Seat Repair HELP!!!!

[ckdc]

Hey folks.....new member here tryin' to repair my 1998 328ic passenger seat. It's a power seat. I had the seat leaned forward and used the forward power button to move it little more and it made a loud crack and when I moved the seat back into position it refused to lock in place. It now just moves back and forth freely. I have the seat out in my house and the release cable still is operational. I need to follow the cable to the hydraulic cylinder that is at the base of the back of the seat. I have two diagrams the dealer provided me of my seat. I need all kinds of help.

How do I get the release handles off the side of the seat?

What does the cable connect to and do?

Thanks for any help and direction.

[El Presidente]

Sorry dude, I can't help you any with that one.

[Andrewsd1985]

Never done any seat repair. Sorry

[jlb318]

Had a similar problem, and (unfortunately) it turned out to be a tremendous pain in the ass. I got the diagrams from the dealer as well, but they were not very helpful. After hours and hours tinkering around down there, I think I finally began to understand how those seat mechanisms work. It's basically all about the three cables (one for forward back/one for up/down/and one for tilt) and how they attach to their respective small knobs.
My guess is that you popped the cable off it's catch knob.

If that's the case, the good news is that the forward back is the easiest to get back on. You just need to find the associated knob (perhaps from the schematic) and hook it back on. Trick is finding it. Also, there is a chance you snapped it, in which case you'll probably need to get a new part.

Good luck. Sorry I can't explain any clearer.

[e36_m3_Turbo]

Have you ever checked the Bentley Manuel?

[ckdc]

Thank you for the suggestion. I was in the middle of trying to follow the release cable when for an unknown reason, the seat locked into place while I was trying to take the back off the seat. I put the seat back in the car, hooked up the electronics and SNAP...I got a working seat again.

Hope it holds.

[Furious]

i have a feeling it was just the cable stuck or something lodged in the mech to cause it to not lock. usually you have to pull the seat out and the check the rails for crap like money in there, or check the actually motor that it uses.