Replaced HorseHair in W123 Backrest with poly -w/pics

[hos280]

Well I finally rebuilt the driver side seat. This time I had to rebuild the backrest as well. There were piles of horsehair in the floor each morning, so it had to be tackled.

I removed the seat the same as before. The backrest seperates from the bottom with 4 screws. The pool noodles were definitely the key to getting the seat to look right and retain the proper shape.

The feeling is 100% better. The lumbar poolnoodle is a dream. It feels like the car got a new suspension. I am now anxious to get a new shocks and really feel the ride tighten up.

I also removed the roof truce skins. They had bubbled and come loose. I think is looks much cleaner. add some coco floor mats and the interior is not so blue anymore.

Do all the models have a white interior roof? or is this a color scheme?

link has pics

http://community.webshots.com/user/hos280

[mbzr4ever]

Just had to thank you for the helpful instructions! Replaced the horsehair with the poly and reinforced the springs on the driver's side (both the backrest and seat). Took me a few days, as I took my time and did extra work (like paint, stitching) on areas I felt needed more attention. Pool noodles worked great! No more saggy seat to one side!

[PagodaLover]

thanks for the pics and descriptions of your projects.

i will try this on both my cars and see what results i can get!!

[w116.org]

Does anyone have any experience with these types of foam and how well they last? Considering the horse hair pads mostly lasted up to 20-25 years, how does this compare to the more modern materials? What is used in more modern MB seats?

[hos280]

From what I have heard, the horsehair was replaced with a "scrubby pad' type polyester in the 80's. I would like to hear from the these owners as to the state of their seats. However, if they do not have a problem, they may not be visible to these discussions.

Only the horsehair is offered as an after market item. go figure!

lifetime of polyester is around ~0.5 millions years vs. horse hair ~20 years.
the cost is $13. the horse hair is $100 per pad, meaning $400 just for the two front seats minus the head rest.


My seats are very comfortable now and I am still impressed everytime I sit in them. it made a huge difference. Even the germans at work say they are comfortable and they grew up in these cars saying how bad the seats were.