How do the backs of the seats come off in an '88 260e? One of the plastic sides that holds the mesh to the back of the seat has come off and I need to remover the seat back to screw the plastic side back on.

Thanks!
Michael B

Once you remove the seat cushion and the soundproofing pad, the bolts that secure the seat back are easy to identify.

There are two red or orange 'tabs' that you pull to remove the cushion.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

1. Watch out down there, the inside edges are very sharp!

2. After cutting my hands on mine, I tape the inside edges with duct tape.

3. Let us know if you find any cool coins down there.

Thai GI sends…

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GI but not GI Joe
They call me "The Thai GI"
Thai in the US Arsenal

Yeah, I got $2.68, a bunch of broken glass, a couple of green army men, a stick of gum, and some pretzels...
Bonus!

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

I think he's talking about the "front" seatbacks, not the rear seat cushion...

...there are two phillips screws on the bottom of the seatback that have to be removed first. The seatback has a groove on each end that holds the lip of the front seat cover. The seat springs provide the tension that holds it all into place.

Once the screws are removed, take a flat-tipped screwdriver at the bottom edge of the seatback groove and carefully pry the front seat cover lip away from the groove. Pressing against the front seat will relieve some of the tension to make the task easier. Once you get enough of the lip away from the groove, you should be able to pull the remainder away by hand. Doing one side only is sufficient to access anything you need from that point.

While you are at it, check the operation of the power headrest (if yours is so equipped). This is a good time to replace the gear assembly if it's problematic (cheap DIY, time and moneywise).

Install requires carefully pressing the lip back into the groove.

Hope this helps.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I think you are right G-benz.
Seat back, back seat, whatever...
Sorry... Nevermind!

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

Hi,

I had a similar problem, but instead of going through a lot of trouble, I just used the 5 minute epoxy and just glued it back.

Saumil

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Saumil S. Patel