Seat frame/runner mount stud broken w123
 

I felt the driver's seat shifting in a weird way tonight on my '85 300d and sure enough, when I got home, I saw that the mounting stud (for lack of a better description) at the front of the left rail looks like its sheared off.

I have snapped some pics (it was 8 p.m., pitch dark and very cold so I did what I could).

What am in for here? Can anything be done with the seat in place, or does the seat have to come out and the base pulled apart?

That threaded stud you see is actually a Philips screw, it appears it wiggled out. You will need to take the seat out and possible remove a few bits to get to the screw and screw it back in. Its also a good time to clean up the tracks and grease them back up.

^^^ indeed so long as you can get the screw to bite you should be OK - if the threads are stripped however...

Call me lucky. The screw threaded back in... though the fix would be easier if Mercedes had used a bolt-head fastener in the first place.

Yeah, aren`t those Phillip head screws fun? wait until you take the seat tracks apart and have to deal with all 6 of them. :eek:


Charlie

Oh yeah, the first time I took one of these seat bases apart, I thought I would lose my mind (that was before I learned to match the Job o' the Day to my state of mind of the day).

I bought seat cushions from another member for the wagon (well I was supposed to be buying whole seats -- until we priced out the shipping), so this summer sometime I get to do both seats. I know he had loads of fun getting them apart.

A real PITA.

I seem to recall purchasing a #3 Phillips bit for those screws. Maybe someone can confirm?

I got really good at it,. :D I took both mine completely apart. The previous owner broke the height adjuster as well as remove the visible screws from the tracks....I also had to take a few a part at the pnp....you finally get to use that giant Phillips screw driver that came in that 10.99$ set :P

I think it is a #3 Phillips. I used a Craftsman screwdriver and a 6" Vice Grip clamped on it to give me the leverage I needed while pushing down on the screw.

Be sure to take pictures as you are removing things, or have an extra seat for reference when putting it all back together. The old, "Oh I`ll remember which way this goes back together", doesn`t always work.

First time I took one apart, I did it on the Kitchen floor on an old piece of carpet so I didn`t ding up the lenolium. I didn`t get that sob back together till 2am. I stayed up till i got it together. knew if I quit I would forget what I couldn`t remember while I was doing it, and it was fresh in my mind.


Charlie

I had to drill mine out...

...born under a bad sign - if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all!