The leather seats in my 84SD are shot. Springs are broken & the leather is dry rotted. A local upholstery shop will refurbish to include new springs as necessary, recover with non-leather look alike and make them comfortable. I don't really care about leather or staying original if the color matches is durable and the seat comfortable. This guy does a lot of cars that are being restored.

I'm thinking that since the seats are going to be refurbished, I may as well try to score some of the newer 86 and up 126 seats and have them done instead of using what's in the car now. I've read that not all of the electronics in the newer seats will easily work but the basics forward/reverse, up/down & the back adjustment aren't too difficult.

So...newer seats or fix what I have?

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Get seats from an 88 or 89 to 91 126 sedan. The upholstery pattern is different but they stand up better to time and use. I think it's easier to swap seats onto existing bases than swap electricals between seats. You can get the entire seat set so it matches and you'll get rear headrests.

Sixto
83 300SD

Are the back seats different? My leather is dry rotted there too and I'll change to a newer seat in back if there is a reason to do so.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Only to match. MB leather even stiffened to cardboard responds well to a rejuvenator like Leatherique.

Sixto
83 300SD

Mine have holes and a friend of mine tore the seat bottom when he used his hand to push off as he was getting out. I hadn't thought about swapping the bases and am hoping that I get to the yard this week.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

81-87/88 seat pattern -



88/89-91 seat pattern -



Sixto
83 300SD

If you do decide to swap seat bases, or find some with broken springs but good upholstry, take a look at Seat repair alternative technique (w123 and similar seats) for some idea on how to repair the springs. Also, I very well may be wrong, but I think that some 126 seat bottoms are the same spring design as 123 seats, but with added inserts to stiffen them. Please correct me if I am wrong. I linked to those inserts on that thread.

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'85 300D - federal spec, built in late 84. 85 300D Complete AC System Rebuild

I think I'll look in the yard for the newer seat bottom and cannabalize what I have for parts. The upholstery shops routinely ad springs when doing repairs. There are clips designed to attach springs to each other. I'll get more detail because I only want to do this once.

Stuffing foam or pool noodles is only good until the foam compresses and deteriorated. I wasn't satisfied with pool noodles the 1 time I tried it. Perhaps I got crappy noodles.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Probably wise. The inserts I used are a MB part, the foam is encapsulated in rubber and I would imagine they will last years if not decades. I was going to try splicing springs until I figured out how to move individual bases. I cant imagine a splice will last as long as an unbroken spring, but to be fair they are all 30 year old parts so time will tell. If they start breaking again I will probably just buy new seat bases.

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'85 300D - federal spec, built in late 84. 85 300D Complete AC System Rebuild

I have only looked at a few seats but they break in about the same place. My understanding is that one basically bridges the break with another piece of spring held in with what are essentially inch long metal clamps squeezed around both the old spring and patch picece. These are also the type of clamp that held the springs originally.

I'll have the shop do it since I don't sew and they have the tools and I won't buy tools unless needed. Here are a couple of places that Professor DuckDuckGo turned up. (Google gone too much spying)

Pliers & Knives / Decorator & Upholstery Supply, Inc.

Springs, Units & Accessories / Decorator & Upholstery Supply, Inc.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

NO ! .

Never, EVER repair nor allow to be repaired, a seat spring ! .

Go to the linked article and see , you'll be wanting to replace the broken springs entirely and I usually add additional springs .

This will be my first Mercedes seat rebuild and I'll replace the broken springs with good used ones from a Junk yard passenger side seat plus add the two rubber coated 126 P/N coil things so it'll be a permanent repair .

Good firm seating is paramount to safety and proper enjoyment of your 'Benz.

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I haven't looked in a while but there are coil springs and there are various springs that are horizontal all be it with bends. They do different things. I remember fixing one of the horizontal springs with something cobbled together from the plumbing section. That repair held a long time. The coil springs are referred to as "helper" springs and are routinely held in place with technique from the tool links above.

Hopefully this shop knows what it is doing. This is the Grandson of a guy who did outstanding work building 30 yr & older car interiors. Perhaps the tradition lives on in him.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

You were warned .

It's a fairly simple thing to replace either coil or " Z " typ seat springs , repair never , EVER works the same nor lasts long .

I have 45 + years repairing old vehicle seats and learned this the hard way .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I'm putting new skins on my 85SE seats. I need the part number for those rubber coated, foam, coil inserts. Thanks.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Seat Insert 1269142215 - Genuine Mercedes-Benz - 126-914-22-15 | Pelican Parts
2 per seat needed.

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'85 300D - federal spec, built in late 84. 85 300D Complete AC System Rebuild