laugh about it. 

I had seen, online, that this is a common issue on the Dakota seats. There should be 4 springs attached to the "basket" on the seat, and this basically suspends the driver. On this Dak, 2 of the spring holes has busted out, resulting in the "basket" just falling to the floor when you sit on it. Lowe's has 2 inch and 4 inch springs that should work as a replacement. I will be re-drilling the holes in the frame and reattaching the "basket". This is going to partially address the issue.

The seat cushion is going to need some work.






The sagging basket basically allowed the seat foam to tear. HOWEVER, this thing is not missing any chunks, so I will grab some 3m spray adhesive, and basically re-glue it all back together. To help the seat cushion out, I am going to hit Joann's for a 12"x24"x1" high density foam sheet, which I will use to add some addition foam to the inner "valleys" to help shore it up, and then run some on the bottom. This should shore up the foam repair. Then it's reinstall time back into the truck. 

It should put is in a good spot and save us anywhere from $600 to $1200.

  • Joann's wants $20 for the foam
  • 3m Adhesive is $25
  • Springs are $5

Should take about an hour or so to get this all squared, and then back into the truck. $50 versus $600 is a pretty good savings. I saw a forum post where a dude used burlap to line the bottom of the foam to help shore up the seat, so I will probably do that as well.


I am sure I will find elsewhere to spend that money......😆

K&N air intake was prepped tonight and I will do that install tomorrow after I have the seat foam all sorted out and drying.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The good, the bad, the ugly, the parts list!

Image
So here's the good, the bad and the ugly breakout. I will get pics tomorrow when we head to the mechanic's and talk with them about the truck. The Good Only 4 previous owners average of 3300 miles per year. Last 3 owners it was less than 1k miles per year New Tires Kumkho Solus TA11 Less than 100 miles Recently refreshed paint a few chips to repair a run or two serviceable and clean Interior isn't trashed Clean, unblemished glass, all around Suspension seems solid The Bad Broken catch on glove box Glovebox plastic where handle bolts in is broken Seats need a refresh Cloth is clean and serviceable Cushion or springs need to be replaced Carpet needs to be replaced Headlights are super cloudy Tail light bezels are cracked Rear bumper is rusty and bent Step bumper hitch hole stretched, cracked, and rusted A few missing odds and ends, mostly cosmetic Needs a full exhaust (AZ rust on stock steel pipes) The wheels appear to be pretty dinged up Looks like someone lost control of an...
Read more

Well, we got ourselves a project!

Image
 So, my daughter is now driving. She's fallen in love with driving pickup trucks. She's been driving a 2007 Chevy Silverado for the past few months, but mentioned that she would love to get a small truck. This set me on the hunt! This past weekend, we found the truck. A rust free, low miles 1998 Dakota. This gem was being sold by a young man down in Springfield, who wanted a mere $3500 for it. I dropped a deposit, loaded the wife up in the truck, and trailered it back home. So the details: 1998 Dodge Dakota 3.9L V6 Automatic 2WD Short Bed Base Model 82,794 miles 4 owners, most of whom were in Sun City AZ. The seller let me know, before picking it up, that we needed to trailer it home. There's a fuel/air control issue, so the truck doesn't run well. He had too many projects to complete and it's sat for 5 years. So now it's home.
Read more

Missouri State "Inspection"

Image
 Okay, so got the call from the shop today. As the truck is subject to Missouri State Inspection, I have to get the front end rebuilt. Far be the inspection to have fair and equitable rules for what constitutes safety - the trucks brakes are not really operative. As in brake booster is toast. But, I have a hard brake pedal, so that passes inspection. Upper and lower ball joints, 1 tie rod end, some new lugnuts (full new set) and a new serpentine belt, tensioner and idler are on their way. I will probably get shocks front and back to round out the suspension redo, but will probably wait until I decide if we need to redo the rear leaf springs and shackles. Rust isn't a factor, but we are talking about almost 30 year old springs at this point. Maybe when we look at adding a rear sway bar. As far as the drivability issue, the truck severely needs a tune up, as well as the new brake booster air check valve (which should come with the brake booster). This check valve is wide open, so the...
Read more