E30 Zone

Hi guys

This issue flagged up on my MOT as an advisory and does also look pretty bad aesthetically. So I thought I would spend my Sunday, refurbing the leather and sorting the seat out.

What I can't work out is whether it's the cusioning or something in the back rest, or whether the mechanical side of things in the corner is pushing the back rest further forward on one section then the other one is... either way I'm all out of ideas. Any help would be much appreciated!

Something's definitely not right with the hinge mechanisms. Have a look at the pics on the following link and compare the hinge with your own seat:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ring_Seats

Yeah I suspected as much because the cushioning doesn't seem anymore bulky or out of place than the passenger side.

This is going to sound like a stupid question but how the hell do I get the plastic side covers off?? I've unscrewed the middle screw and fiddled and turned and fiddled some more, but they won't budge!!

I'm missing one on the left hand side (which I've ordered).

Side covers are only secured by the centre screw.

The sequence of events to end up with a seat like yours is that one of the screws that secures the back of the seat to the hinges works loose, and, if that isn't fixed, the extra load on the other hinge results in the thin metal frame cracking around the relatively thick hinge tube.
All easily fixable with a MIG torch after a fair bit of stripping down.

Thanks Brian.. Do I need to be taking apart the hinge mechanism, or the whole inserts of the seat as well?

its a common fault and fix

see the 2 big screws at either side of the back- those go in to the bracket at the top of the mechanism, holding the top/bottom of the seat together, one of those has broken, and possibly a cable

the plastic covers- undo the big plastic screw in the center, and they pull/wiggle free and off, then remove the cable, and then undo the 2 big screws at the back, and lift the top half of the seat free, so it looks like the pic below, you can see the bracket at the top of the mechanism,this is one i replaced , i find/think its better to replace the whole mechanism for a decent one than mess about welding it, also you can still buy new cables if you need from bmw (these are what operate the tilt of the seat), and its also a good chance to give the mechanism a good clean and lube/oil etc and get it all looking and working good , its not hard to do a bit fiddly and trial and error but you figure it out, then once done its good practice to remove the passenger seat and just give the mechanisms a clean and lube up and oil the gas struts, and periodicly re-tighten the screws in the back

Thanks Polsta.. appreciate it mate.. I'll give it a crack once I've ordered the parts.

your better off getting it apart to see whats needed, the mechanism- youl be better off sourcing one from a breaker/trader on here, rather than trying bmw, who will probably be a shite the bed price, if they actually sell them

and remember you need the correct one and side, comfort/sport seat ones are different

Will it be repairable if I take it apart? I mean at the moment it's tolerable, but if I take it apart to look, and then put back together again, will I disrupt it to where it's unusable? This is my daily runner so do need a drivers seat lol

well see the L shaped bracket in the pic there that the screw goes in to, that will be broken- so decide if your going to weld it, and get the welder ready take it apart and fix, or source a new mechanism to just swap over

if your not having passengers, you could always put the passenger seat in the drivers seat for a couple of days whilst you fix it

Nice one pal!

I agree with taking it apart so you see what's up. I also have a wonky seat, and suspected a broken bracket.

And it was:


Unfortunately I also saw this about 5 minutes later:


Both currently with a welder getting repaired.

Mitchen wrote:This is my daily runner so do need a drivers seat lol

Do you need a passenger seat? If not, swap it over for now.
It's a good idea to swap the seats side to side permanently on any newly acquired E30, since it evens up the wear on the various bits of the seat.

Brianmoooore wrote:

Mitchen wrote:This is my daily runner so do need a drivers seat lol

Do you need a passenger seat? If not, swap it over for now.
It's a good idea to swap the seats side to side permanently on any newly acquired E30, since it evens up the wear on the various bits of the seat.

Cheers Brian, fitted the passenger seat in the drivers this morning.

tfi_friday wrote:I agree with taking it apart so you see what's up. I also have a wonky seat, and suspected a broken bracket.

Think i'm going to have to do this today! Wish me luck!