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850 Seat Back Cable Repair

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63K views 49 replies 23 participants last post by  john21wall  
#1 ·
This it how you repair the seat back cable. I will also explain how to replace the cable as well.

You will need to remove the Lumbar adjustment knob. Unscrew as far as you can. Then pull out and unscrew till it stops then one more time pull and unscrew. The washer part under the knob pulls right off. It will look like this.

Image

Then you will need to cut the 4 metal hogrings in the seam where the front and back of the leather meet.

Image


Image


Also you will have to remove the seat switch panel. When you do so on the back of the panel there should be a red plastic clip. Install that where I have shown in the picture. Failure to do so may cause the seat air bag to go off if that metal piece is hit while messing with the seat. If your clip is missing find something plastic fairly thick to install there.
Image


Sometimes it is easiest to get to them from the back seat area.
Next unfold the leather from the plastic pieces on the ends. There is little hooks that hold the leather.
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Next start sliding the leather up the seat back slowly and carefully. There is 4 more hog rings you will need to cut. In the picture they are located in the little holes you see where the metal rod is. They go around the metal rod in the leather and to the rod in the foam.
Image


Also while sliding the leather up you will have to unhook little hooks from the back side that help keep the leather tight around the rear pocket of the seat.

The white stuff in the middle is the heating element for the seat heaters.

Once you get the leather this high look from the back of the seat. You will see the motor and transmisson.
If you choose to try to repair the cable you will need to heat the metal in either the transmission or motor and slide the plastic parrt of the cable in. Then while holding it move the switch and make sure the cable grabs. Sometimes you will have to do both sides at the motor and transmission. I had to do both on both of my cars. I did this today thats where this post is coming from.
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Before repairing the cable.

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After repairing the cable.

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Before repair at transmission
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After repair.

If you want to replace the cable you will have to slide the big plastic piece off the inside to remove the screws holding the transmission to the seat. Also remove the clip on the rod to slide the transmission out to gain access to the screws to remove the cable. Remove the screws in the motor from the retainer to get the cable out and replace the cable.

Install everything in reverse order.

Hope this helps someone out there.
 
#4 ·
Many thanks for the instructions. I attempted this one prior to a trip and didnt have alot of time and couldnt get to it well enough as I was apparently missing a few steps you mentioned that I didnt know about. I will be giving this a try very soon in hopes of finally getting my passenger seat back to work again.
 
M
#9 ·
My '95 850 power driver seat moves forward and back and you can tilt the bottom of the seat up and down. The seat recline button wont work at all to move the seat back (although I hear the motor running). I see behind the front seat there is a small yellow electrical connector hanging down near where other wires go up into the bottom of the seat. Is this normal or has something become disconnected? What is the cheapest way to get this fixed?
 
E
#11 ·
i had this problem last week and it took me like half a day to fix cuz i didn't see this post so i completly took the seat back off and played around with the whole thing until i found out it was the cable. the dealer wanted like $70 for a new one so i just repaired it somehow but i try not to move it too much. too bad i didn't see this first.
 
C
#13 ·
Tech: Thank you for posting, but I’m not clear on what’s being done, or why. Could you please clarify? Does heating the metal (with a lighter? A small torch?) soften the outer cable, which effectively lengthens the inner drive cable, which allows a (worn?) drive gear to better engage a (worn?) driven gear? Thanks for your help. chax
 
C
#15 ·
Thank you: I'll give it a try.

I got this back in April, out near the end of Long Island, the day the Pope was at Yankee Stadium. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the car that day (2 or 3 hours of stop-and-go traffic), so I got familiar with it fast. The seat was too far back (or so I thought), and the seatback motor wasn't working (clunking sound). However, I actually like the reclined driving position now, but I'd like to get it working anyway. I appreciate your help. chax
 
#16 ·
I am glad to report that after a year and getting totally tired of this problem I am now sitting in the upright position. Thank you Tech you kick donkey butt man! Now to get the leather back together... looking like a nightmare. Did you reuse the old hog rings? Any advice on getting it back together?
 
#18 ·
QUOTE (xpiecemealx @ Jan 15 2009, 08:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I am glad to report that after a year and getting totally tired of this problem I am now sitting in the upright position. Thank you Tech you kick donkey butt man! Now to get the leather back together... looking like a nightmare. Did you reuse the old hog rings? Any advice on getting it back together?
I had some new ones that I had put in to put the leather back together.
You had to cut the old ones off so you cannot reuse them.
 
C
#20 ·
Sorry, but I forget how many I used: I don't recall punching any additional holes, so I'll assume I just used a nylon tie wherever a hog ring had been removed. In case you haven't noticed it yet, it's not the leather that the ring or tie grabs, but a metal rod that runs through the seam of the leather. I'm thinking that, if I could do it over, I might punch some additional holes through the leather in order to be able to use a few more nylon ties, just to lower the per-tie load. I'm sure the hog rings would last longer (probably longer than the car!), but with nylon ties, you don't need any special tools, they're easy to replace, and they're available everywhere.
 
#22 ·
QUOTE (chax @ Jan 17 2009, 04:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Sorry, but I forget how many I used: I don't recall punching any additional holes, so I'll assume I just used a nylon tie wherever a hog ring had been removed. In case you haven't noticed it yet, it's not the leather that the ring or tie grabs, but a metal rod that runs through the seam of the leather. I'm thinking that, if I could do it over, I might punch some additional holes through the leather in order to be able to use a few more nylon ties, just to lower the per-tie load. I'm sure the hog rings would last longer (probably longer than the car!), but with nylon ties, you don't need any special tools, they're easy to replace, and they're available everywhere.
I have the tool to put them back on, but I think since I want to get rid of this car eventually because it doesnt have a turbo or a 5 speed (doesnt mean I wont find an 850 this way) I might go the easy route and yes I noticed the metal rod.
 
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