Argh! Bolting the seats back in!
Discussion
New owner here with delusions of mechanical competence.
I knew I shouldn't have unbolted the seat in the first place (narrow body with Tilletts I think though I'm not yet familiar with all the Caterham terminology). I needed to fiddle with the harnesses and just couldn't manage without loosening the seat. Now I can't find the thread for the front two bolts on the runner - they're there somewhere, they just won't pop through the floor, and feeling by hand reveals a turny bolty thingy on the runner that seems to be doing nothing useful(told you I was mechanically hopeless).
How on earth do people bolt the seats back in? Should I remove the rear two bolts, lift the whole seat out and start again, or is there some clever trick to find the thread?
Btw, I tried blatting the car down the road and hitting the brakes hard to see if I could get the bolts to roll forward into the footwell but no luck....
I knew I shouldn't have unbolted the seat in the first place (narrow body with Tilletts I think though I'm not yet familiar with all the Caterham terminology). I needed to fiddle with the harnesses and just couldn't manage without loosening the seat. Now I can't find the thread for the front two bolts on the runner - they're there somewhere, they just won't pop through the floor, and feeling by hand reveals a turny bolty thingy on the runner that seems to be doing nothing useful(told you I was mechanically hopeless).
How on earth do people bolt the seats back in? Should I remove the rear two bolts, lift the whole seat out and start again, or is there some clever trick to find the thread?
Btw, I tried blatting the car down the road and hitting the brakes hard to see if I could get the bolts to roll forward into the footwell but no luck....
so big long arms help. I was getting so frustrated i got a welder at a local garage to spot weld the bolts in the runner so all you need to do is put the 4 bolts through the holes then tighten from below. Otherwise its a combination of jamming a screwdriver in, yoga, luck and frustration.
As standard with adjustable runners, there are allen headed bolts which are a real pain.
If you can't find them you'll have to undo the back ones and lift out the seat which you'll find is a horrible job as they are a very tight fit between the tunnel and car side.
I welded 2 inch steel bars to one side of the head on each bolt, so that they became captive in the runner. It was then a lot easier to drop the seat in and tighten the nuts from under the car. It was so nice not to have to slide the seat fully back and forward to fit an allen key to tighten them against.
If you can't find them you'll have to undo the back ones and lift out the seat which you'll find is a horrible job as they are a very tight fit between the tunnel and car side.
I welded 2 inch steel bars to one side of the head on each bolt, so that they became captive in the runner. It was then a lot easier to drop the seat in and tighten the nuts from under the car. It was so nice not to have to slide the seat fully back and forward to fit an allen key to tighten them against.
Not sure if I am understanding your situation fully, but it sounds similar to the issue I had last week when replacing my harness.
In my car the bolts go in from under the floor into a "nut" that is within the seat runner, they are not fixed and free to move up and down the runner when not connected to the bolt.
Whilst refitting I had issues with the nuts moving from their location in the runner. This was simply solved by placing a small bit of card between the top of the nut and the runner, keeping it in the correct place until I got the bolts in.
Not sure if that makes sense, or helps.
Good luck.
In my car the bolts go in from under the floor into a "nut" that is within the seat runner, they are not fixed and free to move up and down the runner when not connected to the bolt.
Whilst refitting I had issues with the nuts moving from their location in the runner. This was simply solved by placing a small bit of card between the top of the nut and the runner, keeping it in the correct place until I got the bolts in.
Not sure if that makes sense, or helps.
Good luck.
It sounds as if someone has previously replaced your allen headed bolts which is what I think I can feel (although that said my rear bolts were just a simple nut and bolt which required a bit of yoga to hold in place whilst someone else tightened from underneath).
Once I've done the driver's seat, I'll have to fit the (currently mothballed) passenger seat and harness as my 8-year old is desperately keen to have a ride. Looks like a fun weekend ahead.
Once I've done the driver's seat, I'll have to fit the (currently mothballed) passenger seat and harness as my 8-year old is desperately keen to have a ride. Looks like a fun weekend ahead.
Yep, I can't offer any advice other than persevere. You'll get them eventually after much swearing and pain. Fitting the seats was the least favourite part of my build. So much so that if my wallet ever falls under the seat, i'm writing it off as lost for good. Those seats are never being removed... 
Good luck!
Good luck!
uremaw said:
Yep, I can't offer any advice other than persevere. You'll get them eventually after much swearing and pain. Fitting the seats was the least favourite part of my build. So much so that if my wallet ever falls under the seat, i'm writing it off as lost for good. Those seats are never being removed...
Good luck!
Agreed! :-(Good luck!
Insert some steel rivnuts into the box section that the seats are mounted on?
There is relatively little tensile load on these so all they do is hold the seat in place. Once you are strapped in, the harnesses do the work of holding you in place and are all mounted on hard chassis points.
There is relatively little tensile load on these so all they do is hold the seat in place. Once you are strapped in, the harnesses do the work of holding you in place and are all mounted on hard chassis points.
Trust me they struggle with them at the factory !!!!
Various seats have washers/spacers but cant remember what has what so just make sure you put back what was there when you started
Fit the front fixings first loosely then the rears at Dartford they use a wobble drive allen socket and a VERY long extension down the back of the seat
Various seats have washers/spacers but cant remember what has what so just make sure you put back what was there when you started
Fit the front fixings first loosely then the rears at Dartford they use a wobble drive allen socket and a VERY long extension down the back of the seat
Had to give up in the end. Took me hours before I figured the front bolts were simply impossible (no allen-headed bolt, just a large rubber bush through which the bolt passes, and the head is virtually impossible to keep in place whilst tightening, especially if your assistant is an 8 year old). The rears were easier, but one of the threads seems damaged as the nut is jammed on!
I was ready to do murders.
Happily, the harnesses were fitted to the passenger side, and I opted for a moulded foam cushion instead of the Tillett seat to put the lad in and go for a blast on a fabulous summer evening. Made up for all the earlier frustration. Will have to go to a workshop to drill the bolts out and have the heads welded on so I never have to go through this again.
On the plus side, having solved a minor electrical gremlin I'm now strangely having fantasies of building my own Ultima GTR.
I was ready to do murders.
Happily, the harnesses were fitted to the passenger side, and I opted for a moulded foam cushion instead of the Tillett seat to put the lad in and go for a blast on a fabulous summer evening. Made up for all the earlier frustration. Will have to go to a workshop to drill the bolts out and have the heads welded on so I never have to go through this again.
On the plus side, having solved a minor electrical gremlin I'm now strangely having fantasies of building my own Ultima GTR.
In the end I decided to ditch the runners, and bought 1" x 1.5" 3mm wall aluminium tube from ebay.
I drilled the top so I could bolt them to the Tillet, like the Caterham passenger runners.
Then I dropped the seat into the drivers side and using a marker pen from underneath marked the 4 hole positions for where I sit and another set for where my wife does. Once I had fitted captive nuts inside the tubes, I could easily drop the seat back and just screw the allen bolts in from under the car.
To swap drivers which is very rare, I undo the bolts slide the seat forward and put them back in
I drilled the top so I could bolt them to the Tillet, like the Caterham passenger runners.
Then I dropped the seat into the drivers side and using a marker pen from underneath marked the 4 hole positions for where I sit and another set for where my wife does. Once I had fitted captive nuts inside the tubes, I could easily drop the seat back and just screw the allen bolts in from under the car.
To swap drivers which is very rare, I undo the bolts slide the seat forward and put them back in
If you have Tillets on adjustable runners then it is quite easy if you use hex headed bolts going down through the runners and floor as the hex head jams in the U of the runner so you don't need to get a spanner on it - just do them up from underneath, If you have the fixed box section mounting rails these should have rivnuts in and the bolts go up from underneath. In both cases you can enlarge the holes in the floor a bit which helps to get them located, plus don't tighten any bolts until all of them are in place and the threads are started.
Grubbster said:
If you have Tillets on adjustable runners then it is quite easy if you use hex headed bolts going down through the runners and floor as the hex head jams in the U of the runner so you don't need to get a spanner on it - just do them up from underneath,
The U is truly too narrow to get anything in there except a pair of (thin) pliers to grip the top. It really is comical.One of the rears has a damaged thread which means I can't get the nut off, and with the fronts there's barely enough space for me to get a finger in there. So it's a case of taking the whole seat out for a look-see then jamming in something to stop it moving around.
No matter, drove the car down to the local workshop today. They'll rip out the damaged bolt and then weld all four into place so I never have to go through this again. All part of the Caterham experience I guess
V7SLR said:
There is a very simple solution ... just add some thin nuts to the bolts before you put the seats back, and lock them up tight.
V7 - good idea but this means the full weight of the seat and driver/passenger is sitting on a much smaller contact point on the floor instead of the full runner.i have just fitted the driver's tillet and using an open ended spanner to trap the head and stop it spinning, managed to do 3 up. The final one by the diff nose was done by cranking the bolt at a slight angle as I did it up which trapped the head in the seat channel as the nut started and then as it tightened the bolt straightens and its job done.
Tango7 said:
V7SLR said:
There is a very simple solution ... just add some thin nuts to the bolts before you put the seats back, and lock them up tight.
V7 - good idea but this means the full weight of the seat and driver/passenger is sitting on a much smaller contact point on the floor instead of the full runnerGassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff