Seat Cover Replacement - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

hotdog1 · #1 07-15-2007, 05:39 PM

I am trying to replace the seat pad on my 1983 300D. I have the seat out and the back removed. How do you get the seat covering off? Is there some trick?
Also I see a broken spring. What is the best way to repair? Thanks

lietuviai · #2 07-15-2007, 06:00 PM

Since you are asking how to remove the cover are you sure you are capable of recovering it? Recovering is harder than removing it.

#3 07-15-2007, 06:01 PM

^ agreed.

Stevo · #4 07-15-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotdog1

I am trying to replace the seat pad on my 1983 300D. I have the seat out and the back removed. How do you get the seat covering off? Is there some trick?
Also I see a broken spring. What is the best way to repair? Thanks

You have too push down on the seat (someone sitting on it) The MB tex is sown to a stiffer material which fits into a grove along the bottom of the frame. There are a number of ways to "jury rig" the springs back together, do a search. Some folks stuff various things (pool noddles) under the seat to improve the feel.

lietuviai · #5 07-15-2007, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevo

...Some folks stuff various things (pool noddles) under the seat to improve the feel.

Pool noddles?

Do you get them were they have muffler bearings?

slarson80 · #6 07-15-2007, 08:55 PM

http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123SeatRepair

junqueyardjim · #7 07-15-2007, 09:15 PM

Removed and "redid" the seat and seat cover on my 85 300D. The outer cover is held on by "fastener strips" which are all around the cover where it meets the seat frame. So, with the back removed by taking out the two 10mm bolts on each side where the bottom and back meet, you can seperate them. The "tongue" from the cushion slips behind the plate the two bolts are slipped through. Takes a little pressure and a little squeezing to get them apart. Same thing, but reverse going back together. Now I did not take the cover off the back rest, only the cushion. So, here is what I found. That fastener strip is a piece of cover folded over and a piece of hard cardboard sewed inside. Remember that, because as you abuse the strip getting it off, you soften that strip and it makes it difficult to re-install. Don't mess with it more then you have to! Now I take the seat cushion and put it on a heavy little table I have. The runners are all attached and it sits very stable. I then took a piece of 2x4 by about a foot and laid it across the rear part of the seat and pushed down hard. In so doing you will release the strip from the folded over piece of heavy sheet metal that holds it.(It released it, but I still needed a screwdriver to get it all out) Once I had the back strip out, with my hand I just kept on pressing down on the seat and worked all the way around . Push the seat together hard, (I hope you are a big guy) because it does take quite a bit of weight and effort. I think if you were a small person, you might need two people. One to compress the seat, the other with a medium small long screw driver to keep popping the stiffened edge out. To reinstall, after a number of tries which failed, you really have to jam the under padding into the cover as far as you can. It also has to go in straight, and the cover has to sit on the seat perfect or the rear section again will not line up and make it very difficult to secure. So, I did that and then went all around the seat, pushing down hard and inserting the fastener strip. I am big, at 269 pounds today, and I put a lot of pressure on it, but it went in. But I could not get the back strip in and really didn't do that strip any good in all my tries. Eventually I used to nylon tie strips and compressed the rear springs tight and then I finally got it done. Are you going to put those felt strips back in. Mine were slipping out- they come out easy, but are hard to get back in. To replace them, I used a wire clothes hanger, cut off the hook and bent it straight. Then I made a hook at one end to put through the felt to pull them through. The felt is very tough stuff. Used the probe of my electrical tester to poke a hole through it. Had to do it from both sides to get the clothes hanger wire through - after I had put a sharp end on the clothes hanger wire. After that, I could pull them through pretty good, but it is a hard pull. I then put a spot of contact cement on the felt to hold it in place. I hope this works for you.

Stevo · #8 07-15-2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lietuviai

Pool noddles?

Do you get them were they have muffler bearings?

LOL, as if we know anything about swimming pool accessories up here

lietuviai · #9 07-15-2007, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevo

LOL, as if we know anything about swimming pool accessories up here

What's a swimming pool?

JimmyL · #10 07-16-2007, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lietuviai

Since you are asking how to remove the cover are you sure you are capable of recovering it?

Folks ask questions so they will be capable of whatever it is they are trying to do. And usually once they do it they will then be capable of helping the next person.
Many things with these cars, and actually with lots of things, are experience driven, ie: technique sensitive.
So help folks when you can, or just let somebody else do it.
Sarcasm has it's place {thank goodness

}, but that was a bit misplaced......

Bio300TDTdriver · #11 07-16-2007, 01:04 AM

What's a paragraph?

junqueyardjim · #12 07-16-2007, 08:25 AM

I use the same method, pulled the back strip out first, but it was much more difficult to pull out the rest of the way. The reason was that there was a tab of tape around and in the channel as it make the turns for the front of the seat. It really took a hard pull to get it out of there. I find it easier also on that section to start on the side opposite the "handle". Also, because of the difficulty in pulling it out around the curve sections, I had to load the spring down with nylon tie strips through the coil springs and very lower wire member and then around the frame. There is a lot of pressure there because it broke the first tie as I was pulling it really tight.

junqueyardjim · #13 07-16-2007, 10:25 AM

Second one I pulled apart this morning. It is the other one from my now "crusher benz". Anyway, I had the pass seat cushion from the 83 in my 85. That will work, though it makes it almost impossible to adjust the seat for and aft after it is securely mounted. This one also had a tape applied to that locking channel and made it extremely hard to pull it out around the corners. I didn't need the covers and they were very weak in places from too much sun, so I got them off, but they are junk. It is a pass seat frame with no broken springs in case some one is needing one. That probably is rare, as I don't think the passenger seat is the problem. Now, what I really wanted to express was this. When I put the passenger seat together last week, I did not really see the need for the hog rings. Now in taking these two apart this morning, I think that with all the use the drivers seat gets, the hog rings should be used. The hog rings do tie the rubberized horsehair pad to the springs, and I think with a lot of use as a drivers seat will get, that in time we will be sorry if it is not attached securely.

Stevo · #14 07-16-2007, 06:21 PM

Your probably right about the hog rings. I put mine back together without them and its been a few years but I don't put that many miles on my car anymore. I bought a front seat back cushion ($100+

) for the driver seat of my 85.

sasquatchgeoff · #15 07-16-2007, 11:36 PM

great pictorial: http://dieselgiant.com/repairseatspring.htm

- on the broken spring. You can probably glean info for the rest of the job as well.