A Guide To Lowering The Seat

[Higgy 0]

A guide to lowering the driver's seat, by Higgy:

 

This guide will help you to lower the driver's seat. The seat can be lowered either 20mm or 30mm depending if you keep the plastic washers that are fitted between the floor pan and the seat runner.

 

Tools:

 

Size 40 TORX bit

Adjustable spanner (or 7mm ratchet or normal spanner if it fits the TORX bit tightly)

TORX set

WD40

Wire brush

Bag to put washers & bolts etc

Screwdriver, take a few different tips/bits

 

Go to the nearest scrap yard and find a 5-door 205.

 

For more clearance remove the plastic cover on the side of the seat. This is held on by three screws, one on the side and two underneath. Or to speed things up if you do not need it, rip it off! You might want to keep these covers as they don't have the hole for the 'seat lift-up mechanism', looks slightly tidier.

 

Next undo the TORX bolts holding the seat runner to the floor pan. This are likely to never have been undone so depending on access to the underside of the car, try and squirt WD40 onto the bolts which protrude out from the floor pan, also wire brush the ends. Please take care, you do not want to round the bolt heads at this early stage.

 

I recommend to initially loosen the bolts, make sure the TORX bit is pressed FIRMLY into bolt head while giving the spanner/adjustable a hard jolt to shock the bolt, don't slowly apply force.

 

There are two TORX bolts at the front, one at the back door side and two at the back where the seat belt clip is. Unfortunately removing all the bolts does take a long time as access is very limited. Persevere; lowering the seat is well worth the trouble!

 

 

KEEP ALL BOLTS & BLACK PLASTIC WASHERS ETC.

 

Now turn the seat upside down and unbolt the runner from the seat. Again these are TORX bolts and you will probably have to slide the runner back & forth to access all the bolt heads. Least these will be a lot easier to undo than the runner to floor pan bolts!

 

At this point you will notice that unlike the 3-door model, the seat belt clip is attached to a separate bracket that bolts between the floor pan and the seat runner. MAKE SURE YOU ALSO TAKE THIS. (Again keep all plastic washers and TORX bolts).

 

A TORX set like the following comes in very useful, I picked mine up while in France at Carrefour nice and cheaply (the French seem to love TORX!).

 

 

Now visit the scrap yard owner and cross his palms with some hard earn cash.

 

Just to recap, you should have:

 

1. Seat runner

2. Seat belt clip bracket

3. Bag of TORX bolts & a lot of black plastic washers

4. Plastic sides off 5-door seat

 

 

Now you should be back at home and ready to rip out your drivers seat from your own 205.

 

Again the procedure is the same, unbolt the runner from the floor pan and then with the seat turned upside down, unbolt the runner from the seat (be careful, the little black metal clips that hold the adjustment handle can come off, and they might get lost).

 

You should end up with this:

 

 

With all the spare TORX bolts from the scrap yard you can use these, if any of the heads are damaged or the bolts are particularly rusty.

 

Now bolt the 5-door runner to the bottom of your seat. Remember to use the THICKER black plastic washers between the runner and the seat to make sure the adjustment mechanism clears the bottom of the seat. The seatbelt clip bracket also goes between the seat and the runner, so two less black plastic washers are used this time.

 

A further lower could be achieved by machining down the seat belt clip bracket. The bracket has 'spacers' welded into, and to keep the seat level you need the thicker plastic washers. If you machine the seat belt bracket down you could then use the thinner black plastic washers.

 

With the plastic washers (runner to floor pan) removed, there is just enough clearance for the seat to slide back & forth easily:

 

 

Thanks,

 

Higgy

Version: 1

Edited December 10, 2006 by jackherer

[de Noir 0]

This is good.

Maybe you could add some extra detailed pics and write it in form of an article and contact moderators to

copy/move it to the articles section.

[Higgy 0]

This is good.

Maybe you could add some extra detailed pics and write it in form of an article and contact moderators to

copy/move it to the articles section.

 

Thanks.

 

I dont fancy taking it apart again for extra pics, so if the next person lowering their seat could take some photos of the seat belt bracket etc.

 

I have it in WORD/PDF so I'll contact the mods and ask for it to be put on the main site.

 

Higgy.

[Guest BrainFluid]

Pretty good man. I would get the torx bit size defo correct as the (40?) does not start the article that well.

 

Also I would add a 'Now hoover your car while the seat are out' part

Edited December 9, 2006 by BrainFluid

[Higgy 0]

Pretty good man. I would get the torx bit size defo correct as the (40?) does not start the article that well.

 

Also I would add a 'Now hoover your car while the seat are out' part

 

Cheers, u just gave me the motivation to get my arse into gear and pop into the garage to check. Yes it is size 40 TORX. Can a moderator adjust my original post? I can't edit it now

 

The car was clean, it's the bolster deciding to crumble away

 

Higgy.