Loose/Rocking Driver's Seat? Worn Track?

My driver's seat on my '96 Roady has come a little loose, and it's not the bolts holding the seat to the floor or the track to the seatbottom, but it seems something in the actual track assembly is loose. Annoying, if I hit the brake to hard the seat rocks forward.

Any ideas? I have only checked the seat bolts, have not removed the seat yet. The seat motors all still work fine.

Another project. Do I need to search out a good salvage yard seat track, or is there an easy fix?

Thanks in Advance!

-Michael

it;s the nylon sliders in the track rails,..

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/8-parts-sale-wanted/275896-seat-sliders-anyone-have-better-source-than-naisso.html

Pm me you mailing address and i'll send you a set of the norm landry sliders,.
I,m pretty sure norm is dead, from what i saw on facebook

Remove the seats and flip them over. Both my 91 and my Caddy suffered from metal fatigue and needed to be welded back together. Not the rails but rather the seat frame itself.

Bill

I would go with the nylon sliders. They are available, but the seller wants to retire on each sale. Check on ISSF for the vendor.

It may cost you less to get a good used track from the junk yard, but check it before you buy it.

Thanks very much all!!

-Mike

Just read the info on the Impala forum. At least it looks like a common issue. Didn't see any instructions on how to install these, but guessing once I have the seat removed I can sort it out.

Thank you GM for making so much out of crappy plastic on these cars. Great cars, poor details!

81X11 wrote:

Thank you GM for making so much out of crappy plastic on these cars.   Great cars, poor details!  

You do realize it took 20 years to wear out, right?

Superior Finish wrote:

81X11 wrote:

Thank you GM for making so much out of crappy plastic on these cars.   Great cars, poor details!  

You do realize it took 20 years to wear out, right?

True, but the seats in the '78 Electra wagon we are also fixing up do not rock a bit!

Superior Finish wrote:

81X11 wrote:

Thank you GM for making so much out of crappy plastic on these cars.   Great cars, poor details!  

You do realize it took 20 years to wear out, right?

People often fail to realize that part.

So I got a Canadian care-package in the mail today. These were waiting in the mailbox after work, from a fellow wagon lover's parts-stash there in The Great White North. Brand new parts! Wagon folks are AWESOME!

Now to figure out how to install these! Weekend Project!

In case anyone is looking for these, the Impala Superstore still stocks them:
https://www.impalasuperstore.com/superstore2010/shopexd.asp?id=1097

And they even have really good instructions!
http://impalasuperstore.com/superstore2010/storepics/seatslider/seatslider.htm

-Mike

Intallation Instructions:

-First, clear the front seat.
-Position the seat all the way up (highest) to give you some room to work on the rails.
-Move the seat rearward and remove the front trim covers using a Phillips screw driver.
-Remove the 2 front rail bolts using a 13mm socket.
-Move the seat forward and remove the rear trim covers.
-Remove the 4 remaining bolts with a 13mm socket.
-Disconnect the power seat electrical connector.
-Lift the seat and turn it so that the seat is facing your stomach.
-Carefully angle the seat out the driver's door.
-Place the seat on a work bench. You can use a towel to protect your seat.
-Locate the horizontal actuator "plastic slider gear box" holding the seat track.
-Find the two screws holding the actuator in place.
-Remove the screws using a 10 mm wrench.
-Once the bolts are removed, a slight tug will remove the gear box.
-Once the gear box out, push the slider track out toward the front of the seat.
-Remove all of the old broken sliders.
-Ensure the seat track is clean and free of debris before installing the new sliders.
-Make sure the curved parts of the sliders face outward when reinstalling.
-Apply lubricant to steel track. A multi-purpose synthetic based lubricant with
Teflon to prevent friction and wear. Withstands temperatures from -45F. to 450F.
-Start the reassembly.
-Introduce the track back into the seat rail.
-Reinstall the plastic gear box.
-Carefully put the seat back in place and reconnect the electrical connector.
-Reinstall the seat bolts and trim hardware.
-You are finished. Congratulations.

Stock seat track slider vrs aftermarket new one. Can you see the difference??



I can see the difference...

-Mike

Are you sure it wasnt Santa Claus?

Andebe wrote:

Are you sure it wasnt Santa Claus?

Naw this guy is not nearly that jolly..

impala super store ones aren't as good,.

Dear Canadian Santa...is there a source for those other than the SS store? Or are those from your stash? Has Norm actually passed?

phantom 309 wrote:

impala super store ones aren't as good,.

Well crap. I ordered some to fix my driver's seat. Lol....I never knew that is why the sob was rocking a little. They have to be better than the broken stock ones at least.

Is Norm the guy that does window rollers at Nats all the time? He is dead?

Norm is dead,. his sister posted on his facebook page,..

I,m down to my last set of sliders,..i was meaning to get them duplicated, but norm never gave up where he got them done,. too bad really,. he visited us a couple of times and we visited him,.

phantom 309 wrote:

Norm is dead,. his sister posted on his facebook page,..

I,m down to my last set of sliders,..i was meaning to get them duplicated, but norm never gave up where he got them done,. too bad really,. he visited us a couple of times and we visited him,.

They are really nice quality. I'd be happy to do some legwork locally regarding getting these reproduced, but what kind of company would make something like these? Any idea?

-Mike

Wonder if it could be 3D printed?

brokecello wrote:

Wonder if it could be 3D printed?  

That's a good idea if the print media is stout enough. They are pretty simple blocks of plastic.

So as noted above, for years now my driver's seat in the Roadmaster wagon has rocked a bit. Being a big dude hasn't helped I'm sure. Anyway the problem had been getting worse, and with the help of our friend up in The Great White North, I finally fixed the seat.

The GM sliders are SO thin and flimsy. The new design are much better sliders, very tough and solid.

Driver's seat removed, was hard to get that big seat out!



Seat rails removed:


The old factory plastic sliders are SHOT, came out in chunks. Plastic Crap!



New slider installed on the left, old factory slider on the right.



New vrs Old sliders. See the difference?



Not my pic, but this is how they look installed. See the white part..arrows? I cleaned everything really well and lubed everything with white lithium grease. Lubed the screw mechanisms that raise and lower the seat as well since the seat was out.


Dark garage pics last night with camera flash makes my interior look funky, but it is all back together and working great!



Good Project, works GREAT!

-Mike

Seems like there could still be a market for these if they could be made cheaply. I don't know what kind of plastic media he used to make these, but they are HARD. SO much better than the original parts, and they look better than the aftermarket ones I've seen in pic...that cost $$$.