Rear Seat Base Hinge Mod - Pass Vertical! Free! W/pics!
ScallyWag
Wagonist
Yes, we have pics today! Scroll Down!
Got tired of the way the rear seat bottoms wouldn't fold forward past vertical (90 degs), cramping my cargo capacity and bed utility ("the fun zone"), and making sleeping in the wag a near impossibility...
no more!
Don't Quote me on the legality of this mod - use at own risk - although it "seems pretty safe to me", it will require disassembly of a somewhat "sealed" factory component (the hinge)
1. Unclip plastic covers from hinge (pry the tops first, then rotate towards front of car)
2. Unbolt hinge from floor (12mm)
3. Place seat base to workbench, upside-down
-From here you can see the culprit - the two "blades" or male portions of the hinge have a "tooth" which as the hinge rotates strike the two small "assembly bolts". IDK the exact engineering reason behind those assembly bolts, so it seems safer to leave them be and just disassemble the hinge and grind off the "tooth"
4. Grind off the cold rivetted style heads from the pin that forms the axis of the hinge (they're silver and on the inward facing side of the hinge plate) - NOT the big flat outward facing head! I used a dremel drill w/ cutting discs, then the sanding drum - it worked great
5. Grab the big, flat head of the hinge bolt and twist to loosen
6. Use a pin and hammer to drive the bolt out, or pry under said big flat head
7. Once both pins are removed, seperate the two halves of the hinge, then remove plastic bushings
8. Using masking tape, mark a straight cut line beneath the "tooth". Try to leave as much material as possible. Mine continue the same i.d. and o.d. as the axis hole - it looks stock 8) ! Use an angle grinder with a cut-off disc or grinding wheel and grind/cut away!
9. Repeat these steps until all your "teeth" are ground off
10. Assembly is the reverse - don't forget the bushing sleeves, plastic covers! Check for function as you re-assemble to be sure you ground off enough material to allow the hinge to rotate past where it used stop
- Wait wait wait I hear you say... :shock: what about all those cold formed heads we ground off?
How will we replace them? Three choices:
A. live with the friction fit, knowing that the seatbelts are unmolested and seat bases are still held with the same THICKNESS of pin - MAYBE a little weaker laterally
B. Spot Weld where the heads were
C. Drill out the smallest i.d. of the hinge (the hole beneath the ground off head) and replace entire axis pin with a bolt
Either way, it seems pretty safe to me, unless you haul loads that can crush you in a sudden stop, to which I say "use a tie-down" or "get a truck" or "quit work"
Now I can stretch out a leeetle more.
Now I just need some hatchy front seats (or JDM wagon I hear - grrr!) some foam and a parking spot... and the sunset.... and some soft music... and a roofie-colada or two
Need help? Ask
Got tired of the way the rear seat bottoms wouldn't fold forward past vertical (90 degs), cramping my cargo capacity and bed utility ("the fun zone"), and making sleeping in the wag a near impossibility...
no more!Don't Quote me on the legality of this mod - use at own risk - although it "seems pretty safe to me", it will require disassembly of a somewhat "sealed" factory component (the hinge)
1. Unclip plastic covers from hinge (pry the tops first, then rotate towards front of car)
2. Unbolt hinge from floor (12mm)
3. Place seat base to workbench, upside-down
-From here you can see the culprit - the two "blades" or male portions of the hinge have a "tooth" which as the hinge rotates strike the two small "assembly bolts". IDK the exact engineering reason behind those assembly bolts, so it seems safer to leave them be and just disassemble the hinge and grind off the "tooth"
4. Grind off the cold rivetted style heads from the pin that forms the axis of the hinge (they're silver and on the inward facing side of the hinge plate) - NOT the big flat outward facing head! I used a dremel drill w/ cutting discs, then the sanding drum - it worked great
5. Grab the big, flat head of the hinge bolt and twist to loosen
6. Use a pin and hammer to drive the bolt out, or pry under said big flat head
7. Once both pins are removed, seperate the two halves of the hinge, then remove plastic bushings
8. Using masking tape, mark a straight cut line beneath the "tooth". Try to leave as much material as possible. Mine continue the same i.d. and o.d. as the axis hole - it looks stock 8) ! Use an angle grinder with a cut-off disc or grinding wheel and grind/cut away!
9. Repeat these steps until all your "teeth" are ground off
10. Assembly is the reverse - don't forget the bushing sleeves, plastic covers! Check for function as you re-assemble to be sure you ground off enough material to allow the hinge to rotate past where it used stop
- Wait wait wait I hear you say... :shock: what about all those cold formed heads we ground off?
How will we replace them? Three choices:
A. live with the friction fit, knowing that the seatbelts are unmolested and seat bases are still held with the same THICKNESS of pin - MAYBE a little weaker laterally
B. Spot Weld where the heads were
C. Drill out the smallest i.d. of the hinge (the hole beneath the ground off head) and replace entire axis pin with a bolt
Either way, it seems pretty safe to me, unless you haul loads that can crush you in a sudden stop, to which I say "use a tie-down" or "get a truck" or "quit work"
Now I can stretch out a leeetle more.Now I just need some hatchy front seats (or JDM wagon I hear - grrr!) some foam and a parking spot... and the sunset.... and some soft music... and a roofie-colada or two
Need help? Ask
Comments
-BUT-
I promise you that if you just unbolt the seats (so easy even I, a shaved ape, could do it) and look :shock: at how the hinge functions, you will see what prevents the hinge from progressing past 90 degrees of sweep... it's that damned "tooth" on the "male" (seat half, or center portion) of the hinge striking the "assembly pins" of the hinge (not the "axis pins")... from there it's a simple matter of grinding the smaller heads off the "axis pin", driving the pins out, grinding (or cutting)the "teeth" down and re-assembling the hinge...
I estimate only about an hour and a half of labour and a grind disk for this mod + no new parts!
It'll gain you at least an extra foot of "bed", even with stock front seats...
Go now! All I ask is unbolt 'em and have a look... E-Z! I'll bet you'll start grinding away once you see how simple it is 8) The hardest part is grinding off them little wee heads from the axis pins
My next step is to examine the front seat "recline" mechanism and see if it couldn't be modified to fold forward past 90 degs as well... I'll bet it's not rocket science either
Before Mod:
After Mod: :shock:
Step A - Remove plastic covers, Unbolt seats (not shown... pics are of finished product)
Step B - Grind off heads, drive out pins (turning them helps) NOTE HEADS ARE ALREADY GROUND OFF IN THESE PICS:
Step C - Disassemble the hinge (not shown)
Step D - Grind / Cut-off the "tooth" which strikes the "assembly pin" :
Step E - (not shown) Reassemble Hinge, Bolt into place, Replace plastic covers.... Voila!
:idea: There might be a easier way to do this w/o grinding out the Rivet.With the seat folded down you can look under the hinge.You'll see that teeth sticking out from under the hinge.It looks like there's enough sticking out to grind down the tooth W/O Rivet grinding .
And i believe that the female halves of the hinge block access to the male halves no matter what position the hinge is in (unless you use a dentist's drill or have laser vision). I could be wrong though... like that time I bet against the Globetrotters :roll:
win.