Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've last posted about my orthopedic seat installation, as a lot has come up and ripping the interior out of my car wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind

I've gone a veeeery minimally invasive route for the install, and am pleased with my progress thus far.

Okay, so, There are 4 major components to the system:

-Orthopedic Vacuum pump: Central locking pump in non-ortho equipped cars will not work, as the ortho pump has two outlets. Harness stays the same, save for a third pin for the socket

-Vacuum Reservoir: Exactly what it says, a double ball shaped reservoir utilized by the system to keep pressure. I was missing this earlier and by the grace of Karl Benz' spirit, ElRojo was able to acquire one for me

-Seat bladders: The horsehair pads are the same, save for a small cut out to allow the tubes for the air bladders to exit the seat.

-Seat adjustment controller: This little box is purely mechanical, adjusting flow via a dial and a knob. I tested the white sections with a flashlight to see if they are able to be illuminated, and they are, but I have no documentation stating or showing any form of fiber optic or bulb in these controllers... Might retrofit at some point.

Okay, besides those components, you need maybe 30 feet of vacuum tubing and rubber connectors.


Here's what I've done thusfar:

-Installed seat bladders into existing seats. Just pop off the clipped on leather skins and work the back pad off the springs.

-Run vacuum tubing through the passenger compartment passthrough. Basically follow the lines already running into the car from the pump, and it comes out at the top of the back seat behind the backrests (I took out the rear seat bottoms for this), snake it down (passenger side of car by the way) and go left towards the center console. [As far as I've gotten with this]

Installed orthopedic pump. Just "remove, replace." as the FSM would state. It functions as a regular pump without the third power lead.


I'll post pics tomorrow, tell me exactly what you guys wanna see and I'll snap it up. I forgot to take them as I went, and I have to rip it open again to connect power and finish up the tubing anyways.

(Also, looked through posting rules, but whats the jurisdiction about posting pictures from the service manual? I can do em up in MS paint if I can't post them, I just would prefer not to have to draw a vacuum and circuit diagram.)

Cheers,

Carlen

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1987 560SEL (210,000 miles)

Alright, got my info together and here's what the factory power set up is like.

The pump draws power from under the dead pedal in the driver's seat area, from the X30 power block.

If you have a car pre X30 block, you'll have to draw power directly from fuse 19.

Anyone have any ideas which path to take to run the wire to the trunk as minimally invasive as possible? i.e. I do not want to take the seats out unless absolutely necessary...

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1987 560SEL (210,000 miles)

Alright guys,

This install is easy as cake. Didn't even wire from the X30 or remove the front seats; just the rear bottom needs to be taken out and the little plugs holding the carpet to the lip. I made two tiny holes in the carpet to allow the tubes through, and jumped a wire from the power line to the existing central locking pump. Since the pump only runs a few seconds to inflate, I saw no issue with over working the existing line with a stronger fuse. When I obtain new seat skins I'll be wiring it properly from the X30.

I hope these threads help someone else with the retrofit for thesr awesome seats. Stay tuned for tutorial on retrofitting the optional sunscreens for the rear seats!


-Carlen

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1987 560SEL (210,000 miles)