I am following the ************** guide for swapping converting a good passenger seat into a drivers seat.

So, I am trying to remove the seat tracks. There are supposedly six bolts. Four of them are easy...but I cant see the last two. They are somewhere in the middle.

Anyone done this and can give me a clue of how to get to them?

Thanks...dd

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Funny you should mention that.

Just pulled the seat from the SD and took it apart today.

The W-126 has six phillips screws that hold the seat frame to the tracks. Getting to two of them is easy. You just move the seat all the way forward while it's still in the vehicle.

But, the other four are a PITA. The reason is that you must get the phillips screws aligned with the lightening holes in the seat frame so you can insert the screwdriver. On the W-126, this requires you to power the seat slightly forward . On the SD, it wasn't possible to do this with a jumper so I had to return to the vehicle several times until the screws were in alignment with the holes.

Then, since they are Phillips, and have been in place for 22 years, you had better get a #3 Phillips bit and use a socket wrench if you don't want to strip them. I rounded one of them in a vailiant attempt with a #2 Phillips and, fortunately, broke it loose by rotating the frame (it was the final screw).

It's time consuming to get it all apart on a W-126. Hopefully, the W-123 is easier because the seat can be moved manually in the tracks.

Brian is 100% right. It sure is a pain. I wish I would have asked before I dived into this job
I would advise taking plenty of detailed photos and keep children out of the shop wanting to "help" by moving my carefully laid out parts.

__________________
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
-Arthur C. Clarke

"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people. I require the same from them."
--John Wayne.

OBK member#16
77 300D
75 300D (rusty parts car)
73 220D (Dad's)
98 Jeep Grand Cherokee
82 Kawasaki M1

Brian - I figured as much its a pain. I was cruising through the process of seat conversion until I hit this snag.

The screws I am removing are on the underside of the seat. I have the top of the seat off and the bottom part flipped upside down on the bench. Are those the same as the ones you are talking about? For me 4 of them were easy - two at the font and rear. But there seem to be two in the middle that I can see no way to get to - even while moving the seat back and forth and viewing through the holes.

I am not 100% sire yet these are the correct 'seat track' screw. They must be....the seat track must come off as an entire unit. Thats how ************** makes it sound.

At least I dont have power seats, that does make it easier..

dd

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Yep, you're struggling with the screws in the middle. There is a hole in the track that you must position over the top of the screw for access to the middle screws.

Thanks Brian - I will resume my struggles tonight :-)

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

You've got good company.

The SD's tracks are off and the leather cover with the pad is off.

Now comes the reinstall phase..........the worst part with the hog rings.........a real PITA.

I've had a new seat spring in my closet for about 2 months now. That's how much I'm looking foward to doing this job.

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination

Well, I'm on my third.........I'll talk you through it.

I recommend greasing the adjustment roller bearings while you've got the seat out too. Nothing like a seat with solid springs and that glides smoothly back and forth.

__________________
1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)

I did it on my 77 300D (123) and had to go buy a BFPHSC #3, which I had had the forum then or thought about a socket with a #3.
ron

Ah, come on it isn't that bad.

It is a pain that you can't move the seats manually, but you can do it very easily with a small 12v battery pack. Just play with the connections at the main plug until you find the two which slide the seat forward and back... reverse the voltage to go the other way. Cake

__________________
1985 300SD "Sady" 235k miles
Wont Start for Anything!

You've done this already?

After some figuring I got my seat tracks off.

The donor seat I am taking the tracks off of is an W123 84 seat (manual). It's got to be the most overdesigned manual seat possible.

My '82 W123 seat tracks are ENTIRELY different. They're really easy to take off and straightforward.

So for the 84 I needed to take the tracks off in two parts. There is a top section of the tracks which has to come off first. ONLY after removing this can you get to the bottom screws to ultimately get the tracks off. Im glad I dont have to reassemble this...

If anyone is interested I can take some pics and explain some more. Basically, if you are armed with the knowledge that you need to remove the tracks in two parts youll be ok.

Im looking forward to having a comfy drivers seat...

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Its takes 4 bolts (2 on each side) to remove the seat back. At that points its easy to throw the seat back in for power.

The first time is a bear, but after that the job is pretty easy. So far I've only had to do it on 3 vehicles.

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section