Fixing rear seat springs in 1985 300td - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Chad300tdt · #1 02-24-2009, 07:24 PM

I created this post elsewhere in June of 2007 and I decided to post it here to make linking it easier.

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I read every thread I could find about fixing the sag in my rear seat springs. The threads only mention the front seats, so I thought they should be at least similar.

The difference is that the back seat bottoms are coil springs so the pool noodle fix was out, as was the metal tubing and bailing wire fix. After some research I found that upholstery shops stuff cloth into the coils to stiffen them up. I found this to be inadequate, so I tried cutting some poly foam into thick strips and weaving them in between the coils. I then put a piece of foam under the horse hair mat (A thorough spray down with Febreeze got rid of the funky smell in the mat).

The seat cover has ribs that are shaped by felt and foam strips inside. the ribs on my seat looked flat and stretched out because the muslin underneath was shredded. I had to stitch a new piece of muslin inside to reinforce the ribs. The seat now looks and feels amazing.

I am just waiting for a set of hog ring pliers and rings to arrive so I can put it back together properly.

I only did this to the rear right seat so far. I am doing the rear left next and expect to finish it in 1-2 hours now that I know how to approach it and what supplies to have at hand.

There may be better fixes for this problem, but in my case, I had all the supplies laying around (except hog ring clips and pliers for $18.99 from JC Whitney) so it was basically a free fix.

Very satisfying! I will post a few pics when complete.

covering the shredded muslin liner.

new muslin sewn in.

fixed seat cover.

seat springs stuffed with high density foam.

ready to relace the skins.

hog ring pliers to hold seat skins to seat frame.

clips in place.

finished seat.

This project was simple and made a big difference. I can now use a baby seat since the car seat is firm enough to support it.

If you do this method of repair, I would suggest that you test fit the seat in the car before putting the clips and skin on. If you overstuff the springs, you will lose headroom for your passengers. Luckily, I thought to test fit and had to remove some stuffing. Everything is great now. I hope this helps someone out there.

I also welcome any comments of other ways to do this. I know there is a way to use supplemental coil springs, but I chose this way since it cost me very little.

Thanks,
Chad